Highland Park High School (New Jersey) Explained

Highland Park High School
Established:September 1926
Principal:Kristina Donovan, PhD
Enrollment:494 (as of 2022–23)
Ratio:11.5:1
Us Nces School Id:340717003372
Teamname:Owls
Conference:Greater Middlesex Conference (general)
Big Central Football Conference (football)
Colors: Cardinal and
white
Newspaper:The Highland Fling[1]
Yearbook:The Albadome
Address:102 North Fifth Avenue
Zipcode:08904
Country:United States
Coordinates:40.5017°N -74.4246°W
Pushpin Map:USA New Jersey Middlesex County#USA New Jersey#USA
Rival:Metuchen High School

Highland Park High School (HPHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the borough of Highland Park, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, as the lone secondary school of the Highland Park Public Schools system.

History

The original school building was designed by architect Alexander Merchant. Opened in September 1926, the school was named Franklin Junior High School, serving students through tenth grade and constructed at a cost of $360,000 (equivalent to $ million in). After appeals from residents, grades 11 and 12 were added and the building was renamed "Highland Park High School" in 1937, before which students from Highland Park completed their secondary school education at either New Brunswick High School or Metuchen High School.[2]

Later additions to the facility include the Science and Math wing in 1958; the English wing in 1968; the library and arts wing in the 1980s; and the cafeteria and a connected middle school (grades 6, 7, and 8) in 1996. Student population peaked in the 1960s, with a population in the 900s.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 74th-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.[3] The school had been ranked 67th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 37th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[4] The magazine ranked the school 50th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[5] The school was ranked 31st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[6] Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 184th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 54 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the two components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), mathematics (79.0%) and language arts literacy (93.3%).[7]

In 2018, Highland Park High School received the Gold Ranking by U.S. News & World Report, ranked 17th-best high school in New Jersey and 397th in the nation.[8] [9]

Also in 2018, the school won the ShopRite Cup for the best Group I sports program in New Jersey.[8] [10]

In 2008, two students were National Merit Finalists, twelve were National Merit Commended Scholars, and eleven were Bloustein Distinguished Scholars.[11]

In 2005, a team of three HPHS students were recognized as First Place National Finalists in the 13th Annual Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards science competition for their innovative design of a satellite-based earthquake and tsunami detection/prediction system.[12] [13]

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular programs at HPHS include multiple instrumental music programs, drama club and tech crew, SAGA (the Sexuality and Gender Alliance), The Highland Fling (school newspaper), a Model United Nations and Model Congress Program, which participates at the Rutgers University Model UN and Congress conferences, as well as Philadelphia Model Congress, Dead Center (literary magazine), and the Albadome (yearbook). The school also has a DECA chapter, which competes in New Jersey's Blue Division. The HPHS academic teams compete in many all-state competitions such as Science League, Math League, and the News 12-sponsored NJ Challenge. These teams excel, having won top-10 plaques in past years.

WVHP-FM

Beginning in 1971, the high school had a ten-watt FM radio station, WVHP, the voice of Highland Park, that broadcast from 6AM to 8AM and 5PM to 10:30PM Monday through Friday.

Athletics

Highland Park High School Owls[14] compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in the Middlesex County area and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[15] With 348 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.[16] The football team competes in Division 1B of the Big Central Football Conference, which includes 60 public and private high schools in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Warren counties, which are broken down into 10 divisions by size and location.[17] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 200 to 463 students.[18] The school's mascot is the Owl. The colors of HPHS and its various sports teams are maroon and white.[14]

HPHS is known for its long-time success in track and field and baseball, with more recent successes in boys' and girls' soccer and boys' and girls' tennis. There is also the girls' and boys' basketball teams and the cheer leading and dance teams that performs at football and basketball games. The school also has cross country, girls volleyball, wrestling and softball teams. HPHS is also home to an Ultimate team, the Enforcers, although the team is not affiliated with the school's varsity sports program.

The boys basketball team won the Group I state championship in 1948, defeating Weehawken High School by a score of 57-53 in the tournament's championship game.[19] [20]

The boys track team won the spring / outdoor track title in Group II in 1958, 1959 and 1960.[21]

The baseball team won the Central Jersey Group II state sectional championship in 1959, 1962, 1966, 1969 and 1970.[22]

The boys indoor track team won the Group II championship in 1962, 1963, 1971 (co-champion with Lincoln High School), 1980 (co-champion with Roselle Park High School) and 1984.[23] The girls team won the Group II title in 1981 and 2018.[24]

The boys track team won the Group I/II state indoor relay championship in 1966 (co-champion with Clearview Regional High School), and won the Group I title in 1980, 1981 and 1984.[25]

L.J. Smith, of the Baltimore Ravens, was a star of both the HPHS football and basketball teams in the 1990s. The football team won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 1974 (awarded by NJSIAA), 1977, 1978, 1986, 1989 and 1990.[26] The 1977 Highland Park football team won the Central Jersey Group I state title with a 35-12 win against Dunellen High School in the championship game.[27]

