Natick Among Safest School Districts In Massachusetts: Niche

NATICK, MA—How safe is your child's school? Well, if you're in the Natick school system, very safe.

Recent national events have put student safety at the forefront, and one website has revealed which Massachusetts school districts rank highest in this category. Niche.com released its list of the Safest School Districts for 2018, and Natick schools ranked at number 17.

"I am not surprised at all," said Natick Superintendent Peter Sanchioni. "This is a commendation of our safety protocols, our bullying prevention, and intervention plans, our programs for at-risk youth, our communication systems with parents, students and the community and our highly talented and caring counselors, therapists, teachers, and administrators."

The list was created using information from the U.S. Department of Education, the FBI, parent reviews and other data. Niche assigned the most value – 50 percent – to health and safety reports from students and parents; expenses per student and student absenteeism were assigned the second-most value at 10 percent, suspensions accounted for 7.5 percent; and expulsions, law enforcement referrals and school-related arrests rounded were at 5 percent.

According to Niche, Natick has 5,368 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 14 to 1. According to state test scores, 74 percent of students are at least proficient in math and 82 percent in reading.

Here's what Natick got for overall grades:

• Academics: A+
• Teachers: A
• Clubs and Activities: A
• Administration: A
• Food: A
• Diversity: B-
• College Prep: A+
• Health and Safety: A+
• Sports: A+
• Resources and Facilities: A

Below are the 100 safest school districts in Massachusetts, according to Niche:

1. Cambridge Public Schools
2. Easton Public Schools
3. Wellesley Public Schools
4. Duxbury Public Schools
5. Westford Public Schools
6. Swansea Public Schools
7. Franklin Public Schools
8. Auburn Public Schools
9. Milton Public Schools
10. Beverly Public Schools
11. Norwood Public Schools
12. Berkshire Hills Public Schools, Stockbridge
13. Longmeadow Public Schools
14. Westborough Public Schools
15. Dartmouth Public Schools
16. Natick Public Schools
17. Quincy Public Schools
18. Shrewsbury Public Schools
19. Lynn Public Schools
20. Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, Wilbraham
21. Manchester Essex Regional School District, Manchester
22. Marshfield Public Schools
23. Reading Public Schools
24. Revere Public Schools
25. Sutton Public Schools
26. Hingham Public Schools
27. Brockton Public Schools
28. Methuen Public Schools
29. Winchester Public Schools
30. Foxborough Public Schools
31. Braintree Public Schools
32. Mendon-Upton Regional School District, Mendon
33. Tewksbury Public Schools
34. Amesbury Public Schools
35. Fairhaven Public Schools
36. Medfield Public Schools
37. Andover Public Schools
38. Norton Public Schools
39. Marblehead Public Schools
40. Bedford Public Schools
41. Southern Berkshire Public Schools, Sheffield
42. Woburn Public Schools
43. Uxbridge Public Schools
44. Chicopee Public Schools
45. Burlington Public Schools
46. Hull Public Schools
47. Haverhill Public Schools
48. Groton-Dunstable Regional School District, Groton
49. Lenox Public Schools
50. East Longmeadow Public Schools
51. Fitchburg Public Schools
52. Monomoy Regional School District, Chatham
53. Hatfield Public Schools
54. Canton Public Schools
55. Swampscott Public Schools
56. Danvers Public Schools
57. Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District, South Yarmouth
58. Nashoba Public Schools, Bolton
59. Millis Public Schools
60. West Bridgewater Public Schools
61. Ayer Shirley School District, Ayer
62. Easthampton Public Schools
63. Plymouth Public Schools
64. Needham Public Schools
65. Hanover Public Schools
66. Gateway Regional School District
67. Littleton Public Schools
68. East Bridgewater Public Schools
69. Cohasset Public Schools
70. Stoughton Public Schools
71. Rockland Public Schools
72. Hopkinton Public Schools
73. Millbury Public Schools
74. Masconomet Public Schools, Boxford
75. Weston Public Schools
76. Amherst-Pelham Regional School District
77. Maynard Public Schools
78. Freetown-Lakeville Regional School District, Lakeville
79. Clinton Public Schools
80. Whitman-Hanson Regional School District, Whitman
81. Lowell Public Schools
82. Mansfield Public Schools
83. Westfield Public Schools
84. Scituate Public Schools
85. Wakefield Public Schools
86. Taunton Public Schools
87. Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District, Southwick
88. Lexington Public Schools
89. Georgetown Public Schools
90. North Reading Public Schools
91. Wareham Public Schools
92. Wachusett Public Schools
93. Tantasqua Public Schools
94. Hopedale Public Schools
95. Medway Public Schools
96. Grafton Public Schools
97. Belchertown Public Schools
98. North Andover Public Schools
99. Norwell Public Schools

Click here for Niche's full list.

Alex Newman contributed to this report.

Photo via town of Natick