Cambridge Rindge and Latin School

Alright, take a deep breath and really look at this place—because you’re standing on the front lawn of a school that’s more than just a collection of classrooms! Imagine, for a second, this area way back in the 1600s. Instead of a busy modern city, picture dusty roads, horse-drawn carts, and a handful of houses surrounded by wild fields. Here, the people of Cambridge—fresh from the big adventures of settling a new land—decided their kids needed a little more than tree-climbing and cow-chasing. In 1648, not long after Harvard’s very first students graduated, Cambridge set up Master Elijah Corlett’s “lattin schoole”—where kids, only boys at first, learned things like Latin, Greek, and how to behave around slightly grumpy professors. Fast forward through the centuries, and you can almost hear the thrum of chalk on slate boards and the chorus of students groaning at Latin verbs. Girls finally joined the fun in 1832, and—no surprise—probably made the school a lot more interesting. By the mid-1800s, education was almost the city’s favorite sport. Neighborhoods competed over who could build the best high school—one for Cambridgeport, one for Old Cambridge, and one for East Cambridge. Eventually, the walls came down (not literally, but close—imagine a tug-of-war with school books), and Cambridge High School opened to everyone, instantly filled to the rafters with eager students. Now, here’s where things start to get wild. By 1886, the school split into “Cambridge Latin School,” the fancy-pants spot for future college students, and “Cambridge English High School,” for just about everyone else. The Latin School moved into a church—imagine taking a math test in a pew!—and the English High got its own building. Kids with big dreams could choose their schooling flavor, but just when everyone was finally getting along, the city decided to shake things up again. Jump to 1977, and two rival schools—Rindge Technical School and Cambridge High and Latin—merged to create the super-school you see here: Cambridge Rindge and Latin. Suddenly, over 2,000 students poured in. The building practically vibrated with energy (to say nothing of the cafeteria lines!). But it’s not just a history of chalk dust and detentions. The school has been a test kitchen for education—at one time, it offered a special program called The Pilot School, with small classes and learning adventures all over Cambridge. It was basically “choose your own adventure,” but with homework. And the newspaper? It’s older than your average grandparent! It started way back in 1891, morphed and merged through the years, and finally became the Register Forum. This paper has covered everything from city events to school sports—and yes, they used to print it at Harvard before going out-of-state when things got pricey. There have been bumps in the road, too. Like any dramatic teen movie, CRLS has had controversies—student walkouts protesting injustice, fierce debates when the school shifted from the Warriors to Falcons as a mascot (goodbye, gold and brown, hello, fierce bird energy). There have been protests for safety and equality, a beloved Media Arts Program that launched future sports broadcasters, and even a “firestorm” when a headmaster’s attempt at reform led her to start a brand-new charter school. And did I mention sports? You can almost hear the echo of sneakers on gym floors and the roar of crowds in November cheering the football team at their big Thanksgiving game—plus spring and winter sports galore. If you visit in the afternoon, listen for the thump of basketballs or the chatter of track teams warming up.