Freehold Regional High School District

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Freehold Regional High School District
Superintendent: James Wasser
Business Administrator: Sean Boyce
Address: 11 Pine Street
Englishtown, NJ 07726
Grade Range: 7-12/9-12
School facilities: 6
Enrollment: 11,593 (as of 2007-08)[1]
Faculty (in FTEs): 756.9
Student–teacher ratio: 15.3
District Factor Group: GH
Web site: http://www.frhsd.com
Ind. Per Pupil District
Spending		 Rank
(*)		 7-12/9-12
Average		  %± vs.
Average
1 Comparative Cost $11,309 3 $13,710 -17.5%
2 Classroom Instruction 6,586 5 7,588 -13.2%
6 Support Services 1,322 4 1,987 -33.5%
8 Administrative Cost 1,151 2 1,475 -22.0%
10 Operations & Maintenance 1,524 11 1,816 -16.1%
16 Median Teacher Salary 67,695 39 62,000
Data from NJDoE 2009 Comparative Spending Guide.[2]
*Of 7-12/9-12 districts with any number of students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=47

The Freehold Regional High School District is a public regional school district serving students in grades 9-12 from eight communities in western Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The district, consisting of six high schools, is the largest regional high school district in the state of New Jersey.[3] The district serves students from Colts Neck Township, Englishtown, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell Township, Manalapan Township and Marlboro Township.[4]

As of the 2007-08 school year, the district's six schools had an enrollment of 11,593 students and 756.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.3.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "GH", the third highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[5]

Six Specialized Learning Centers for students who are highly motivated and talented are located throughout the District; all students from the region are eligible for enrollment, admission is competitive. The Specialized Learning Centers include the areas of Business Administration at Marlboro; Humanities at Howell; Contemporary Global Issues at Freehold Township; Medical Sciences at Freehold; Science and Engineering at Manalapan; and Law and Public Service at Colts Neck.

The District also offers a Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management Academy and a Computer Science Academy at Freehold Boro High School; a Fine and Performing Arts Academy at Howell; a Navy Junior ROTC Character and Leadership Development Academy at Colts Neck High School; an Automotive Technology Academy and a Law Enforcement and Public Safety Academy at Manalapan High School; and Animal and Botanical Sciences at Freehold Township High School. Every effort is made to keep special education students in district; a variety of in-class support, resource center, and self-contained programs are conducted.

Contents

[edit] No Child Left Behind

On October 21, 2005, the New Jersey Department of Education announced that the Freehold Regional High School District had for the second consecutive year failed to meet the minimum education standards promulgated under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. If the district failed again in 2006, it would be subject to sanctions that may include requiring the district to provide students with the opportunity to attend public schools in other New Jersey school districts no later than the 2007-2008 school year.

The FRHSD announced that five of our six high schools have achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on 40 of 40 categories established by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) for 2006. The five schools are Colts Neck, Freehold, Howell, Manalapan, and Marlboro High Schools. Freehold Township High School made AYP in 39 of 40 indicators.

The assessment of proficiency in language arts and mathematics is required by NCLB during 11th grade. In addition to the total school population, all sub-populations such as Students with Disabilities, Limited English Proficient Students, Economically Disadvantaged Students, and Ethnic groups must attain these AYP standards. The subgroups of students must take the same set of tests and meet the same AYP standards as the regular student population.

Under NCLB, students in each group must meet state-established proficiency goals in both language arts and mathematics in order to make AYP. If one group in one subject area (language arts or mathematics) at a school does not meet the targeted proficiency goal, then the school does not make AYP for that year. All students will be expected to pass the state-administered tests by 2014.

If a school misses AYP in any one of the 40 indicators after having achieved AYP in prior years, it is placed on the Department of Education’s "Early Warning" list. If a school does not make AYP two years in a row, it is placed on the NCLB “Schools in Need of Improvement” list. Schools must make AYP two years in a row in order to be removed from either the “Early Warning” or “Schools in Need of Improvement” list.

[edit] High schools

Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[6]) are:

[edit] Specialized learning centers

[edit] Academies

[edit] Communities

Effective for entering Freshman as of September 2009:

[edit] Board of Education

  • Ronald Lawson - President: Howell Township 1.05 vote
  • Chris Placitella - Vice President: Colts Neck Township .8 vote
  • Heshy Moses - Freehold Borough .8 vote
  • Kathie Lavin - Farmingdale Borough .4 vote
  • William Bruno - Howell Township 1.05 vote
  • Jennifer Sutera - Manalapan Township 1.45 vote
  • Elizabeth Canario - Englishtown Borough .4 vote
  • Barry Hochberg - Marlboro Township 1.6 vote
  • Tom Caiazza - Freehold Township 1.45 vote

