Monroe Township High School
| Monroe Township High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| , 08831 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | January 1974 |
| School district | Monroe Township School District |
| Principal | Robert Goodall |
| Faculty | 165.7 (on FTE basis)[1] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,900[1] (as of 2012-13) |
| Student to teacher ratio | 11.47:1[1] |
| Color(s) | Purple Vegas Gold |
| Team name | Falcons  |
| Yearbook | Reflections |
| Website | web site |
Monroe Township High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Monroe Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades part of the Monroe Township School District. The school serves students from Monroe Township and those from Jamesburg Borough who attend Monroe Township High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Jamesburg Public Schools.[2][3] The school's mascot is a falcon, the school colors are purple and gold, and the motto is "Excellence is Our Expectation".
As of the 2012-13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,900 students and 165.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.47:1. There were no students eligible for free lunch or reduced-cost lunch.[1]
History
The original building of the school was erected in the 1970s, The Marasco Center for the Performing Arts was added to that building in the 1990s, and more classrooms were added in the early 2000s. Because of Monroe Township's increasing population, a new high school was built and was finished in time for the 2011-2012 school year, despite discovery of an old farmstead on the site.[4] The previous high school building (across the street from the current one) is now used by the township's middle school, and what was called "Applegarth Middle School" is now an elementary school building.
Monroe Township High School enforces a security policy with the addition of school IDs that are being regularly checked and cameras outside the school.
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 82nd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[5] The school had been ranked 124th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 118th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[6] The magazine ranked the school 113th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[7] The school was ranked 106th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[8]
Schooldigger.com ranked the school 178th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 17 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (78.0%) and language arts literacy (95.0%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[9]
History
The school's original building, designed to serve 1,100 students, was constructed at a cost of $4.7 million. Groundbreaking for the new facility was held in July 1971 after a bond issue to cover the costs of the building was approved by voters in May 1971, and students started using the building in January 1974.[10]
In recent years, the population of Monroe Township grew, leading to a proposal for relocation of the high school onto what was then part of the soccer fields of Thompson Park, across the road from the previous high school building. Opponents of the site of the proposed high school claim that historical records show that the new location is the 18th century site of Bethel Indian Town. An archaeological study found mostly European artifacts in portions of the 35 acres (140,000 m2) of the proposed site, with only about eight or so Native American artifacts among them. The new Monroe Township High School building was completed in 2011 on the Thompson Park property.
Athletics
The Monroe Township High School Falcons compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which comprises 33 public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County area, operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[11] With 1,455 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as Central Jersey, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,083 to 2,230 students in that grade range.[12]
The school has fall, winter, and spring sports. They are most known for football, baseball, wrestling, track, boy's and girl's soccer, and their marching band. The team's colors are purple and Vegas gold.[13]
The Falcons were the 2009-10 football Central Jersey Group III state champions, defeating Middletown High School South by a score of 30-10.[14][15]
The Falcons were the 2012-13 Greater Middlesex Conference boys varsity soccer champions, defeating South Brunswick High School by the score of 2-1, to earn the program's first conference title since 2008.[16] The team defeated Jackson Memorial High School in the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional championship by the score of 3-1, the first time that the team has won a sectional title since 1987.[17]
Administration
Core members of the school's administration are:[18]
- Principal: Robert Goodall
- Assistant Principals: James Cernansky and Scott Madreperla
Extracurricular activities
Extracurricular activities provide an opportunity for MTHS students to explore their interests, learn, and help the community. Most "clubs" meet after school when additional buses are available for after school transportation. Some clubs meet at night, in which cases the students are responsible for their own transportation.
