Saugus Middle-High School is an American public
secondary school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
located in
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron work ...
, United States. It is a part of
Saugus Public Schools.
Facilities
High school
Prior to the construction of a dedicated High School building, Saugus High classes were held in the Town Hall (now an
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...
hall) and the top floor of the Roby School.
From 1906 to 1955, Saugus High School was located on the corner of Central and Winter Streets. The building was expanded several times to accommodate the growing student population. The next Saugus High campus opened in September 1955. The single-story structure included a cafeteria, auditorium, offices, classrooms, and a gymnasium.
["The Friends of Town Hall"](_blank)
Retrieved February 8, 2011 The 1906 High School housed as a junior high school and elementary school until a 1963 arson. Only the 1935 addition survived, which remained an elementary school until 2003.
In the summer of 2020, the 1955 Saugus High School was demolished to make way for a new sports complex.
The current Saugus Middle-High campus opened in 2020. Construction began on the northern portion of the school's property for a new complex in late 2018. The complex is occupied by both Saugus High School and Saugus Middle School and can hold up to 1,360 students. The Saugus Middle-High School was completed almost two years later in early 2020 with high school students officially moving into the new complex in April 2020.
["Saugus High School students moving to new Middle-High School in April"](_blank)
Retrieved September 5, 2020
Middle school
Middle school classes were held in various school buildings until the construction of the Sweetser School in 1926. After the Sweetser School opened, middle school classes were held at Sweetser and at the high school. When the new Saugus High School building opened in 1955, all middle school classes were moved to the old high school building, with the Sweetser School becoming an elementary school. In October 1963, most of the Saugus Junior High School was destroyed by arson.
Junior High classes were moved to the Veterans' Memorial Elementary School and the American Legion Hall, with seventh and eighth graders attending during the day and ninth graders attending class in the afternoon. In 1966, the new Saugus Junior High School on Dow St. opened. In 1970 the school was renamed the Belmonte Middle School after Augustine J. Belmonte, a Saugus police officer killed in the line of duty. The Belmonte closed when the new complex opened in 2020.
Notable events
On April 21, 1914, Saugus High students staged a strike in support of Principal James F. Butterworth, who had resigned under pressure from the School Committee. The students returned the next day on the condition that School Committee hold a public hearing on Butterworth's resignation. The committee refused on the grounds that Butterworth was not entitled to one as he was not fired, but had voluntarily resigned. A special town meeting appointed a committee to investigate the matter. The committee sided with Butterworth and asked for the resignations of every member of the School Committee and the entire high school faculty. Despite the committee's decision, Butterwoth did not return to Saugus High; instead, he accepted the position of Superintendent of Schools in
Bradford, Pennsylvania
Bradford is a city in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located close to the border with New York state and approximately south of Buffalo, New York. Home to an oil refinery, Zippo headquarters and a University of Pittsburgh b ...
.
In 1937, the school committee invited English teacher Isabelle Hallin to resign amid rumors that she had allegedly served cocktails to students during a drama club rehearsal at her home. Despite petitions and the picketing of Hallin's detractors' homes by students, the School Committee voted 3–2 against reappointing Hallin. Those who voted not to reappoint Hallin insisted that they did so on professional grounds. Hallin's picture appeared in many newspapers and she left Saugus to pursue a career in acting.
On March 27, 1981, the entire 1200-member student body of Saugus High School walked out of class in protest of proposed school cutbacks as a result of
Proposition 2½
A proposition is a statement that can be either true or false. It is a central concept in the philosophy of language, semantics, logic, and related fields. Propositions are the object s denoted by declarative sentences; for example, "The sky ...
.
In 1987, Saugus High hockey player Mike Maruzzi was paralyzed after he hit the boards head first and broke his neck.
In 1994, two Saugus High School freshmen were expelled for smuggling a loaded, sawed-off shotgun onto school property.
Saugus High School was closed for a week in 1998 while contractors removed asbestos from the auditorium, bathrooms, and second-floor balconies and hallways.
In July 2004, the Saugus School Committee announced that budget cutbacks would result in the elimination of all sports and extracurricular activities. The extracurricular activities were restored by the beginning of the next school year after the district was able to receive extra funding from state.
