Waltham MA Schools Guide: Districts, Rankings & Home Zones 2026

Waltham MA Schools Guide: Districts, Rankings & Home Zones (2026)

Waltham Public Schools serve the entire city through a single unified district — meaning every home in Waltham, regardless of neighborhood, feeds into the same middle schools and the same high school. The district runs 7 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 senior high school, serving approximately 5,700 students across grades PK–12. Understanding which elementary zone a property falls into, and what programs are available at each level, is essential before making a home purchase decision based on schools. Here's everything I tell my clients about navigating Waltham MA school districts and homes.

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The Waltham Public Schools Structure at a Glance

Waltham operates a K–5 / 6–8 / 9–12 grade structure:

- Elementary (K–5): Seven neighborhood schools with defined geographic boundaries

• •Middle School (Grades 6–8): Two schools — John F. Kennedy Middle School and John W. McDevitt Middle School
• •High School (Grades 9–12): One school — Waltham Senior High School

  The district headquarters is at 617 Lexington Street, Waltham, MA 02452. The district also operates the Waltham Family School, an English-language program for immigrant families — a reflection of the city's notably diverse population.

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  Waltham Elementary Schools: Know Your Zone

  Because every home in Waltham is zoned to a specific elementary school, the elementary boundary your address falls within can materially affect your day-to-day experience as a resident. Here are the seven elementary schools:

  1. Douglas MacArthur Elementary School

Located on Fenwick Street, MacArthur serves the north-central part of the city and has been among the top-ranked schools in the district on state assessment data, according to SchoolDigger. It consistently outperforms the district average on MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) scores.

2. William F. Stanley Elementary School

250 South Street — Stanley serves a portion of the South Side and is one of the schools most frequently cited by U.S. News in their district-level coverage. It offers a more suburban feel relative to the city's urban core.

3. Northeast Elementary School

One of the more centrally located schools, Northeast serves a dense residential corridor. Performance on state benchmarks here has historically trailed MacArthur and Stanley, something my clients consider when comparing elementary zones.

4. Henry Whittemore Elementary School

Whittemore is located on Trapelo Road in the northwest portion of the city. Like Northeast, it has seen more variability in MCAS performance relative to the top-tier elementary schools.

5. Northeast Elementary / Plympton Elementary

Waltham's elementary boundaries also include Plympton Elementary, which serves portions of the central city. Always verify the exact boundary for a specific address with the district directly — boundaries do shift and online maps can lag.

6. Waltham Dual Language Elementary School

One of the district's most distinctive offerings. The Dual Language Program — available at the elementary level — has shown proficiency rates in some subjects exceeding both district and state averages, according to SchoolDigger analysis. This Spanish-English immersion program is a genuine point of differentiation for Waltham versus many surrounding communities.

7. Sunita L. Williams Elementary School

Named after the astronaut and Needham native, Williams Elementary is one of the newer additions to the district's roster and serves portions of the city's residential neighborhoods.

> Practical tip from 29+ years of experience: Always verify your specific property's school assignment directly at walthampublicschools.org before closing. I've seen buyers assume a boundary, only to discover their address feeds to a different school. School zone verification is a standard part of our due diligence process.

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Waltham Middle Schools (Grades 6–8)

All Waltham elementary graduates funnel into one of two middle schools:

John F. Kennedy Middle School

Kennedy Middle School is consistently the higher-ranked of the two middle schools in Waltham, appearing near the top of SchoolDigger's district rankings. It offers a range of electives, intramural sports, and enrichment opportunities. Your elementary zone generally determines your middle school assignment, though the district may balance enrollment between the two.

John W. McDevitt Middle School

McDevitt is the second middle school and serves a large portion of the city's student body. Like Kennedy, it offers core academics, arts, and athletics. Community feedback on McDevitt has been mixed in recent years, and this is a factor some families weigh when evaluating specific elementary zones — because those zones often determine which middle school your child attends.

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Waltham Senior High School (Grades 9–12)

All Waltham public school students attend Waltham Senior High School, located at 617 Lexington Street. The school is large, with approximately 1,643 students and an 11:1 student-to-teacher ratio.

Key data points (sources: U.S. News, GreatSchools, Niche):

• •U.S. News ranking: #226 in Massachusetts (out of 352 ranked high schools)
• •Niche grade: B (ranked #168 Best Public High Schools in Massachusetts by Niche 2025)
• •GreatSchools rating: 3/10
• •Graduation rate: ~81%
• •AP participation rate: 39%
• •Average SAT: 1,190 | Average ACT: 28
• •Math proficiency (MCAS): 42% | Reading proficiency: 55%

  Programs Worth Knowing

  Advanced Placement (AP): Waltham High offers a solid AP course menu. With 39% of students participating in AP coursework, it's not as robust as neighboring Lexington or Wellesley, but meaningful college-level work is available for motivated students.

  Project Lead The Way (PLTW) / CTE Programs: This is genuinely one of Waltham High's standout offerings. The school's Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are described by students as "state of the art" — offering hands-on preparation in healthcare, engineering, IT, and skilled trades. For students with vocational or technical interests, these facilities are a real asset.

