Central MA’s #16 School: Tantasqua Regional High School

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

GoLocalWorcester Features Team

Tantasqua Regional High School in Fiskdale comes in at #16 on our top high schools in Central Massachusetts. The high school serves students from Sturbridge, Brimfield, Wales, Holland and Brookfield.

School Statistics

Tantasqua's strong test scores helped to position itself as one of the best schools in Central Massachusetts. 92% of students are proficient or higher in English; 88% are proficient or higher in math and 71% are proficient or higher in science. Tantasqua is below the state average for spending per student, which was $12,141 during the 2009-2010 school year. The weak spot for Tantasqua is the graduation rate, which is 85%.

One High School-Two Schools

Tantasqua also has a technical division, which requires a separate application process. These above test results do not include those students who attend the vocational school. Mark Wood is the technical division principal director for Tantasqua. Wood said, "We have one school, but within in that we have two schools. One is an academic high school and one is a technical high school, we have about 400 students enrolled in the technical school and 800 in the academic division."

Mentoring Program

Wood said it is important to Tantasqua that students make an easy transition from middle school to high school. Wood said, "We have a mentoring programing where student leaders are mentoring incoming freshmen to help them better transition into 9th grade. We have a very dedicated staff that makes this a success."

College Counts

Starting this time of year, there’s a poster that goes up in the cafeteria for seniors to write down where they are going to college. Wood said Tantasqua sends students to a wide variety of colleges, from Harvard to Quinsigamond Community College.

Tantasqua's Mission Statement

"Tantasqua Regional High School is a learning community that presents students with numerous pathways to success. Our school provides students of different interests, abilities, and goals with a variety of meaningful and challenging opportunities for achievement. These opportunities foster life-long learning through academic, career, and personal growth. Tantasqua enables students to develop a sense of citizenship and to act responsibly within the school community and within our multi-cultural world."