RI’s #9 School: Westerly High School
Monday, May 09, 2011
Westerly High School takes its place in the Top 10 high schools this year, having spent last year on the doorstep at #11.
By holding steady in most measures and posting solid upticks in NECAP scores (particulary in Math, where the school has made progress to 41% above proficient), Westerly High gets high marks for an exceptionally low student-teacher ratio (9:1). The school has also benefitted from an increase in spending per student up to $16,222, the third-highest amount in the Top 10.
Ambitious arts
Perhaps it's the influence of the Westerly Chorus, or the legacy of Shakespeare in Wilcox Park, but Westerly High produces ambitious theater programs with live music. This spring, the school's Theatre Scrapbook Company will do Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the acclaimed (and very difficult) Stephen Sondheim musical, with a 21-piece live orchestra that combines students with parents, members of the community, U.S. Coast Guard Band and Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra players as well (the play opens May 19).
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWesterly High School at a Glance
Enrollment: 991
Mascot: The Bulldogs
Famous alums:
- Dr. Thomas DiPaola, Previous Director of RI Dept. of Education’s Office of Special Populations, former superintendent of Westerly schools, Director of Education Leadership program at JWU
- Henry Nardone Sr., Member of URI Foundation, distinguished Naval career, former facility manager at Quonset Point, RI Board of Regents
- Dr. Daniel Gaccion, Orthopedic surgeon
- Dennis Algiere, Current RI Senate Minority Leader
- Samuel Azzinaro, Current RI state rep
- Dr. Joseph Vitterito, Neonatology fellow at Dartmouth Medical School
- Dr. John Toscano, Professor of chemistry and Chairman of Dept. of Chemisty at Johns Hopkins University
- Daryl Finizio, Lawyer, running for Mayor of New London, Westerly City Council, 2006-2008
- Peter Lewiss, RI State rep, judge, lawyer
- Diana Blanda, Actress, singer member of Ocean State Follies
For a downloadable, printable version of RI's Top High Schools 2011, with the full chart of rankings and summaries of key articles, click here.
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