The field hockey team won the Central Jersey Group I state sectional title in 1977.[28]

The girls track team won the winter track Group I state title in 1978, 1980 and 2017.[29]

The girls' basketball team won the 2007 Central, Group I championship, topping Dunellen High School, 50–35 in the final.[30] [31]

In 2011, the boys' tennis team won the New Jersey Group I championship for the first time, defeating Leonia High School in the final round of the tournament.[32] The 2019 team won the Group I state title at Mercer County Park, defeating Middle Township High School 4-1 in the semifinals and moving on to beat New Providence High School 3-2 in the finals.[33]

The team won the Central Jersey Group II state sectional title in 1966-1968 and won the Central Jersey Group I title in 2020.[34] [35]

Administration

The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1940.[36]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 494 students and 43.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.5:1. There were 145 students (29.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 40 (8.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[37]

The school's principal is Michael Lassiter.[38] His core administration team includes the assistant principal.[39]

William H. Donahue, who became principal of the school in 1980 and worked at the school for three decades, was murdered in 1987.[40]

Notable alumni

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://p7cdn4static.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_107705/Image/HPHS%20Student%20Handbook%2020-21.pdf 2020-2021 Student Handbook
  2. Kolva, Jeanne; Pisciotta, Joanne. Highland Park: Borough of Homes, p. 119. Accessed April 4, 2022. Arcadia Publishing, 2005. . "As larger numbers of Highland Park's high school age students traveled out of town to Metuchen or New Brunswick to continue their education as tuition students, demand for a local junior high school began.... The total expenditure was closer to $362,000. Opened in September 1926 for Highland Park's seventh through ninth graders with Alger Maynard as principal, a formal dedication ceremony took place later on October 14 that included placing a cannon donated by American Legion Post 88 on the new school's front yard. The name Franklin Junior High School was chosen one month after dedication day. From 1927 to 1935, the school served children only up to the tenth grade.... The 1936-1937 school year found eleventh graders in the hallways, and the twelfth grade was added the following year. On May 11, 1937, Franklin Junior High was officially renamed 'Highland Park High School.'"
  3. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  4. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012.
  5. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed January 14, 2012.
  6. http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"
  7. http://www.schooldigger.com/go/NJ/schools/0717003372/school.aspx School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2003-11 HSPA results
  8. http://hs.hpschools.net/ Highland Park High School Home Page
  9. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/new-jersey/districts/highland-park-board-of-education/highland-park-high-school-12580 2018 Rankings for Highland Park High School
  10. Web site: Fifteenth Annual Standings - 2018 . April 21, 2019 . September 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920201832/https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/document/ShopRite%20Final%20%2717-%2718%20Standings.pdf . dead .
  11. http://www.highlandpark.k12.nj.us/users/hweb/ Highland Park High School Home Page
  12. http://www.exploravision.com/past-winners/winners-2005.php ExploraVision 2005 National Winners
  13. Web site: Earthquake Detection : 7400 Leagues Above the Sea . December 10, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061207055455/http://dev.nsta.org/evwebs/1223/ . December 7, 2006 . dead .
  14. https://www.njsiaa.org/schools/highland-park-high-school Highland Park High School
  15. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/2020-2021-lc-officers-schools.pdf League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021
  16. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/general-classifications-2018-2020.pdf NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020
  17. Kinney, Mike. "Big Central revises 2020 football schedule for its shortened inaugural season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 12, 2020. Accessed April 18, 2021. "The newly formed Big Central Football Conference has released a revised 2020 schedule for its inaugural season.... the BCFC is comprised of schools from Middlesex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties."
  18. 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
  19. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/2020-basketball-history_0.pdf NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History
  20. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/488964124/ "Orange Snags Group 4 Title; Defeats Atlantic City; Weehawken Beaten"
  21. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-08/21-history.pdf NJSIAA Boys Spring Track Summary of Group Titles
  22. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/20-baseball-history.pdf NJSIAA Baseball Championship History
  23. 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
  24. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-01/Girls%20Indoor%20Track%20%26%20Field.pdf Girls Winter Track and Field Championship History: 1922-2023
  25. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-12/20-relay-history_0.pdf History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships
  26. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-football.pdf NJSIAA Football History
  27. Puccio, John. "Owls rout Dunellen", The Home News, December 4, 1977. Accessed March 15, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "With its 35-12 victory over Dunellen yesterday, Highland Park turned what was supposed to be a close, hard-fought game into a rout and won the NJSIAA Group I championship."
  28. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-girls-field-hockey_0.pdf History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships
  29. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-08/21-spring-track-group-history.pdf NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Girls
  30. http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=202578&tclass=Central%2C%20Group%20I 2007 Girls' Basketball - Central, Group I
  31. Lerner, Gregg. "Highland Pk. prevails, 50-35", The Star-Ledger, March 6, 2007. Accessed August 2, 2007. "Last night, Wallace was indeed a factor, collecting 13 points and nine rebounds while Boyd and Zakiya Sailor netted 14 apiece to send Highland Park to a 50-35 victory over Dunellen in the NJSIAA/ShopRite Central Jersey, Group 1 final at West Windsor-Plainsboro North in Plainsboro."
  32. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/20-team-tennis-history.pdf History of Boys' Team Tennis Championship Tournament
  33. https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/article/new-providence-2-at-highland-park-3-njsiaa-group-tournament-final-round-group-1-boys-tennis/ "Boys Tennis: Highland Park seniors fuel first Group 1 championship in eight years"
  34. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-central-xc-sectional-champs.pdf NJSIAA Sectional Cross Country Sectional Championship History
  35. Borders, Andrew. "Boys cross-country sectionals: Central Jersey featured coverage", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 15, 2020. Accessed March 28, 2023. "While the races for the Central section teams at Thompson Park won’t be a springboard to the NJSIAA state group meet or Meet of Champions, it gives the state’s runners the chance to win at least one title in a pandemic-constrained season.... With Ben Godish leading the way in 16:25.30, Highland Park took the top four spots to sweep Group 1, 28-42 over New Providence with Shore third at 73."
  36. https://www.msa-cess.org/RelId/606553/AccountID/12168/ISvars/default/School_Search.htm Highland Park High School
  37. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3407170&ID=340717003372 School data for Highland Park High School
  38. https://hs.hpschools.net/o/hs/page/welcome-to-highland-park-high-school Principal's Message
  39. http://p7cdn4static.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_107705/Image/HPHS-School%20Profile_21-22.pdf 2021 School Profile
  40. Sullivan, Joseph F. "Popular Jersey Principal Is Stabbed to Death", The New York Times, May 10, 1987. Accessed June 27, 2019. "The killing of the principal, William H. Donahue, shocked the suburban Middlesex County community and brought hundreds of students and parents to Highland Park High School on North Fifth Street [...]."
  41. Makin, Bob. "Levinson Axelrod celebrates 70 years of service", Home News Tribune, November 12, 2009. Accessed August 17, 2012. "His son is with CBS News as their Washington reporter. He's writing a book that is out soon about his relationship with his father. His name is Jim Axelrod. He's well known. They're Highland Park people. Jim went to Highland Park High School."
  42. https://geosireads.wordpress.com/2016/10/16/interview-with-former-poet-laureate-of-missouri-david-clewell/ "Interview with Former Poet Laureate of Missouri, David Clewell"
  43. Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey "Community, Loss, and Regeneration: An Interview with Wheeler Winston Dixon", Senses of Cinema. Accessed February 7, 2020.
  44. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29736630/highland_park_high_school_class_of_1968/ "Commencement Speakers Stress Views of 'Quest'"
  45. Howard, Roberta. "Hoots from the Owl", The Daily Home News, November 16, 1955. Accessed May 9, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Nancy Dorian, also of the class of 1954, made the dean's list at Connecticut College for Women."
  46. [Samuel G. Freedman|Freedman, Samuel G.]
  47. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/319977801/ "Fundraiser features high school alumni"
  48. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324071818/http://www.biography.com/people/willie-garson-591616 Biography
  49. Lemley, Brad. "Guth's Grand Guess: Most people really want to know where we came from. We have evidence. We no longer have to rely on stories we were told when we were young'", Discover (magazine), April 2002. Accessed January 14, 2012. "And here comes Guth, apologizing for his lateness, hand extended.... It's easy to believe he was once the champion long jumper at his high school in Highland Park, New Jersey."
  50. https://books.google.com/books?id=yooYAAAAIAAJ&q=highland+park+high+school+Alan+Guth Current Biography Yearbook, Volume 48
  51. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/318720068/ "The Highland Park H.S. Class of '96 makes exit"
  52. Makin, Bob. "Makin Waves with Highland Park filmmaker John Hulme", Courier News, January 12, 2017. Accessed June 7, 2017. "Longtime borough resident, filmmaker and former basketball star John Hulme chronicles the intense feelings that accompanied the Owls' Rocky-like game against New Brunswick's Zebras in the 1987 Central Jersey Group I championship basketball game in his new documentary Blood, Sweat & Tears: A Basketball Exorcism.... At first, the local filmmaker focuses on the lifelong pain he has felt about New Brunswick freshman Cassius 'Money' Hargrove swishing the game-winning jump shot and snuffing victory from the underdogs as the ball cascaded just out of the reach of Hulme's long arms into the basket."
  53. http://www.hpboro.com/DocumentCenter/View/3151 "Soterios Johnson"
  54. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/88c66cfb Ted Kubiak
  55. Seiler, Andy. "Casual Sex? role marks change for H. Park actor", Central New Jersey Home News, May 6, 1988. Accessed June 20, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Born in New Brunswick on March 12, 1957, Levine graduated from Highland Park High School in 1975."
  56. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117312343/stavro-prodromou-graduate-of-highland/ "Communion Action"
  57. http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/team/teamRosterDetails.jsp?id=563 L.J. Smith profile

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