WALTHAM – It’s not just the start of a new school year, but also the start of a new era in Waltham, Massachusetts, as the city opens a new high school.
“These are truly fantastic facilities that will benefit our students for generations to come,” said Waltham Principal Marisa Mendonsa.
New Waltham High School
The new and improved Waltham High School has been five years in the making thanks to a nearly $400 million loan, the largest loan in Massachusetts history for a public school.
There is a new beauty salon where in a few weeks everyone can go for a haircut.
“Not every kid goes to college. I think we live in a world and a state that accepts the fact that our kids have a lot of other jobs,” Principal Darrell Braggs said during a tour on WBZ-TV Tuesday.
Combination of academic and vocational learning material
The facility is designed to combine vocational and academic learning opportunities. It will offer 18 technical career programs, including nursing, cooking, automotive and HVAC. Students will not have to leave school to receive on-the-job training.
“The demand for HVAC technicians is greater now than ever,” said HVAC educator Dennis Breen. “If they choose not to go to college, if they choose to go to college, this can help them in both ways.”
If you go up to the fourth floor of the high school, you will enter a room called the “Waltham Room,” which has nothing but windows and a view of the city.
The 42-hectare site also features a new gymnasium, auditorium, classrooms and student collaboration spaces.