Note: This information is taken from the Monroe Township High School Website.[19]
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Marching Falcons
The MTHS Marching Band competes in USBands competitions held within New Jersey and New York. The marching band is under the direction of Martin Griffin and Alfred Hadinger, with instructional help from Christopher C, David Rattner, Eddie Griffin, Kaitlyn Prestridge, Andrew Hayward, Don Smith and Rodney Farrar. Some of the instructors have a musical past of competing in the Drum Corps International circuit or Drum Corps Associates circuit. Ever since 2003, they have competed as an A Class marching band varying in sizes of around a group 5, 4, 3 or 2 band. After minor successes in the past, the Marching Falcons won first place in Group 2A at the 2013 USBands A Class National Championships in Allentown Pennsylvania and the 2013 USBands A Class State Championships in Group 2A in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In March 2014, the group was promoted from A class competition, to Open class competition because do their success in previous years. They are now a Group 3 Open-size marching band and plan on competing at the Open Class State and National Championships, being held in New Brunswick, NJ at Rutgers University, and at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, as well as other local events.
References
- ^ a b c d School Data for Monroe Township High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 12, 2015.
- ^ Monroe Township High School 2014 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 12, 2015. "Monroe Township High School is centrally located within a forty-three square mile suburban community in Southern Middlesex County. Originally opened on Perrineville Road in 1973, our high school became a receiving school for approximately 300 high school age students from neighboring Jamesburg in 1980."
- ^ Cheslow, Jerry. "A Townful of Empty Nesters", The New York Times, October 14, 2007. Accessed August 8, 2008. "In addition to the four elementary schools, the Applegarth Middle School teaches Grades 7 and 8, and the 1,400-student Monroe Township High School covers Grades 9 through 12. It is shared with the borough of Jamesburg, the 'hole in the doughnut' municipality in the center of the township."
- ^ Racz, Gene. "Farm remnants at Monroe site won't halt H.S. construction", Courier News (New Jersey), June 13, 2008. Accessed October 28, 2008.
- ^ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
- ^ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed November 29, 2012.
- ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
- ^ School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2003-11 HSPA results, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 6, 2012.
- ^ Ellis, Linda. "Contrasting Jersey Schools Show Dollar's Almightiness", The New York Times, February 3, 1974. Accessed August 28, 2012.
- ^ League Memberships – 2014-2015, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 12, 2014.
- ^ 2014-2015 Public Schools Group Classification: ShopRite Cup–Basketball–Baseball–Softball for Central Jersey, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of July 8, 2014. Accessed September 12, 2014.
- ^ Monroe Township High School, New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed March 12, 2015.
- ^ 2009 Central Jersey Group III Football, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 30, 2011.
- ^ Goldberg, Jeff. NJSIAA Football Playoff Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed March 7, 2012.
- ^ Tufaro, Greg. "Monroe tops South Brunswick for GMCT Boys title", Courier News, October 28, 2012. Accessed November 29, 2012. "Buffolino finished two perfectly placed corner kicks from Doyle in the opening half and the Monroe High School boys soccer team staved off a late second-half charge for a 2-1 victory over South Brunswick at Nicholas Priscoe Stadium. The conference title was the first since 2008 for the third-seeded Falcons (15-6), who have won six in a row."
- ^ Becker, Mike. "Monroe’s postseason run continues with win over Jackson Memorial", Courier News, November 20, 2012. Accessed November 29, 2012. "While their regular season did not go as well as they had hoped, Monroe continued its strong postseason play that started with its run to a Greater Middlesex Conference championship and continued in the NJSIAA Central Group IV final on Tuesday.The sixth-seeded Falcons won on the road for a third straight game, upending top-seeded Jackson Memorial, 3-1, to claim their first sectional title since 1987, 25 years and one day to the date."
- ^ Monroe Township High School 2013-14 Profile, Monroe Township High School. Accessed September 12, 2014.
- ^ Descriptions of Clubs and Activities, Monroe Township High School. Accessed October 12, 2014.
External links
- Monroe Township High School Website
- Monroe Township School District Website
- School Performance Report for Monroe Township High School, New Jersey Department of Education
- Data for Monroe Township High School, National Center for Education Statistics
40°20′50″N 74°26′18″W / 40.34719°N 74.438309°W