  Arts: Waltham High has active music, theater, and visual arts programs. The performing arts community has a loyal following locally.

  Athletics: Waltham High competes in the Bay State Conference, fielding teams in football, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse, track and field, swimming, and more. School spirit and athletic participation are strong.

  English Language Learner (ELL) Programs: Waltham has a significantly higher ELL population than most surrounding suburbs, which is an important context for understanding standardized test score data. As one community reviewer noted, standardized tests "do not cater to ELL children" and Waltham is "unfairly compared to nearby high schools in affluent communities, when the population in the city is vastly different."

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  District-Wide Academic Profile

  Here's an honest picture of where the district stands, using publicly available data:

  - Overall district ranking: #259 out of 393 Massachusetts school districts (Public School Review, based on 2022–23 MCAS data)

• •Math proficiency: 36–38% (vs. state average ~43%)
• •Reading proficiency: 37–41% (vs. state average ~45%)
• •Student-to-teacher ratio: 10:1 — lower than the state average of 12:1, a meaningful positive
• •Per-pupil spending: ~$23,000–$33,920 annually (higher than the state median of ~$24,600)
• •Diversity: 64% minority enrollment (majority Hispanic/Latino), ranking Waltham in the top 1% most diverse districts in Massachusetts

  In my experience advising buyers across Greater Boston for nearly three decades, raw proficiency scores don't tell the whole story. Waltham's investment per pupil is meaningful, and the low student-teacher ratio creates genuine instructional attention that test scores alone don't capture.

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  How School Zones Affect Home Values in Waltham

  This is the question I hear most from buyers. Here's what the data and my experience show:

  City-wide market context: Waltham median home prices came in at approximately $774,000 in early 2026 (Redfin, February 2026), up about 3.3% year-over-year. Zillow's index puts the average home value at roughly $757,000. For deeper analysis of Waltham's real estate market, see our Waltham MA Real Estate Market Report: Spring 2026.

  North Waltham premium: The north side of the city — which includes streets near the Lexington and Belmont borders — commands a measurable premium. North Waltham's median was approximately $820,000 as of late 2025 (Redfin). Homes in this corridor tend to feed into the stronger-performing elementary zones and sit closer to the highly-regarded school districts in Lexington. (Curious how Lexington schools compare? See our Lexington MA Schools & Real Estate Complete Guide.)

  South Side pricing: The south side of Waltham has historically priced lower — medians around $741,000 as of late 2025 (Redfin) — and these areas tend to feed into elementary schools with lower MCAS performance relative to MacArthur or Stanley.

  The MacArthur effect: In my conversations with buyers, homes in the MacArthur Elementary zone do attract a premium over comparable properties in the Northeast or Whittemore zones. While this differential is difficult to isolate precisely, it mirrors patterns I've observed across every market I've worked in: top-performing elementary zones pull prices upward.

  Waltham vs. neighbors: Waltham consistently prices below neighboring Lexington (~$1.2M median), Needham (~$1.4M median), Wellesley (~$1.8M median), and Newton (~$1.6M median), in part because its school performance metrics are lower. For buyers who prioritize school rankings, those towns carry a significant premium. If you're weighing your options, our guides to Wellesley MA schools and neighborhoods and Needham MA schools and real estate offer direct comparisons.

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  Private School Options in Waltham

  Waltham is also home to Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School (CH-CH), a private college-preparatory boarding and day school. CH-CH enrolls students in grades 9–12 and emphasizes project-based, experiential learning — a strong option for families seeking a private alternative to the public high school.

  Additionally, many Waltham residents whose priority is private schooling look at independent day schools in neighboring Newton and Brookline. If you're weighing those communities' school ecosystems, our Brookline MA Schools Guide is a useful reference.

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  What I Tell My Clients About Waltham Schools

  Waltham is genuinely one of the most price-accessible cities in the inner ring of Boston suburbs, and that access comes with a school system that is decent — but not at the top tier of the region. What I tell buyers is this: if your top priority is maximizing school district rankings, Waltham is likely not your first choice. But if you value value per dollar, proximity to Boston, and a diverse, dynamic community, Waltham delivers in ways that matter.

  For buyers who want Waltham's price point with a stronger school experience, targeting the north side of the city — specifically zones feeding into MacArthur Elementary and Kennedy Middle School — is the strategic move. Those homes sit in the strongest part of the district and are geographically closest to Lexington and Belmont, both of which are perennial top-10 districts in Massachusetts.

  And for buyers who want to compare Waltham's school landscape against what's available in Cambridge, our Cambridge MA Schools Guide covers another diverse, high-demand urban district worth understanding.

  Ready to pinpoint a specific property's school zone, or explore which Waltham neighborhoods offer the best combination of price and school assignment? Book a consultation with the Steinmetz team — we've helped hundreds of buyers make exactly this kind of decision with clarity and confidence.

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  FAQ: Waltham MA School Districts & Homes