Michael Baldassarre, Superintendent

       Welcome to Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District’s Web site.  Our school district serves the Massachusetts towns of New Salem, Orange, Petersham, and Wendell. The Ralph C. Mahar School Community has much to be proud of. Among the many accomplishments of our regional district, we have recently been named one of the top 500 high schools out of more that 21,000 in the United States by US News and World Report.  In partnership with Mount Wachusett Community College we have also been named the partnering high school for the Gateway to College.  This program is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and we are one of only twenty-four Gateway programs that exist nationally.   

     The willingness of our school community to adhere to the strategic plan that was created in 2006 has created many successful outcomes for our students, faculty, and staff.  This strategic plan has reached its end, and it is now time to begin anew.      This fall we will renew our strategic goals in an effort to continue to engage all students in challenging programs that will meet their individual needs. We will call upon the involvement of teachers, parents, students, and community members to set the course for our continued improvement through a plan that is informed and driven by data that currently exists, and data that we will seek out on our course to move from a “Building a Better Mahar” to the “Learning in the Best Mahar.”