On November 14, 2006, Saugus High School was on high alert as a result of a bomb threat written in the girls' bathroom.
On December 7, 2007, Saugus High School was put into lockdown and students were evacuated after a caller phoned in a gun threat.
Following the 2012–13 winter break, Principal Joseph Diorio did not return to school and was not seen for several weeks. On January 9, Superintendent Richard Langlois announced that Diorio had been on paid leave since December 18 pending an inquiry "into the management of certain financial and other affairs of Saugus High School."
On April 10, 2013 an independent audit into the Saugus High School student activities account was released to the Board of Selectmen. The audit described Saugus High's record keeping as shoddy and in some cases in violation of state law. The audit also questioned $17,000 in stipend payments made to Diorio between 2006 and 2013.
On December 14, 2012, Saugus High School announced o
their twitter accountthat they would join the
Cape Ann League, leaving the
Northeastern Conference
The Northeastern Conference (NEC) is a high school athletic conference in District A of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Schools
In 2019, teams from Everett, Malden, Medford, Revere, and Somerville, left the NEC to ...
for more success in their school athletics. On January 18, 2013, the move was approved by the
Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is an organization that sponsors activities in thirty-three sports, comprising 374 public high school, public and private high school, private high schools in the U.S. state of Mass ...
.
At the conclusion of Saugus High School's first season in the
Cape Ann League, they proposed to rejoin the
Northeastern Conference
The Northeastern Conference (NEC) is a high school athletic conference in District A of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Schools
In 2019, teams from Everett, Malden, Medford, Revere, and Somerville, left the NEC to ...
due to geographic and traveling issues. The rejoin was approved by both high school conferences, allowing Saugus High School to return to the Northeastern Conference. All sports would play in the Northeastern Conference, with the exception of football, which would become independent for the 2014 fall season. The Saugus Sachems football team would play opponents from both the
Cape Ann League and Northeastern Conference.
Notable faculty members
*
Steven Angelo, history and law teacher
*
Belden Bly, biology and practical law teacher; also a golf, baseball, basketball, football and track coach.
*
Ronnie Cahill, assistant football coach (1940)
*
Vernon W. Evans, submaster (1922–1930), principal (1930–1933)
*
Henry Toczylowski, football coach (1941–1942)
*
Dave Lucey, football coach (1943–1946)
Notable alumni
*
Steven Angelo, town administrator and politician
*
Tracee Chimo
Tracee Chimo Pallero (born 1983) is an American stage, television and film actress who became an arts critic favorite after her 2012 breakout role as Daphna Feygenbaum, the antagonist in Joshua Harmon’s hit dark comedy '' Bad Jews''.
In 2018 ...
, actress
*
Arthur F. DeFranzo,
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
recipient
*
Mark Falzone, member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...
from 2001 to 2011.
*
Bob Gaudet,
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
ice hockey coach
*
James Franklin Jeffrey
James Franklin Jeffrey (born February 8, 1946) is an American diplomat who served most recently as the United States Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the International military intervention against ISIL.
He ha ...
, American diplomat
*
Phyllis Katsakiores, member of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...
*
Doug Mackie, professional football player for the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
,
Tampa Bay Bandits
The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal ...
,
New Jersey Generals
The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...
,
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
and
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
*
Francis Moorehouse,
Town Manager of Saugus from 1970 to 1973
*
C. F. Nelson Pratt, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1927 to 1935.
*
John P. Slattery, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.
*
Art Spinney, professional football player for the
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...
*
Art Statuto, professional football player for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
and the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
.
*
Frederick Willis,
Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
This is a list of speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The Speaker (politics), Speaker of the House presides over the Massachusetts House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority par ...
from 1944 to 1949.
Attended but did not graduate
*
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Awar ...
, poet, short-story writer. Recipient of the 1976
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, ''World Literature Today''.
It is considered one of the more prestigious int ...
,
Poet Laureate of the United States
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writt ...
from 1949 to 1950,
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
winner for Poetry in 1956 and the
National Book Award
The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...
winner in 1970.
References
{{Coord, 42, 27, 39.4, N, 71, 1, 21.1, W, region:US, display=title
Public high schools in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Saugus, Massachusetts
Northeastern Conference
High schools in Essex County, Massachusetts