B.M.C. Durfee High School

B.M.C. Durfee High School is a public high school located in the city of Fall River, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of Fall River Public Schools and is the city's main public high school, the other being Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School. Durfee is one of the biggest high schools in Massachusetts, and is also the 4th biggest high school in Southeastern Massachusetts behind Brockton, Taunton and New Bedford. These three high schools (excluding Taunton) make up the Big Three League, the conference in which all their athletic teams compete.

This article is about the high school institution and its present high school building. For the historic building, see B.M.C. Durfee High School (1886 building).
B.M.C. Durfee High School
Address
360 Elsbree Street

Fall River
,
Massachusetts
02720

United States
Coordinates41°42′55″N 71°7′16″W
Information
TypePublic High School
Open enrollment[1]
Established1887
School districtFall River Public Schools
SuperintendentMatthew Malone
PrincipalMatthew Desmarais
Teaching staff182.03 (FTE)[2]
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,112 (2017–18)[2]
Student to teacher ratio11.60[2]
CampusUrban
Color(s)Red & Black   
Athletics conferenceMIAA Big Three League
NicknameHilltoppers
RivalsNew Bedford, Taunton, Brockton
AccreditationNew England Association of Schools and Colleges
NewspaperThe Hilltop
WebsiteDHS Website
[3][4][5][6]

History

In 2014 the school and Bristol Community College (BCC) were planning an agreement regarding early college classes.[7]

Buildings
Old postcard of historic Durfee school building

The school has been located in two buildings. From its opening in 1886 until the new building was completed in 1978 the school was located in the historic B.M.C. Durfee High School building on Rock Street, The iconic building, with its tall red-capped clock tower and red-domed observatory tower, overlooks the Taunton River and gives rise to the Fall River school district's seal, the school's athletics nickname, the Hilltoppers, their school colors of black and red (for the two roof colors), the school newspaper, the Hilltop, and their school alumni newspaper, the Chimes. For several decades prior to moving, the school also occupied the former Technical High School building across the street.

Since 1978 the school has been located on Elsbree Street in the city's north end. Located in former swamp land, the school was built both to modernize the district and to alleviate the overcrowding at the former sites. The school also moved its athletic fields, which were nearby to the new school, to its new campus, as well as building the on-campus Luke Urban Field House, as the school had formerly used the Fall River Armory for indoor athletics. Since 2011, there has also been a modern recreation of the Durfee clock tower located at the new site.

Athletics

Durfee's athletic teams are known as the Hilltoppers, a nod to the location of the old school building atop the Highland neighborhood hills overlooking the Taunton River, and their school colors are black and red. As of the 2018–2019 school year, their school mascot is Rocky the Hilltopper. The school fight song is sung to the tune of the Notre Dame Victory March. The school's chief rival has always been New Bedford High School, as the two cities share a deep rivalry in general. The school also has rivalries with Brockton High School, Taunton High School and, to a lesser extent, many of the other local school districts.

Notable alumni

Many of the below are considered distinguished alumni of Durfee[8]

See also

Sources
  1. http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/schoolchoice/choice-status.pdf
  2. "B M C Durfee High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  3. "B M C Durfee High (00950505) 2013-14 SAT Performance Report". profiles.doe.mass.edu/. Mass. Dept. of Ed. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  4. "CPSS Directory of Schools". Public High Schools (CPSS) / Committee on Public Secondary Schools. Archived from the original on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  5. Durfee Alumni, new school opened in 1978 Archived May 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Enrollment Data (2013-14) - B M C Durfee High (00950505)". mass.edu. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  7. Gagne, Michael (2014-07-13). "Durfee High, BCC officials work on early-college deal". The Herald News. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  8. B.M.C. Durfee High Alumni - Fall River, MA Archived May 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. http://www.lambdachi.org/about-2/history/
  10. "Morton Dean". Archived from the original on August 25, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  11. "Harrington, Edward Francis". Archived from the original on May 14, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  12. "Changing of guard: A sober Chris Herren set for post-hoop life - The Boston Globe". boston.com. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  13. "Biographies : Brigadier General John J. Liset". Archived from the original on 2009-09-06.
  14. Archived April 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  15. Carol Lee Costa-Crowell, Lurdes da Silva (August 6, 1997). "Durfee grad nominated to energy post". southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  16. Devitt, Phil. "Remembering Joe Raposo, the genius who filled millions of kids' lives with music". southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  17. General Melvin Zais's Biography Archived July 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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