[edit] Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[7][8]

  • James Wasser, Superintendent
  • Sean Boyce, Business Administrator / Board Secretary

[edit] Controversy

In July 2008 the Asbury Park Press reported that superintendent Wasser, assistant superintendent Evangelista, and a retired district administrator had received tuition reimbursement for enrolling at the unaccredited and unlicensed(since July 2008) Breyer State University, described by the newspaper as "an institution ... deemed an 'apparent diploma mill' by education officials in its home state of Alabama," and had been given salary increases based on doctoral degrees from Breyer State. This was stated to be a violation of a New Jersey law against the professional use of titles and degrees earned from unaccredited institutions. The superintendent stated that he did not intend to seek an accredited doctoral degree, but he planned to continue using the title "Dr."[9][10]

At the 9/22/2008 BOE meeting, Mr. Wasser in replying to a question from a concerned citizen said "I don't work for you, you don't pay my salary" His answer has set the tone for the entire meeting

Mr. Wasser was ordered via a "cease and desist" order from the State Department of Education" to stop using the title "DR" illegally. The State Department of Education had the authority to also fine Wasser but chose not to. NJ legislators have since written new laws to prevent any other educators from using degrees from unaccredited schools.

Mr. Wasser was scheduled to speak at a National conference, however, upon learning that Mr. Wasser's degree was from a "Diploma Mill", the national conference canceled Mr. Wasser's appearance.

Mr. Wasser has posted an "apology" on the Frhsd website: http://www.frhsd.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_mjfrontpage&Itemid=50

None of the others accused of also getting doctoral degrees from the unaccredited Breyer State University have stepped forward to apologize or return income associated with this degree.

[edit] Cell Phone Controversy

Starting in the 2008-2009 school year, the FRHSD enacted a new policy stating that cell phones will be confiscated, if found, and all cell phones are subject to mandatory content inspection by administration. Text/Media Messages, Photos, Videos, and other content will be searched for objectionable and inappropriate content, such as, but not limited to: pornographic images, drug deals, and violence. This new rule has upset the students and students have started a website and a Facebook group protesting this policy. The website and group have since been removed.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b District information for the Freehold Regional High Sc School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 5, 2009.
  2. ^ Comparative Spending Guide March 2009, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 28, 2009.
  3. ^ Kocieniewski, David; and Somothers, Ronald. "Three Students and Van Driver Die in Fiery Crash in New Jersey", The New York Times, January 11, 2007. Accessed April 25, 2008. "The deaths sent shock waves through the school, which has 1,400 students and is part of the largest school district in New Jersey."
  4. ^ Freehold Regional High School District 2007 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 28, 2008. "Freehold Regional High School District, the largest high school district in New Jersey, has six high schools with almost 12,000 students and over 1,500 employees.... District members include the Townships of Colts Neck, Freehold, Howell, Manalapan, and Marlboro, and the Boroughs of Englishtown, Farmingdale, and Freehold."
  5. ^ NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 27, 2009.
  6. ^ Data for the Freehold Regional High School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 25, 2008.
  7. ^ 2008-2009 Course Catalog, Freehold Regional High School District, p. 2. Accessed July 23, 2008.
  8. ^ Monmouth County School Directory, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 5, 2009.
  9. ^ Joshua Riley, Schools chief's doctorate reviewed, Asbury Park Press, July 17, 2008.
  10. ^ Wasser, et al., BSU alumni, Asbury Park Press, July 20, 2008.
  11. ^ Down Memory Lane. Farmingdale News Transcript, September 20, 2006
  12. ^ Scott Conover at databaseFootball.com
  13. ^ a b c d Freehold High's honor roll: Tim, Bruce, Danny, Asbury Park Press, December 16, 1999
  14. ^ Seven Minutes With Kevin, Soap Opera Digest, accessed December 19, 2006. "I'm originally from Staten Island, NY, and then I moved to Howell, NJ, when I was 12 years old. I went to Howell High School and took acting classes there. "
  15. ^ Indianapolis Colts player profile: Dan Klecko - Defensive Tackle, accessed November 29, 2006
  16. ^ Cox Classic Headliners, accessed November 29, 2006
  17. ^ Meet Tom Pelphrey: Kristen Hamill chats with the Mason Gross graduate, who now can be seen on The Guiding Light, The Daily Targum, October 5, 2004
  18. ^ Colts' Reid returns home with plan to help youths, News Transcript, June 21, 2006
  19. ^ The Note: First Source for Political News, transcript from The Note, October 8, 2004

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 40°17′55″N 74°21′28″W / 40.29857°N 74.357787°W / 40.29857; -74.357787

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