Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School explained

Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School
Established:1976
Grades:9-12
District:Jersey City Public Schools
Type:Magnet public high school
Principal:Thomas Macagnano
Enrollment:701 (as of 2022–23)
Faculty:52.0 FTEs
Ratio:13.5:1
Us Nces School Id:340783002778
Nickname:Cougars
Conference:Hudson County Interscholastic League
Colors: Brown and
Yellow
Publication:Cougar Chronicle
Address:123 Coles Street
City:Jersey City
County:Hudson County
State:New Jersey
Zipcode:07302
Country:United States
Coordinates:40.7265°N -74.0471°W
Accreditation:Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School (often dubbed Academic previous to its dedication, or as McNair) is a magnet public high school located at 123 Coles Street in Jersey City, in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is named in memory of Dr. Ronald E. McNair, the astronaut and scientist who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. McNair is part of the Jersey City Public Schools district. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1979 and is under Probationary Accreditation status as of 2022.[1]

Students seeking to attend the school or to transfer in must take the PSAT in order to be considered for attendance.[2]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 701 students and 52.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.5:1. There were 184 students (26.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 55 (7.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[3]

The school offers a wide selection of Advanced Placement (AP) Courses, in addition to a standard curriculum that contains courses at the Honors level. In 2010, 21 AP courses were offered, with 897 students taking exams and 83.8% of those taking the exams scoring 3 or higher, more than quadruple the statewide average. Most electives are regular, unweighted classes. From 2008 to 2010, 100% of the class has graduated and in 2010, a full 100% of the student body indicated that they planned to attend a four-year college.[4]

History

The school originally opened as Academic High School in 1976 at 70 Sip Avenue in Jersey City. The school also rented a space in a Ukrainian building at 16 Bentley Ave on Bergen Avenue. The school's name was changed to honor the late astronaut in 1996. In 1997, the school moved to its new location at 123 Coles Street, due to safety and spacing reasons.

Beginning in the 2004–05 school year, the incoming class size was increased from 140 students to 200.

In 2004, the school's library was renamed in honor of teacher Vincent Russo. In 2009, McNair lost Dr. Sara Solberg, a teacher of English, French, Shakespeare, and Mythology. The school opened a new stage in 2010 named 'Sara's Stage' in her honor. In 2023, the school's newly renovated gym was renamed in honor of Sharon Felton. Felton spent 38 years as a teacher and volleyball coach for the school before her retirement in 2013.[5]

Achievements

Notable achievements include:

Standards

In 1976, McNair Academic High School (then Academic High School) was established as a desegregation school. All applicants must test for admission, attain high test scores, and are selected based on multiple criteria, in addition to meeting the school's diversity goals.

The school enforces a business-type dress code (though not a school uniform) for both students and teachers.[23] The basic protocols dictate the following:

Students are also required to fulfill 50 mandatory community service hours. Although the requirement was waived for the 2020-2021 graduating classes due to COVID-19. They must also maintain a final grade of 70 or higher on all of their courses. Students with a failing final grade in one course must go to summer school in order to pass the course. Student receiving a failing final grade in two or more courses cannot re-enroll in the school the following school year and must instead attend a local public or private high school.

Athletics

The McNair Academic Cougars[24] compete as part of the Hudson County Interscholastic League, which comprises public and private high schools in Hudson County.[25] The conference operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[26] With 515 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2023–24 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes,[27] which included schools with an enrollment of 452 to 698 students in that grade range.[28]

The girls' cross country team has won the North II Group I state sectional championships in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2019.[29]

The boys' cross country team has won the North II Group I state sectional championships in 2011, 2012, 2018, 2020, and 2022.[30]

The girls' spring track and field team has won North II Group I state sectional championships in 1999 and 2007.[31]

The boys' spring track and field team won the North II Group I state sectional championships in 2007.[32]

In 2006, junior Leslie Njoku won the 2006 state 400m hurdle title with a time of 59.48[33] and won the 400m hurdle title at the Nike Outdoor Nationals with a time of 59.28.[34]

The boys' indoor track team won the North II Group I state sectional championships and Group I state championship in 2017.[35]

School programs and clubs

Beyond McNair's own internal visual and performing arts programs, McNair also works closely with the Visual and Performing Arts program at the Henry Snyder High School, where McNair students may choose to apply into four-year arts intensives.

Every year McNair's Science Research students face stiff competition at the various levels of competition, such as Hudson County Science Fair, Junior Science and Humanities Competition, Siemens Westinghouse, and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

In 2022, freshman Shreeya Shankerdas founded a club at McNair dedicated to the Marvel Comics superhero Kamala Khan (aka Ms. Marvel), who is herself a native of Jersey City. The club's name, the Coles Kamala Korps, was taken from the fictional Jersey City school attended by the character,[36] which in turn was inspired by McNair itself.[36] [37] Shankerdas commented, "When I first heard about Ms. Marvel being this brown teenage girl, I thought it was really cool that we’re finally represented. On top of that, we were represented in the Marvel Universe, and I thought that was really cool, because it’s a big company."[36]

Administration

The school's principal is Thomas Macagnano. Core members of the school's administration include the assistant principal.[38]

