High Tech High School

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This article is about the school in North Bergen, New Jersey. For the article about the school in Lincroft, New Jersey, see High Technology High School. For the school in San Diego, California, see Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High Charter School.
High Tech High School
Location
2000 85th Street
North Bergen, NJ 07047
Information
Type Magnet Public high school
Established 1991
Principal Joseph Giammarella
Faculty 59 (on FTE basis)[1]
Enrollment 591 (as of 2009-10)[1]
Student to teacher ratio 10.02[1]
Color(s) Teal and Purple          
Mascot Lasercat
Website School website

High Tech High School is a full-time magnet public high school, located in North Bergen, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Hudson County Schools of Technology. Since its establishment in 1991, High Tech High School has been named a Top Ten High School, a Governor's School of Excellence, a New Jersey Star School (twice) and has been cited by New Jersey Monthly magazine as one of the state's great public high schools.[2] The school is well noted for exceeding highly in the sciences and in the performing arts (winning several awards in both fields).

As of the 2009-10 school year, the school has an enrollment of 591 students and 59 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.02.[1]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 19th out of 367 public high schools statewide in its 2009-10 rankings which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[3]

Contents

[edit] Demographics

High Tech High School was founded in 1991 by the Hudson County Schools of Technology school district to provide Hudson County residents with a quality public education in a technology based environment. The high school has grown from 30 students in 1991 to 480 students in present school year. High Tech has been able to maintain a student to faculty ratio of 12 to 1. Hudson County is the smallest of New Jersey's 21 counties. Highly urbanized and densely populated, the 2000 census ranked this area as fourth in the nation on the ethnicity index. As a regional magnet school, High Tech draws on its diverse student population from the 12 towns and cities within the county. The average expenditure per student is $14,760 and is derived from federal, state, and county aid. High Tech High School is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education.[4] 43% of the student body is Hispanic, 32% is Caucasian, 16% is Asian/Pacific Islander, and 9% is African American.[5]

[edit] Sports

The High Tech Lasercats had competed in the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association (HCIAA), which included private and parochial high schools in Hudson County. The league operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[6]

High Tech has a few sports teams, including girl's and boy's tennis, bowling, a judo club and basketball, as well as soccer, but their best continues to be their soccer team. This included a five year run of county championships (2004-2008).

The girls softball team won the 2008 North I, Group II state sectional championship, defeating Hoboken High School 3-1 in the tournament final.[7] The team won the first round of the Group I state championship with a 4-2 win over Pompton Lakes High School 4-2, before falling to Pennsville Memorial High School by a score of 8-2 in the final game.[8]

On March 12, 2010, mayors from all 12 municipalities in Hudson County signed a petition stating that High Tech High School and County Prep High School should eliminate their sports programs because of budget cuts.[9] On April 22, 2010; it was revealed in the new budget that sports were cut from both schools for the 2010-11 school year.[10]

[edit] Majors

At High Tech, Juniors are required to have 80 minutes of a major per day, and Seniors are required to have 120 minutes (2 hours) of a major per day[11]:

[edit] AACT program

The Academy of Architectural and Contemporary Themes, which opened in September 2006, is an academy within High Tech High School. This non-traditional learning environment is devoted to inquiry-based learning within small, personalized learning communities; students think critically and problem solve through standards-aligned interdisciplinary projects and seminars, performance-based assessment, real-world learning, and differentiated instruction. Group dynamics, writing proficiencies, project planning, and task completion skills are honed through projects. A "Personal Education Plan" is created for each student. Through modeling, facilitators teach the importance of equity, democracy, success, and lifelong learning.

[edit] Student government

According to the school's website, "The High Student Government provides the main forum for discussing student concerns and ideas.[12]

The student government consists of four student councils (one each for the freshman class, the sophomore class, the junior class, and the senior class). Student government meetings are attended by these four councils, the student government counselor, the Principal, the Vice Principal, and representatives from various departments, such as the cafeteria, maintenance, transportation, etc. In addition, student councils from new programs such as AACT are also present.

Each student council consists of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a homeroom representative from each homeroom. In addition, representatives-at-large are occasionally appointed by the President. Each council also has two faculty advisers, one male and one female.

[edit] Class of 2007 lounge

With respect to tradition, each graduating class presents a gift to High Tech High School. Previous classes have given benches and trophy cases. The Class of 2007 created a lounge next to the school's media center.

