History
In the 1950s, Wayland, like many other suburban towns, had grown a great deal in terms of population. With this new wave of residents came many well-educated individuals: doctors, lawyers, businessmen, who wanted an education for their children that was parallel to their own experiences. This factor, combined with the high school's lack of space to accommodate the large number of students and the insistence from the School Building Committee that the town take action, led to the construction of the old school.
In his 1957 annual report, superintendent Edward J. Anderson cited Sputnik as the reason why math and science were receiving more attention in the U.S.
Anderson also pressed for the town to pay more taxes for the school's construction. In a letter from The Wayland-Weston Town Crier, he said, "Because of spiraling costs, all we're doing now educationally is holding our own and hanging on to what we have. At this rate we're not going to make any dramatic improvements. And yet, the taxes we pay for our schools are certainly high enough."
The Town Crier added,
| “ | Fundamental to the problem is the relative values we place on education as contracted to material possessions. We each spend at least $1000 a year on our car, but only $340 annually for the education of each child in Town. We are quite content to allow billions to be sunk in TV and advertising, and our tax structure provides for this kind of spending. Yet if education is as important as we say, we better find some way to give it the real financial support it needs." | ” |
Cambridge Consultants, Inc. of Boston, educational consultants, were hired to help the town determine what educational changes and structural changes were needed to make the new high school better than the last.
Read more about this topic: Wayland High School
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