North Middlesex Regional High School: A School in Crisis – Where Student Voices Are Silenced, Culture is Destroyed, and Unpopular Changes Are Leading to a Backlash

By The ClearScope Network | @ClearScopeNet

September 12, 2025

The 2025-2026 school year at North Middlesex Regional High School (NMRHS) is quickly becoming one of the if not the most controversial and frustrating periods in the school's history. Once a place where students felt connected, involved, and heard, NMRHS is now a battleground where administrators are pushing through a series of unpopular changes that students feel are ruining their school environment—and their voices are being drowned out by the top-down decisions. In this piece, ClearScope Network takes a hard look at the troubling state of affairs at NMRHS, where students are facing steep fees, loss of privileges, and drastic changes to the school culture, all without a real opportunity to speak up.

The Student Voice Is Being Erased

Students at NMRHS are feeling more and more like they're being shut out of the conversation. The administration’s heavy-handed approach to school policies has left many students feeling voiceless, with their concerns either ignored or dismissed. The institution that should be a place for open dialogue and collaboration now feels more like a machine where students' needs and opinions are simply not heard.

One of the most glaring examples of this disregard for student input is the complete lack of meaningful response to student surveys, petitions, and complaints. On September 6th, 2025, a “Hills and Valleys” survey was issued to students, asking for feedback on the school’s direction. To the dismay of many, it appears that the results were ignored—there’s been no indication that the administration took any action to address the concerns voiced by students. The same sense of neglect is felt when it comes to the Senior Week Survey. Despite only 15 responses after a full week, this lack of student engagement is telling. If only 15 seniors could be bothered to fill out a survey about their senior week, it’s clear that the spirit of involvement at NMRHS is at an all-time low.

The Steep Price of Parking and Club Fees

Let’s start with the parking policy. For years, students had access to the school’s parking lot without issue. This year, however, students are facing a staggering fee to park on campus—a fee that many students and their families find outrageous. With on-campus parking permits costing $250 (until Dec 1, 2025 – where fees will decrease from $250 to $125 and then decrease to $75 after Feb 23, 2026 - June 10, 2026), it’s likely that some students are opting to park across the street in an adjacent lot with more open space. However this solution might not last much longer as businesses occupying the lot—understandably unhappy—have begun threatening to tow student vehicles, even adding an electronic sign as a warning for students to stay out.

It’s a lose-lose: businesses are frustrated, students are angry, and the school has done little to present an alternative beyond just pay the $250. If teachers were asked to pay this same fee, you can bet this policy would be gone by now. This has left students scrambling for alternatives, as they are forced to either pay the inflated fee or risk parking in other areas and facing fines or towing. It’s not hard to understand why students are frustrated; why should they be charged so much to park at a public school?

Adding insult to injury, students are also being required to pay a $75 fee for a “Patriot Card” in order to participate in some clubs. For students who are already juggling schoolwork, extracurriculars, and social lives, this fee has led to an alarming drop in club participation, especially in groups like Student Council, where members are now leaving in droves. The card, which many students view as an unnecessary financial burden, has turned what used to be a vibrant and inclusive extracurricular environment into a shadow of its former self. Some students have already dropped out of clubs, and as the policy is enforced, this number will likely grow. As we noted earlier, this "Patriot Card" is not required for all clubs. Activities where the "Patriot Card" fee is waived include: Academic Honors such as NHS, NAHS, Rho Kappa, and Tri M, as well as Service Learning Clubs such as: Giving Tree, NYSL, NOLA, and Garden Club.

And if you think the fees are over, think again. As part of the costs associated with senior year, each senior will be required to pay $200 in "Class Dues," which will go towards funding Senior Week activities and contributing to prom expenses. It's important to note that this fee is separate from the cost of prom tickets, which will still be roughly $80 per person in the spring. In response to this, enthusiasm for Senior Week seems to be dwindling. The Senior Week survey, which was sent out to gather ideas for the event, received only 15 responses over the course of an entire week. This lack of engagement is a clear reflection of the growing apathy surrounding school spirit. With financial pressures mounting on seniors—and on juniors, sophomores, and freshmen as well—many students are feeling the strain of constantly having money pulled from their pockets. Senior Week, instead of being a time of excitement and celebration, feels like another financial burden that many aren't eager to take on, especially when they also have to pay separately for prom tickets. The lack of excitement surrounding these events is a symptom of a broader issue with school pride, and it’s clear that many are growing weary of the increasing costs. 

A School Culture That’s Falling Apart

The culture at NMRHS is rapidly deteriorating. The heart of a strong school community lies in its students, but with the current policies, NMRHS is alienating its student body. One of the biggest changes this year is the new locker policy that has forced students to store their backpacks and personal items in lockers throughout the day. Previously, students could carry their belongings with them, making it easier to remember what they needed for each class. Now, with the new policy, students have 5 minutes to retrieve their items from lockers between classes but just 2 minutes after lunch, which is not enough time—especially considering how difficult it is for students with lockers on the opposite side of the building.

