Ewing High School (New Jersey) Explained

Ewing High School
Established:September 1951
Grades:9-12
District:Ewing Public Schools
Type:Public high school
Principal:Ed Chmiel
Enrollment:1,109 (as of 2022–23)
Faculty:90.0 FTEs
Ratio:12.3:1
Us Nces School Id:340492003068
Team Name:Blue Devils
Conference:Colonial Valley Conference (general)
West Jersey Football League (football)
Colors: Blue
White
Address:900 Parkway Avenue
City:Ewing Township
County:Mercer County
State:New Jersey
Zipcode:08618
Country:United States
Coordinates:40.2547°N -74.7917°W
Pushpin Map:USA New Jersey Mercer County#USA New Jersey#USA
Newspaper:The Ewing Voice[1]
Yearbook:Clepsydra

Ewing High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Ewing Township, in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Ewing Public Schools.

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,109 students and 90.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.3:1. There were 384 students (34.6% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 92 (8.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]

History

The school opened in September 1951 with an enrollment of 665 students in seventh through tenth grades in a facility constructed on a site covering on Parkway Avenue. Prior to the school's opening, students from Ewing Township had been sent to attend Trenton Central High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[3] [4]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 252nd-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 212th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 258th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[6] The school was ranked 196th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[7]

Curriculum

Academically, Ewing High School operates on an intensive block schedule, which allows students the opportunity to take eight courses (40 credits) a year, four classes during each semester. Each instructional block is 87 minutes, with an average teacher-student ratio of 1:11.1. Included in the 140-credit requirement are four courses in English, four in Science, three in Math, three in History, and one in a World Language (French, Spanish or Italian) all offered on four ability levels. The school offered over 225 courses during the 2006-07 school year, including a new Computer Science course sequence.

The school's Senior Experience program allows students the option of being dually enrolled at local colleges and universities, completing an internship at a local business, school, or government organization, or participating in a supervised work experience during their senior year. Each year several students are selected to attend the Princeton University Preparatory Program and the Sarnoff Corporation's Dixon Mentoring in Engineering Program.

Of the 231 students in the 2005 graduating class, 71% were accepted to over 150 colleges and universities nationwide, with the balance moving on to technical schools, the military, or employment. 12 graduated as Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars for 2006-2007.

Extracurricular activities

Clubs offered include Anime Club, Drama Club, Athletic Club, Cheerleaders, Coffee for the Soul, Debate Team, EITC, Environmental Club, Forza Ewing, French Club, Frescoes, Gay-Straight Alliance, Handbell Choir, Key Club, Junior State of America, Math Club, National Honor Society, Newspaper, Odyssey of the Mind, REBEL, Renaissance, a FIRST Robotics team, Rotary Interact Club, SADD, School Show, Sign Language Club, Spanish Club, Spring Musical, Step Team, Student Government and Yearbook.

Music program

Ewing High also offers a comprehensive music program that includes orchestra, jazz band, marching band, choir, and Mastersingers. Their string orchestra includes instruments such as violin, viola, cello, and double bass. In the marching band the main instruments are the flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, tuba, trombone, and drums. The jazz band and Mastersingers are groups that meet outside of school hours, while orchestra, marching band, and choir all have designated classes that meet every other day during school.

Athletics

The Ewing High School Blue Devils[8] compete in the Patriot Division of the Colonial Valley Conference, which comprises public and private high schools located in Mercer, Middlesex and Monmouth counties and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[9] With 844 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range.[10] The football team competes in the Capitol Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[11] [12] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 680 to 889 students.[13]

Interscholastic athletics include 19 different sports available at a variety of levels (freshman, junior varsity, and varsity). Sports programs offered at the school include (B=Boys', G=Girls', C=Coed):[8]

The school participates with Hightstown High School in a joint ice hockey team in which Ewing High School acts as the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[14]

The boys' bowling team was the overall state title in 1967, and was the Group II state champion in 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2014. The five state titles are ranked third among all schools in the state.[15]

The boys soccer team was the Group IV co-champion in 1968 (with Hackensack High School) and was Group III co-champion in 1975 (with Tenafly High School).[16] The 1968 team finished the season with a 13–4–4 record after a 1–1 tie with Hackensack in the Group IV championship game left both teams as co-champions.[17] The 1975 team had a 17–3–1 record for the season after earning a co-championship following a 0–0 tie against Tenafly in the Group III tournament final.[18]