Notable alumni

In popular culture

The high school that Marvel superhero Ms. Marvel goes to is named "Coles Academic High School," which is loosely based on McNair Academic.[37] [40]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.msa-cess.org/school-profile/?oId=0065e00000B8qbK&typ=school-profile Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School
  2. https://4.files.edl.io/3115/09/26/23/125652-933abfc8-ab46-415d-9195-a0f51ed93ecc.pdf McNair HS & Infinity PSAT 8/9 Testing Information
  3. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3407830&ID=340783002778 School data for Dr Ronald Mcnair High School
  4. http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc10/dataselect.php?c=17;d=2390;s=075;lt=D;st=H&datasection=all Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School 2010 School Report Card
  5. Web site: Journal . Jake Maher The Jersey . 2021-11-01 . McNair Academic High gym to be renamed in honor of long-time volleyball coach Sharon Felton . 2023-11-11 . nj . en.
  6. http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2008/2008-schools.html U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program: 2008 Schools
  7. "CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
  8. "Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005. "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
  9. Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013.
  10. [Jay Mathews|Mathews, Jay]
  11. Staff. "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,500 top U.S. high schools", Newsweek, June 8, 2009. Accessed June 10, 2009.
  12. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18757087/?sort=State&count=1257&search=&start=700&limit=100&year=2007& "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,200 top U.S. schools"
  13. http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/education/ss/ss3.pl?string=id=113&maxhits=10000 New Jersey Department of Education Star School Award recipients
  14. http://www.state.nj.us/njded/clear/school/gsoe/05winners.htm Snapshots of 2005 Governor's School of Excellence Winners
  15. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  16. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed October 3, 2012.
  17. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, September 2010. Accessed September 16, 2010.
  18. http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"
  19. https://archive.today/20120909055746/http://www.schooldigger.com/schoolrank.aspx?Level=3&findschool=0783002778 New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011
  20. Staff. "2016 Best High Schools Rankings - New Jersey High Schools", U.S. News & World Report. Accessed June 30, 2016.
  21. https://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/2018/national.pdf#page=20 "2018 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Non-Public Schools"
  22. Clark, Adam. "These 18 N.J. schools were named among the best in U.S. by Trump administration", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 2, 2018. Accessed October 18, 2018.
  23. Web site: Jersey City Public Schools. Gacos. Katherine. www.jcboe.org. 2016-02-28.
  24. https://www.njsiaa.org/schools/dr-ronald-e-mcnair-academic-high-school Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School
  25. https://www.hcial.org/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5genie=398 Member Schools
  26. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/2020-2021-lc-officers-schools.pdf League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021
  27. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-08/General%20Classifications%20%2722-%2723%20-%20%2723-%2724.pdf General Classifications 2022-2023, 2023-2024 Revised 8/21/23
  28. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/classification-of-member-schools.pdf Classification of Member Schools
  29. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023-10/Girls%20Cross%20Country.pdf#page=20 NJSIAA Girls Cross Country Championship History
  30. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023-10/Boys%20Cross%20Country.pdf#page=21 NJSIAA Boys Cross Country Championship History
  31. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-08/21-track-and-field-sectional-championships_0.pdf#page=10 NJSIAA Girls Outdoor Track & Field Championship History
  32. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-08/21-track-and-field-sectional-championships.pdf#page=10 NJSIAA Boys Outdoor Track & Field Championship History
  33. http://www.mctrack.org/NJSIAAMeets/SpringTrack/06ST/06MeetofChampionsg.htm 2006 NJSIAA/Star-Ledger Outdoor Track & Field State Championships - 6/7/2006
  34. http://nc.milesplit.com/meets/15074/results/35727/raw#.V3UomaIjapA Nike Outdoor Nationals - 6/15/2006 to 6/17/2006
  35. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-01/Boys%20Indoor%20Track%20%26%20Field_0.pdf Boys Winter Track and Field Championship History: 1922-2023
  36. Web site: Embiggen! Jersey City gets ready for Ms. Marvel. The Hudson Reporter. Koosau, Mark. en-US. live. May 26, 2022. July 4, 2022. June 28, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220628094336/https://hudsonreporter.com/2022/05/26/embiggen-jersey-city-gets-ready-for-ms-marvel/.
  37. Web site: Ms. Marvel: The Jersey City Superhero Who Made Good. Lewis, Danny. WNYC. en-US. October 7, 2019. July 4, 2022. June 6, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220606002731/https://www.wnyc.org/story/ms-marvel-jersey-city-superhero-who-made-good/.
  38. https://mhs.jcboe.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1535607&type=d&pREC_ID=1666600 About Us
  39. Romero, Adrienne. "Jersey City still 'feels like home' to award-winning composer", The Jersey Journal, March 18, 2019. Accessed December 24, 2019. "Joe Trapanese returned home from Hollywood on Friday to talk and help guide students of The Ethical Community Charter School about composing music and scoring for film, television and video games.... Trapanese went to McNair Academic High School and the Manhattan School of Music for his undergraduate studies."
  40. Zeitlinger, Ron. "Jersey City superhero’s star in Marvel universe just keeps rising", The Jersey Journal, October 7, 2019. Accessed March 16, 2024. "Kamala Khan is a 'Jersey City girl does good' story — sort of. The fictional 16-year-old Pakistani, aka Ms. Marvel, who lives in the city and attends 'Coles Academic High School', has landed a major role in Marvel Avengers video game due out in May 2020.... Chandak attends McNair Academic High, the real-life school where Khan’s school gets its name."

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