But it’s not just backpacks that have been banned. The school’s food policy has gone into full force, completely restricting students from eating in classrooms. In past years, students could bring snacks or meals to FLEX Block, which helped maintain focus and energy throughout the day. Now, anyone found eating outside of the cafeteria is immediately instructed to throw out their food, and students caught with food or a backpack are subjected to discipline. It’s a sharp departure from previous years, and one that many students are unhappy with. 

Perhaps one of the most glaring examples of this shift in school culture is the replacement of FLEX Block with Advisory. FLEX used to provide students with the freedom to catch up on work, seek help from teachers, or just take a break in the middle of the day. This was a time students actually enjoyed. Advisory, on the other hand, has been little more than a frustrating waste of time, with students forced to engage in childish activities like writing in journals, watching anti-bullying videos, and filling out pointless surveys. These activities do nothing to address students’ real concerns, and they are an insult to students who are now expected to endure them on a daily basis.

In addition, Earbuds and headphones are banned during the school day as well outside of lunch. A recent email from Principal Laurie Smith even threatened a total ban if students don’t comply. Combine this with the two-minute window students are given to get from lunch to their lockers and then to class, and the result is a daily sprint filled with stress, tardies, and after a certain number of tardies—ultimately—detentions.

A Community Disconnected 

These drastic changes haven’t gone unnoticed by the wider community either. The removal of the football team has left many in Pepperell, Townsend, and Ashby angry and confused. In response, the administration launched a new Senior Citizens Lunch Program, inviting elders from the three towns to eat in the student cafeteria on Fridays. Something we'll get back to later.

Even Teachers Are Pushing Back 

While student voices have been consistently dismissed or ignored, sources indicate that even some teachers are growing frustrated with the new policies—especially the Patriot Card.

And let’s not forget the now heavily enforced phone policy, requiring students to place phones into caddies at the start of every class. While most teachers handle it in ways that make sense, the policy gives administration the power to confiscate and hold a student's phone until a parent picks it up—a step many students see as punitive overreach.

Meanwhile, Smart Watches and iPads continue to be loopholes in the policy, undercutting its purpose entirely. Which is quite odd. Especially when considering how how much the phone policy is being pushed during the 2025-2026 school year.

Senior Citizens at Lunch—The Final Straw? 

Among the many unpopular changes this year is the Senior Citizens Lunch Program, which was announced by Principal Laurie Smith on September 9th. Under this initiative, senior citizens from Pepperell, Townsend, and Ashby are invited to join NMRHS students for lunch on Fridays. The idea is to strengthen connections between the school and the community—but it’s one that has been met with widespread frustration. For the seniors, it’s an awkward, uncomfortable situation where they’ll likely sit alone in the Annex while students shy away from engaging with them. For students, it’s yet another disruption to their social time, and it comes at the expense of their senior year experience as the Annex was previously an exclusive section of the Cafeteria for the twelfth graders to sit. But with the new Senior Citizens Lunch program, it has transformed into the Senior CITIZEN seating area (at least on Fridays).

The Annex has always been the exclusive lunch space for high school seniors, but now, students are being told they must share that space with senior citizens—a decision that was never voted on or requested by students. This has left many seniors feeling betrayed, especially as the lunch period was one of the few places where they could relax and unwind during a busy day.

The Breakdown of School Spirit

School spirit at NMRHS is at an all-time low, and it’s easy to see why. Between the loss of FLEX Block, the ban on backpacks and food, the $75 Patriot Card fee, numerous other fees, and the lack of real change after many complaints, students are feeling disconnected and alienated from the very institution they are supposed to feel proud of. 

The frustration is reflected in the low response rate to the Senior Week Survey, where only 15 seniors bothered to fill out the form. This lack of interest in something as important as Senior Week is a direct result of the policies and changes that have made students feel ignored and disempowered. School administrators can’t seem to grasp that a school’s spirit is built on the foundation of student input and involvement—and right now, that foundation is crumbling.

What’s Next?

The 2025-2026 school year is shaping up to be a disaster for NMRHS. With students being hit with absurd fees for parking, clubs, and mandatory payments, while their voices are being shut out, it’s no wonder that so many are dissatisfied with the direction the school is heading. The student body is frustrated, and the administration’s response to this frustration has been to tighten the reins even further, imposing more rules and restrictions that have only alienated the very people they should be listening to.

At The ClearScope Network, we believe it’s time for the students of NMRHS to have their voices heard. They deserve a platform where their concerns are addressed, where their opinions matter, and where they can fight for the changes they desperately need. Together, we can build a movement that gives students a say in their future and holds the administration accountable for the changes they’re pushing through and the effect it has on students and staff. The time for change is now—students, teachers, and community members alike are calling for it. And at ClearScope, we'll do what we can to make it happen.

The only question is: Will the administration listen? And will the students of NMRHS be heard?