The girls' field hockey team won the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional championships in 1977.[19]

The football team has won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III state sectional title in 1981, beating Somerville High School 21-18, and in 1985 with a 3-0 win versus Colonia High School.[20]

The girls bowling team won the overall state championship in 1984.[21] The 2020 team won the Central Jersey Group II sectional title, the program's first.[22] The 2022 team edged Barnegat High School by 62 pins to win the Group III state championship, after placing second in the Central Jersey Group II sectional finals.[23]

The boys' basketball team, under coach Emil Wandishin, won the New Jersey State Group III championships in 1986 (defeating Clifford Scott High School in the finals) and 1992 (vs. Orange High School), and won the Group II title in 2012 (vs. Pascack Valley High School).[24] The team used four late foul shots in the waning seconds of the championship game to take the 1992 Group III title with a 54-51 win against Orange High School in the tournament final.[25] The team won the Central Jersey Group III sectional title in 2000, with a 38-35 win over Wall High School.[26] The team also won the 2007 Central, Group II state championship, topping Somerville High School 57-43.[27] The team went on to win the 2011 Central Jersey Group II state championship, defeating Raritan High School 44-42.[28] They went on to lose in the NJSIAA Group II state final to Newark Central by a score of 66-58.[29] The 2012 team won the Group II state title with a 59-50 win against Pascack Valley High School in the tournament final, making Shelley Dearden the first woman to coach a boys basketball team to a state championship.[30]

The 1991 girls soccer team won its share of the Group III state championship after a 1–1 tie against Northern Highlands Regional High School in the tournament final.[31] [32]

The girls' basketball team won the 1999 Group III state championship, defeating Sparta High School by a score of 54-41 in the tournament final[33] [34] and advanced to the Tournament of Champions as the fourth seed, beating fifth-seed Haddonfield Memorial High School 59-55 in overtime in the first round before falling to number-two St. John Vianney High School 73-47 in the semifinals to finish the season with a record of 25-4.[35] [36] The team won the 2000 Central Jersey Group III sectional championship under coach Shelley Dearden.[37]

The boys indoor track team won the Group III state title in 2003.[38]

The girls' track team sailed on to victory by placing 6th and becoming All-Americans at the Nike Indoor Nationals in 2005. Jenise Jones placed 4th in the 55m Hurdles making her a two-time All-American.

The girls team won the NJSIAA spring / outdoor track state championship in Group II in 2008 (as co-champion).[39]

The softball team won the 2014 Central Jersey Group III sectional championship under coach Dan Bernoski, the team's first sectional title since 1981.[40]

Administration

The school's principal is Ed Chmiel. His core administration includes two assistant principals.[41]

