Dedham High School is a public high school in Dedham, Massachusetts, United States, and a part of the Dedham Public Schools. The school was founded in 1851 by the oldest public school system in the country. It earned a silver medal from U.S. News & World Report in 2017, ranked as the 48th best high school in Massachusetts.In recent years the school has seen tremendous growth in both the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses and in qualifying scores on the exams. The school's athletic program offers 26 varsity sports with a mascot known as the Marauder, and 31 co-curricular clubs and activities. Each student receives a personal computer from the school.HistoryAs early as 1827 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts required all towns with more than 500 families to establish a free public high school. Beginning in 1844 the School Committee began recommending that the town establish a high school, but it wasn't until 1850 when, under threat of a lawsuit, that the town meeting voted to "instruct the Town's School Committee to hire a building and teacher, and establish a High School according to law." A sum of $3,000 was appropriated to support it.Charles J. Capen, a private high school teacher, was hired to teach at the new school, and his classroom above the Masonic Hall was rented by the town. The building, located at 25 Church Street, was previously Miss Emily Hodge's Private School. The school used this space from 1851 to 1854, at which point it was moved to the Town House on Bullard Street. It remained there for one year until, in 1855, a new school was built on Highland Street and dedicated on December 10.
