Brockton High School, established in 1870, is a high school located in Brockton, Massachusetts, and part of Brockton Public Schools. As of 2016, it is one of the largest high schools in the United States of America, and the largest in Massachusetts with 4,029 students. Their mascot is the Boxers, paying tribute to the boxing history of the city and the boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, who are both alumni of Brockton High School.
Contents
History
At its founding, Brockton High School had a maximum capacity of 125 students. As the population of Brockton grew, there was demand for a larger building. As a result, a new high school was constructed in 1967 consisting of 2 sides: an "A" Side and a "B" Side. By the 1970s, student numbers exceeded capacity, resulting in complications such as split sessions where underclassmen and upperclassmen attended school at different times of the day. The upperclassmen took classes in the mornings, and underclassmen took classes in the afternoons.
In 1975, the City Council Finance Committee approved an $8 million proposal to construct a new high school that could accommodate the growing student body. In 1975 the ground for the new building was broken, and in 1980, the school was complete. The "A" building has since been torn down. The "B" building, which housed a pre-K center and then charter and alternative school programs, was torn down in fall 2022 in order to allow for construction of a new public safety center. The highest number of students ever housed in the school was 4,250.
In the 2000s, Nahyo M. Kim of The New York Times wrote that Brockton High "was a case study in failure". At that time the school's unofficial motto was "students have a right to fail if they want". In 2000, the school set up a reform plan — using the skill areas of reading, reasoning, speaking, and writing in the school's curriculum. By 2001, student performance had improved. Susan Szachowicz, the former principal, said that the school culture and large size was crucial to the school's turnaround. This occurred in a period when education advocates had promoted smaller schools.
Campus
Brockton High School occupies a large, multi-building campus extending approximately one-third of a mile (about 0.54 km) in length, with an estimated 13.5 acres (about 55,000 m²) of total floor space.
The campus consists of nine buildings, including four primary academic buildings organized by color designation (Green, Red, Azure, and Yellow) and connected by a central core. Additional buildings house gymnasium and fine arts facilities.
Major shared facilities include a football stadium, an ice skating rink, a 25-yard (about 23 m) swimming pool, a 1,608-seat auditorium, and four cafeterias.
When the current campus opened in 1970, it incorporated specialized facilities such as a greenhouse, a planetarium, a campus-wide public address system, and a television studio. The television studio was renovated in 2003. As of 2026, expansion and renovation plans had been reported, with a finalized design replacing the main academic building with a larger one designed to implement modern STEM learning methods.
Academics
In 1999, 75% of its students failed Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) mathematics examinations and 44% failed MCAS English examinations. Around that period, about 1/3 of students of each Brockton class dropped out. By 2001, student performance improved. Between 2000 and 2001, more students went from failing to passing at Brockton High than at any other school in Massachusetts.
In 2005, 98% of the senior class (850 students) graduated. In 2023, 75% of the graduating senior class planned to pursue a college degree. In 2006, Brockton High School was a recipient of the National School Change Award. Brockton High School was one of 6 schools in the United States to receive this award. Out of the seven schools, there were only two high schools.
In 2008, Brockton students had a higher level of improvement on the English MCAS than 90% of high schools. By 2010 it was one of the highest performing schools on the MCAS.
Athletics
Football
Since the football teams' inaugural season in 1897, they have gone a total of 17 seasons undefeated and have had 15 one-loss seasons.
Since 1972, the football team has made 17 appearances in the MIAA Division 1 State Championship game, winning 11 times (1972, 1973, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2005).
The Boxers have also won 1 MSSPA State Championship (1948), and 2 MIAC State Championships (1960, 1970), bringing their total number of state championships to 14.
In 1948, the Boxers played in a post-season game against Miami Edison Senior High School, winning 34–0.
From 1979–1992, Brockton a leading high school football team in the country. During this 14-year period, the Boxers' won 6 state championships, won 11 league championships, had 3 undefeated seasons, and had 8 one-loss seasons. The Boxers' record during this period was 118-14-0. They used to be regarded as one of the greatest high school football programs at the 1980s.
National Championships (1) - 1948
State Championships (14) - 1948, 1960, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2005
State Finalists (11) - 1950, 1958, 1959, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2012
Undefeated seasons (17) - 1899, 1900, 1924, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1945, 1958, 1959, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2005
One-loss seasons (15) - 1897, 1918, 1921, 1930, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992
The football team has made USA Today's Top 25 list a total of 4 times: 1984 (#7), 1985 (#9), 1987 (#5), and 1988 (#17).
Other sports
The school's mascot is the Boxer. The actual mascot is a dog, but the name is a pun in reference to Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, two famous boxers from Brockton. The stadium in which the Boxers' football, field hockey, soccer, and outdoor track teams compete is named Rocky Marciano Stadium in reference to the boxer. With a capacity of approximately 10,000 people, Marciano Stadium is one of the largest high school stadiums in Massachusetts and is one of the premier facilities in the state as well. The stadium also plays host to numerous Massachusetts high school football state playoff games, including the sectional and regional finals.
The BHS baseball team plays their home games at Campanelli Stadium, constructed in 2002.
In 2012, a nearly 30-foot-tall bronze statue of Rocky Marciano was erected outside the north end of the stadium as a tribute to the boxer.
Notable alumni
Kristian Alfonso – actress
Chris Bender – R&B singer
Gerry Cassidy – member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and former political aide
Claire D. Cronin – United States Ambassador to Ireland
Keith Davidson – former lawyer for Stormy Daniels
Kenneth Feinberg – Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund
Mike Gordon – former MLB player (Chicago Cubs)
Marvin Hagler – middleweight boxing champion
Pooch Hall – actor
Rudy Harris – NFL football player, attended Clemson, played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mark Hartsell – gridiron football quarterback, played for Boston College, and professionally for the Chicago Bears and Scottish Claymores of the NFL and NFL Europe
James Kelleher – musician, Jimmy Luxury and the Tommy Rome Orchestra. Songs appeared in the movies "Go" and "Ocean's Eleven"
John Kiely – former MLB player (Detroit Tigers)
Al Louis-Jean – NFL player
Ken MacAfee – NFL football player, attended Notre Dame, played for the San Francisco 49ers
Rocky Marciano – heavyweight boxing champion