Notable alumni

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.ewing.k12.nj.us/domain/73 Extracurricular Activities
  2. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3404920&ID=340492003068 School data for Ewing High School
  3. Tesauro, Jo Ann. Ewing Township, pp. 96-97. Arcadia Publishing, 2002. . Accessed March 24, 2022. "In 1946, a 23-acre parcel fronting Parkway Avenue was chosen for the future site of a township junior-senior high school. Grades seven through twelve were attending Trenton schools, where tuition was paid.... Construction on Ewing High School was completed in 1951. The first school year spanned from September 1951 to June 1952. Ninth and tenth grade students were accommodated at this time."
  4. https://books.google.com/books?id=EIhMAAAAYAAJ&q=ewing+%22high+school%22+trenton+1951 "High School for 1000 students"
  5. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  6. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed April 11, 2011.
  7. http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"
  8. https://www.njsiaa.org/schools/ewing-high-school Ewing High School
  9. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/2020-2021-lc-officers-schools.pdf League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021
  10. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/general-classifications-2018-2020.pdf NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020
  11. https://www.gridironnewjersey.com/schoolDetail.aspx?schoolid=79 Ewing Blue Devils
  12. https://www.westjerseyfootball.com Home Page
  13. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-08/Football%20%2722%20%26%20%2723.pdf NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024
  14. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-12/winter-co-ops-2020-21.pdf NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs
  15. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-07/22%20Bowling.pdf History of NJSIAA Boys' Bowling Championships
  16. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-boys-soccer-history.pdf NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer
  17. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/491769032/ "Comets Share Group 4 Title"
  18. Farber, Mike. "Tenafly gains share of title in Group 3", The Record, November 30, 1975. Accessed March 10, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Tenafly plays position soccer, but its position Friday startled coach Charlie Billings.... The Tigers outplayed Ewing to a scoreless tie in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 3 soccer final, earning their first share of a State soccer title."
  19. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-girls-field-hockey_0.pdf History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships
  20. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-football.pdf NJSIAA Football History
  21. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/20-bowling_0_0.pdf History of NJSIAA Girls Bowling Championships
  22. Nalawsky, Chris. "Ewing wins at C.J. Sectional Championships for first time", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 8, 2020. Acecssed March 2, 2022. "Ewing was one of four girls bowling teams that won at the NJSIAA Central Jersey Sectional Championships on Saturday at Bowlero in North Brunswick. The Group 2 title for Blue Devils is their first in school history. Ewing, which was in second place to Matawan after the first round, took the lead after the second and held it for the win, tallying a score of 2,692."
  23. Fisher, Rich. "Ewing High School girls' bowlers win state championship", Community News, March 1, 2022. Accessed March 24, 2022. "But that is exactly how it turned out on Feb. 14, as the Ewing High girls bowling team was loving life on Valentine’s Day after winning the NJSIAA Group 3 state championship at Bowlero Lanes in North Brunswick. In winning the girls program’s first state title, The Blue Devils amassed 2,440 pins in three sets to outdistance Barnegat by 62."
  24. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/2020-girls-basketball-history.pdf NJSIAA Group Basketball Past Champions
  25. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/182857702/ "Ewing surprises Orange in Group 3 54-51"
  26. http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=325&tclass=Central%2C%20Group%20III Public Sectionals - Central, Group III
  27. http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=202502&tclass=Central%2C%20Group%20II 2007 Boys' Basketball - Central, Group II
  28. Christie, Sherlon. "Boys: Ewing stops Raritan in NJSIAA CJ Group II final", Asbury Park Press, March 7, 2011. Accessed March 25, 2012. "Griffin had a 3-point play opportunity but he missed the corresponding free throw and neither team scored in the final 1:38 as No. 2 seed Ewing defeated host No. 1 seed Raritan, 44-42, to win the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II title Monday night."
  29. Kinney, Mike. "Ewing (58) at Newark Central (66), NJSIAA Group Tournament, Final Round, Group 2", The Star-Ledger, March 13, 2011. Accessed March 25, 2012. "Ewing's first shot attempt missed and Johnson grabbed the rebound and made a quick outlet to Patrick Cole, who fed Kameen McPleasant for the layup that triggered a game-ending run that guided Central to a 66-58 victory for the NJSIAA Group 2 championship last night at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway."
  30. https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/article/pascack-hills-50-at-ewing-59-njsiaa-group-tournament-final-round-group-2-boys-basketball/ "Pascack Hills (50) at Ewing (59), NJSIAA Group Tournament, Final Round, Group 2 - Boys Basketball"
  31. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-girls-soccer.pdf NJSIAA History of Girls Soccer
  32. Mayer, John. "Highlands gains share of title", The Record, November 24, 1991. Accessed January 27, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Teams usually become despondent when allowing a goal, but Northern Highlands took the opposite approach in Saturday's Group 3 State girls soccer final. The effort earned the Highlanders a 1-1 tie with Ewing and a share of the title."
