Currents on the Charles

I have volunteered at Whittemore for 6 years so far. It's a wonderful school. I pass by or go into classrooms regularly and always see kids who are deeply engaged in their work. The classrooms are welcoming, well behaved, and busy learning. The hallways are quiet and orderly. As a former teacher I know the quality of staff required to make this atmosphere a reality. The teachers and staff here are amazing. It's a great neighborhood school. No one should be reluctant to send their children here.

The administration at McDevitt Middle School in Waltham is atrocious. We are so grateful this is our youngest child’s last year here. Our older student is thriving at the new Waltham High School. Although there are a few wonderful teachers at McDevitt who we will miss, many do students a disservice with lazy teaching practices and apathetic attitudes. The administration shoves important matters under the rug, while simultaneously overreacting to smaller issues. My older son, who felt targeted by admin at McDevitt, is thriving in honors and AP classes at the new high school, building relationships with teachers and staff, and has a supportive group of friends invested in education. We are grateful to leave McDevitt, the administrators there, and the unsupportive environment behind.

The new building opened in august 2024 and it has been a great experience in the extensive CTVE offerings. Students are engaged and motivated to attend classes. For the most part, school is everything you expect in an American high school. The AP teachers are wonderful and the early scholar's program with metro west are hands down the best learning opportunities. There are numerous clubs and sports for students to participate if they wish to. The equity score on this site is concerning, but to be expected as our school has many first-generation students with limited and interrupted schooling that can't just equally perform during 'common assessments testing'. Waltham high school produces graduates ready to excel to the level they pursue. We know various Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Umass, NYU, Northeastern, BC, Brandeis, Bentley bound youth- a few sports scholars, and some who go to the trade schools. When you visit the school you get a sense of a mini college campus, with the project-based learning focus, the breakout student spaces offer useful collaborative-social areas. The school can improve as it finds all its potential integrating more corporate community partnerships.