The effort behind the lounge was time-consuming and costly. Members of the student council spent the last 4–6 weeks of school finding the furniture and navigating through the school district's bureaucratic quagmire, which required approval for almost everything. Preparations for the room included removing the contents of its previous role, as well as two layers of painting. Almost all of the physical work was done during the last week of school, after regular hours.

The second to last day of the school year was when most of the work was accomplished. A few members of the student council stayed until 10 PM, setting up the tables, couches, and opening ceremony preparations. The last day of the school was chaotic, with the mounting of a flat-panel HDTV, connecting of an HD DVD player, organizing a video library that just arrived in the mail, and the mounting of the class plaque. The class plaque, which cost over $600, has the names of every member of the class engraved on it. The opening ceremony was held with less than one hour left before the Class of 2007 left High Tech.

Up until the 2010-11 school year, many students used the lounge to relax and study; today, the area that was once called the Class of 2007 Lounge now serves as a detention room.

[edit] Secondary education

High Tech boasts a large percentage of graduates who go on to matriculate in prestigious four year universities. Graduates from the class of 2010 went on to attend universities such as Georgetown, West Point, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Amherst, and Cornell.

[edit] Awards

Awards received by High Tech High School include:[2]

  • In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 49th in New Jersey and 1,516th nationwide.[13]
  • 2003 Governor's School of Excellence[14]
  • 2002 School Leader Award, NJ School Boards Association
  • 2001 Best High School Musical, Director, Costumes - Paper Mill Playhouse
  • 2000 2000 National Student Community Service Award - Skills USA
  • 1999 100 Top Wired Schools in the US by Family PC Magazine
  • 1998 New Jersey Star School by NJ Department of Education.[15]
  • 1997 Flagship School for Exemplary Video Journalism by Channel One
  • 1996 NJ Best Practices in World Languages by NJ Dept. of Education
  • 1995 New Jersey Star School by NJ Department of Education.[16]
  • 1995 10 Best Overall Schools in New Jersey by New Jersey Monthly Magazine
  • 1994 Philanthropic Corporate Award by Panasonic, Matsushita
  • 1993 Outstanding Program Award by NJASCD
  • 1992 School Leadership Exemplary Program Award by NJSBA
  • 1992 NJ State National Blue Ribbon Nominee, New Jersey Department of Education
  • 1992 School Leader Award Competition, NJ School Boards' Association
  • 1991 Model Parental Involvement Program Award by NJSBA

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d High Tech High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed June 13, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Awards, High Tech High School. Accessed June 13, 2011.
  3. ^ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed December 29, 2011.
  4. ^ About Us, High tech High School. Accessed June 13, 2011.
  5. ^ Student Teacher Ratio High Tech High School - North Bergen, New Jersey - NJ
  6. ^ Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 15, 2007.
  7. ^ 2008 Softball Tournament - North II, Group I, NJSIAA. Accessed June 28, 2008.
  8. ^ 2008 Softball Tournament - Public Semis/Finals, NJSIAA. Accessed June 28, 2008.
  9. ^ Arrue, Karina. "Hudson County mayors: Let's get rid of sports programs at County Prep and High Tech", The Jersey Journal, March 12, 2010. Accessed June 13, 2011.
  10. ^ Arrue, Karina L. "No funding for athletics in next year's budget for Hudson County Schools of Technology", The Jersey Journal, April 24, 2010. Accessed June 13, 2011. "The Hudson County Schools of Technology's board of trustees approved a $45.7 million budget Thursday night. The budget for next year eliminates the entire athletics departments at its two schools - County Prep in Jersey City and High Tech High School in North Bergen - for a savings of $368,000."
  11. ^ High Tech High School > Majors
  12. ^ Student Governments
  13. ^ Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: High Tech High School", The Washington Post. Accessed September 9, 2011.
  14. ^ McGREEVEY CELEBRATES SCHOOLS THAT ARE "GETTING IT RIGHT" Schools of Excellence Winners Demonstrate Effectiveness of Governor's Education Priorities, New Jersey Department of Education press release dated November 21, 2003
  15. ^ Star School Award Program 1997-98, accessed February 3, 2007
  16. ^ Star School Award Program 1994-95, accessed February 3, 2007

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 40°48′34″N 74°00′51″W / 40.80951°N 74.01427°W / 40.80951; -74.01427

Public and Private High Schools of Hudson County, New Jersey
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Map of New Jersey highlighting Hudson County.svg
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