Tewksbury Memorial High School

Tewksbury Memorial High School is a suburban public high school located at 320 Pleasant Street in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, USA. Serving grades 9-12, it is the only public high school in the town. Its total enrollment for the 2005-2006 school year was 1,206.

Recently, and throughout its many years, the school has earned a reputation as a sort of troublesome facility. Parts of the building have gone to waste, there have been many fights and legal issues revolving around the students and the staff, and it seems more now than ever that this educational body is in dire need of major help.

Mission Statement

"Tewksbury Memorial High School provides students with an experience that promotes academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, respect for others, and self-confidence. We foster the development of communication and problem-solving skills necessary to become successful, contributing members of society."

Athletics and Clubs

Tewksbury Memorial High School competes in 26 boys and girls varsity sports in the Merrimack Valley Conference. Its school nickname is the Redmen. In addition to the athletics, there are also several clubs for students to choose from.

Notable Graduates

David Wade, co-anchor of Fox 25 News at Ten in Boston, MA.

DAVID WADE RULES

TMHS Haunted

There are plenty of reports of doors opening and closing on their own, strange noises, and moving objects. Many sightings have occurred late at night near the cafeteria, formerly the gym. This is caused by the lingering spirit of a cheerleader who died during a competition there. There is a cheerleading award named after her as well. In the D-hall corridor, the heating pipes move spontaneously, and make quite a ruckus. When passing by the cafeteria, many people have gotten cold sweats, chills, and other sorts of strange feelings.

TMHS Drug Issues

TMHS is notorious for having students pass illegal substances into the school and often smoking such substances in the bathrooms during break periods. There are supposed to be hall moniters watching during breaks and during the lunch periods. However, it seems that the piles of cigarettes and the scent of marajuana is ever growing in these decrepid bathrooms.

More often than not, there is a police search with K-9's trained to find drugs by scent. There usually isn't anyone found in possession, because the police usually search the lockers. It is rumored that the students carry the substances on them and evade being caught when the classrooms are locked down for the drug search.

TMHS Fighting Issues

More recently, as of 2006 mostly, fights have broken out at an all time high. During the traditional break between A and B periods, many fights have broken out in the 2006-2007 year. These fights have caused much of the teaching staff to hold meetings with students who are against such fighting. There have even been police officers stationed around the school during the daytime to prevent such scuffles from occurring.

Accreditation

TMHS was recently accredited for its teaching and classes by NEASC, but the building itself was not passed for lack of care and decay. Much of the facility is "below human standard" and has limited the resources of technology to be introduced to the school.

Recently, new computers were placed in the school. However, because of the lack of server speed and bandwidth, they are incredibly slow, making it incredibly difficult to work on online research. As a result, many of the students are forced to work at home with more accommodating hardware.

Bomb Threat

During the 2006-2007 semester, there was a bomb threat posted on the inside of a stall in the girls' bathroom. This caused an uproar among the staff and the police were immediatly notified. Througouth the rest of the week, the police stayed on station at the school and there were only two bathrooms open with "sign-in" sheets that had to be filled out for every single person entering or exiting the facilities.

Ironically, the boys' bathrooms are kept locked more often than the girls' because of drugs being used in them. This is ironic since the bomb threat was in a girls' bathroom.

Dr. Ferris harassment case

Dr. Ferris, the principal of TMHS, was recently charged with sexual harassment of a woman at retirement party, says the local newspaper of the town and surrounding areas, The Lowell Sun:

Harass case angers officials By ALEXANDRA MAYER-HOHDAHL, Sun Staff Article Last Updated: 12/21/2006 12:48:14 PM EST

TEWKSBURY -- The town has agreed to pay more than $17,000 to settle a former teacher's sexual-harassment complaint against Tewksbury Memorial High School Principal Gerald Ferris.

The woman says Ferris made sexually suggestive remarks and disparaging comments about her weight at her retirement party.

The case has left several town officials fuming, but not only because of its humiliating aspects. They are also bristling at statements Ferris made about the town's precarious fiscal state in light of what the settlement is costing the town.

In a letter to Superintendent of Schools Christine McGrath last month, in which Ferris announced his June 2007 retirement, he wrote that his "vision of an excellent high school has been seriously compromised" because of "increasingly difficult budgetary issues."

But some town leaders say Ferris may very well have contributed to the School Department's fiscal problems.

Town Manager David Cressman on Tuesday sent a letter to McGrath forwarding her an insurance bill for the Advertisement Click Here! case, which has reached more than $17,000 in indemnification costs and lawyer bills.

"This will most likely result in reduced funding for education services," Cressman noted in his letter. "This was not attributed to the actions of town officials, but Dr. Ferris."

Selectman Joe Gill said he was "livid" after hearing Ferris' statements about the town's fiscal problems and "totally agrees" with Cressman's letter.

"Things like this (sexual-harassment claim) are not only an embarrassment to the town, it also has a cost associated with it," Gill said yesterday.

Ferris refused to comment yesterday, as did McGrath.

"I would not comment on any remark that is made by any town department head. That just hasn't been my practice," she said of Cressman's letter. "I will just say that I think the matter was settled to the satisfaction of all parties."

The teacher had been at the high school for more than 35 years, two of which she worked directly under Ferris as a department head.

In her complaint with the state Commission Against Discrimination, she alleges that "Dr. Ferris' vulgar sexist behavior" during her June 2005 retirement party "turned my evening into a nightmare of humiliation."

The MCAD began an investigation into the complaint, but closed the case when the settlement was announced.

The teacher alleges that during his speech, Ferris for instance "asked all the women in the audience to lift thier shirts."

"When he didn't get an immediate response, he said words to the effect of: 'Aw, come on. I just wanted to check your titty-balls,' " she writes.

She also notes that Ferris had allegedly told another teacher, who was wearing a summer dress, "words to the effect of: 'You better put those puppies away, you filthy slut!' "

But the teacher wrote in her statement that "the most painful and shocking humiliation" took place when Ferris, in his speech, referred to an incident that took place the previous month.

At the time, the teacher and a few colleagues were talking about a motorcycle "with an unusual sidecar arrangement" that was owned by a substitute teacher. One colleague allegedly made a disparaging remark about her weight, saying he'd pay $500 to see her "in that sidecar."

"I am fat, so I am sensitive about my weight and I don't like those kinds of comments, but I didn't want to let on that my colleagues, perhaps unintentionally, were making me feel humiliated," the teacher wrote. "Some days later, I was involved in a school business discussion. ... I expressed my displeasure to both (the colleague and Ferris). I remember saying that I didn't think it was funny."

At the retirement party, Ferris allegedly repeatedly encouraged the colleague to tell the story, but he declined.

"I had just had a 36-year (teaching career) encapsulated into a degrading remark about my" weight, the teacher wrote, noting that a male retiree who was also being honored that night was not taunted.

"I was proud to invite family and friends to share this evening with me," she wrote. "I still feel very hurt when I look back on what should be a source of satisfaction and is, instead, a source of complete humiliation."

Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl's e-mail address is amayer-hohdahl@lowellsun.com.

External links

• Official website