Until the 1960s Dover and Sherborn sent their high school students to neighboring towns' high schools. By the 1950s, the population boom was making it difficult for those schools to accept outside students, and the two towns created a regional school district. The first building was built on Farm Street in 1962. As the population continued to increase, the current high school was built on the same campus and completed in 1968. In 2004, a $43 million renovation on the campus was completed, which included a renovation of the high school building, the razing of the middle school and the new construction of the middle school. The other schools in the district are Dover Sherborn Middle School, Pine Hill School and Chickering School. The current headmaster of Dover Sherborn High school is John Smith, accompanied by assistant headmaster Ann Dever-Keegan.
Academics
Academically, the Dover-Sherborn High School has been historically ranked as one of Massachusetts' top-performing public schools. For example, in 2015, "Newsweek" magazine ranked Dover-Sherborn High School as the 16th best high school in the country. In 2014, Boston Magazine rated Dover-Sherborn High School as the best public school in Greater Boston. From 2011-2019, Boston Magazine ranked the Dover-Sherborn School System as number one in Massachusetts. US News recognized this by including DSHS amongst the top 100 public high schools in America. For the 2006–2007 school year, DSHS tenth-grade students ranked fourth in English and math among their peers on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam. Ninety-six percent of the class of 2006 took the SAT I and 56% scored over 600 in the verbal section, 65% scored over 600 in the math section and 58% scored over 600 in the writing section. About 97% of all graduates attend college or university.
Extracurricular activities
The school offers sports including American football, soccer, cross country, golf, field hockey, basketball, alpine and Nordic skiing, swimming, baseball, lacrosse, track and field, tennis, hockey and sailing. The Dover-Sherborn athletic department is headed by Jeff Parcells. Parcells took on the roll of athletic director at the beginning of the 2015 school year, succeeding former A.D Heath Rollins. Since Parcells move from Sutton High school, he has helped guide Dover Sherborn teams to multiple state and league titles across a variety of sports. Dover-Sherborn has won Tri-Valley League and Mass Bay East League titles dating back to the early 1970s, and has won ten state championships over the course of its history: 1981 boys' basketball, 2019 boys' basketball, 1982 Men's Skiing, 1992 boys' soccer, 1994 Girls' Tennis, 2009 girls' tennis, 2010 boys' soccer, 2011 Girls' Soccer, 2012 Boys' lacrosse, 2013 Boys' lacrosse, and 2015 Boys' Alpine Skiing. From 2003-2007 the boys' and girls' lacrosse teams have met with success in the Tri-Valley League, consistently placing second only to Medfield. The boys' lacrosse team as of recently though, has won two Division III state championships and three Tri Valley League titles. Anchored by the 2013 graduates, the Raiders men's lacrosse team was able to win back-to-back state championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2014 the Raiders returned to the finals, making their 7th appearance in the championship game, but were defeated by Cohasset 10-9. The defeat marked the third time in the last six years in which the Raiders had lost in the State Finals by a single goal. The school is part of The Education Co-operative, which allows DSHS students to take part in internships with local companies and also enroll in TEC Classes. The Chess Team became league champions in 2007. A DSHS student project officially represented MA State at the International Science and Engineering Fair hosted by Intel in 2006. In 2007, DSHS became home to a Siemens Competition Semifinalist. The school's Drama Department puts on two productions each year: an autumn play and a spring musical. The program is supported by the local community through organizations such as Friends of the Performing Arts, The Mudge Foundation, The Dover-Sherborn Education Fund, and Len Schnabel of DesignLight. Theater productions are performed primarily at The Mudge Auditorium in the Lindquist Commons building. Some local productions are also performed at the Sherborn Community Center/1858 Town House. Productions include: Children of Eden, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fiddler on the Roof, Seussical, The Importance of Being Earnest, Godspell, The Odd Couple, Anything Goes, Once Upon a Mattress, The Crucible, Pippin, and West Side Story. In 2018 seniors Brett Melican and Sophie Charron began a student-run drama group with a production of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit.
Notable alumni
Dan Bennett, Class of 1980, defense attorney, current Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety and Security
Paul Calello, Class of 1979, chairman Credit Suisse
Eli Dershwitz, Class of 2014, Under-20 World Saber Champion, and US Olympic saber fencer
