Melrose High School

Melrose High School is a public high school serving children in grades 9 - 12. It is located at 360 Lynn Fells Parkway in Melrose, Massachusetts and is Melrose's only high school. Enrollment for the 2010 - 2011 school year is 987 students. The school is accredited by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges and is a member of the METCO program.History1868–1897: first high schoolMelrose High School began teaching children in the 1800s and has called several buildings home. The oldest known location is on West Emerson Street where the Melrose Public Library now stands. On March 30, 1868, Melrose appropriated $20,000 for the construction of the high school on a 30000sqft lot located on the corner of West Emerson Street and Lake Avenue. An Additional $7,500 was added to the price tag of the school on January 19, 1869 and on July 15, 1869, the school was finished and dedicated. Almost thirty years later on January 25, 1897, a fire destroyed the building.1898–1931: second high schoolThe building on West Emerson Street quickly became too small for the growing community and so at the town meeting held on February 24, 1896, the town allocated $100,000 for the building of a new high school. The town selected a lot of land known as the "Old Burial Ground" on Main Street across from the Central Fire Station as the location for the new school building. On August 1, 1898, an additional $3,000 was appropriated for site work around the building. The school was dedicated on September 17, 1898 and at the time, was one of the "finest school buildings to be found in New England". Two additional wings were added to the main building and opened in 1909.