  33. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/2020-girls-basketball-history.pdf NJSIAA Girls Basketball Championship History
  34. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/143954143/ "East Brunswick beats Columbia"
  35. Schuman, Neil. "Vianney beats Ewing for shot at Mendham", Asbury Park Press, March 21, 1999. Accessed January 31, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Yesterday at the Dunn Sports Center, the Lancers used a 29-point second quarter to put a game Ewing team in their rearview mirror as they coasted to a 73-47 Tournament of Champions semifinal victory. Vianney showed again that even when it wins ugly, it can win big.... And 3:22 into the game, when Ewing's 6-2 senior center, Tariqah Miller, knocked down a jumper, the Blue Devils (25-4) trailed 11-9."
  36. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/2020-girls-tofc-history.pdf NJSIAA Girls Basketball Tournament Of Champions History
  37. Kipp, Guy. "Pascack Hills (50) at Ewing (59), NJSIAA Group Tournament, Final Round, Group 2 - Boys' Basketball", The Star-Ledger, March 11, 2012. Accessed March 25, 2012. "It was Ewing's first state crown since 1992, when the Mercer County school took the Group 3 championship. However, it was Dearden's second state title. She was the head coach when the Ewing girls' team won Group 3 in 1999."
  38. 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
  39. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-08/21-spring-track-group-history.pdf NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Girls
  40. Borders, Andrew. "For first time in 33 years, Ewing softball team wins CJ Group III title", The Times, May 30, 2014. Accessed September 16, 2014. "For the first time in 33 years, Ewing has won an NJSIAA softball sectional title, breaking it open late against Middletown South to win 8-2 in the Central Jersey Group III final."
  41. https://www.ewing.k12.nj.us/domain/428 Contacts
  42. Schwartz, Marc. "52, Picked Up -- An expert blackjack card counter shares his strategy", The Record, April 22, 2007. Accessed November 8, 2015. "The Ewing high school graduate works with underprivileged kids in the Washington, D.C., area."
  43. Franklin, Paul. "Franklin: Ewing High's boys' basketball adds to its legacy with sectional title win', The Times, March 10, 2014. Accessed September 16, 2014. "The stars are always out at this cozy gym, alumni like Terrance Bailey and Kelly Williams and longtime JV coach Ishmell McKithen."
  44. Kennedy, Charles Stuart. Interview with Ambassador Peggy Blackford, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, November 28, 2016. "Q: High school; where’d you go to high school? BLACKFORD: Ewing Township. When I was born, there was no high school in Ewing Township everybody used to have to take a school bus and go into the city of Trenton to Trenton High School but when I was going to elementary school, the community decided it was getting large enough to have its own high school and it was completed by the time I graduated from sixth grade. At that time, there was no junior high and I attended the next six grades at Ewing High."
  45. Franklin, Paul. "Ex-Umpire Al Clark uses his experiences to help others", The Times, May 20, 2014. Accessed March 7, 2023. "Al Clark never had the dream, but he still wound up living it.... He joined the Delaware Valley Umpire’s Association at 16 while a student at Ewing High School, and after graduating from Eastern Kentucky — 'I was a weak-armed catcher,' Clark noted — he was a school teacher for one year."
  46. http://www.pacificstrecords.com/john-coates-jr..html John Coates Jr.
  47. Bailey, Marilynn E. "Cole Bebops Into Greatness", Evening Independent, December 2, 1978. Accessed March 25, 2012. "Cole says he was pleased when he learned he and Johnson had gone to the same high school — Ewing High — in Trenton."
  48. Emanski, Joe. "Catching up with the Copelands", Ewing Observer, March 2004, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 27, 2007. Accessed October 3, 2007. "One moment, Ewing High grad Hollis Copeland was negotiating a new contract as a member of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association."
  49. Eckel, Mark. "Mercer County's Gerry Davis recalls friendship with Tony Gwynn", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 18, 2014, updated March 29, 2019. Accessed October 10, 2019. "Davis, one of the best hitters Mercer County has ever seen and a standout for Ewing High in the ’70s, was a teammate of Gwynn’s in the San Diego Padres organization in the ’80s and a roommate of his for a short time."
  50. Kerwick, Mike. "Harris outruns loaded hurdles field", Asbury Park Press, June 13, 2002. Accessed March 25, 2012. "But Harris did this against Dudley Dorival, a Ewing High School graduate who finished third at the World Championships last summer."
  51. Smith, Ben. "Dorival brings Olympian mindset to Rider", The Rider News, March 1, 2012. Accessed October 10, 2019. "Dorival has made strides since graduating from Ewing High School in 1993."
  52. Morris, Shaheed M. "City woman's 50-year-old letter part of TLC Kennedy special", The Trentonian, November 16, 2013. Accessed January 15, 2018. "Hirsch was born in Trenton. She graduated from Ewing High School in 1968."
  53. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/krencwa01.shtml "Wayne Krenchicki"
  54. http://evansvilleotters.com/team/coaches/index.html?staff_id=8 Wayne Krenchicki
  55. Condict, Nick. "Former Ewing football standout Steve Shimko still involved in Rutgers program despite career-ending surgery", The Star-Ledger, August 13, 2011. Accessed May 22, 2023. "Steve Shimko has taken the road less traveled, but unlike the poet Robert Frost, he did not do so by choice. Three years ago he came to Rutgers out of Ewing High School. Like all football players his age, he dreamed the dream."
  56. https://books.google.com/books?id=zJrtBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA266 Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey: 2004 Edition