Monroe Township High School

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 approximately 300 from Jamesburg Borough who attend Monroe Township High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Jamesburg Public Schools that has been in place since 1980.[4][5] The school's mascot is a falcon and the school colors are purple and Vegas gold.[2] The motto is "Excellence is Our Expectation".

Monroe Township High School
Address
200 Schoolhouse Road

Monroe Township
,
Middlesex County
,
New Jersey
08831

United States
Coordinates40.34719°N 74.438309°W / 40.34719; -74.438309
Information
TypePublic High school
EstablishedJanuary 1974
School districtMonroe Township School District
NCES School ID3410500[1]
PrincipalKevin Higgins
Faculty179.7 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment2,330 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio13.0:1[1]
Color(s)  Purple
  Vegas Gold[2]
Team nameFalcons[2]
AccreditationMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools[3]
YearbookReflections
Websitewww.monroe.k12.nj.us/Domain/113

As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,330 students and 179.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.0:1. There were 148 students (6.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 53 (2.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

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.[6]

The New Jersey Board of Education voted in May 1979 to shutdown Jamesburg High School, which with an enrollment of 182 students was the smallest in the state. Starting with the 1979-80 school year, Jamesburg began sending students to Monroe Township High School.[7][8]

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.[9] 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.

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. Monroe Township High School is a rapidly growing school with approximately 2100 students and 200 staff members. The high school offers state–of-the art technology, including a one-to-one iPad initiative intended to provide all students with the opportunity to integrate technology into every facet of their educational experience. Monroe Township High School was also named Top 10 Transformative Schools. MTHS focuses on technology as a learning mechanism.

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.[10] 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.[11] The magazine ranked the school 113th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[12] The school was ranked 106th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[13]

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).[14]

The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools[3] and by the New Jersey Department of Education.

Graduation requirements

In order to graduate from Monroe Township High School, a student must obtain a minimum of 130 credits in grades 9-12. In addition, the successful completion of certain subjects is required as follows:

  • Language Arts - 4 years
  • Physical Education and Health - 4 years (for each year enrolled)
  • United States History - 2 years
  • World History - 1 year
  • Fine, Practical, Performing Arts - 2 years
  • Mathematics - 4 years
  • Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) - 3 years
  • World Language - 2 years
  • Career Education (infused in curriculum)
  • Technology - 1 year
  • Economics / Personal Finance - 1 year

Student activities
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.

Clubs offered include:[15]

  • Academic Team
  • The African American Club Mission Statement
  • American Legion Oratorical Competition
  • Animation Club
  • Art Club
  • Marching Band
  • Jazz Ensemble
  • Chess Club
  • Men's Chorus
  • Coach's Club
  • The Computer Club
  • DECA
  • Ex-Animo
  • MTHS Footlights Club
  • The International Thespian Society
  • Winter Color Guard
  • Environmental Action Club
  • FLY Cap
  • FBLA - Future Business Leaders of America
  • FCCLA Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America
  • Société Honoraire de Français - French National Honor Society
  • Newspaper Club
  • Fellowship of Christian Athletes
  • Gay Straight Alliance
  • History Club
  • Italian Honors Society
  • Jazz Dance Team
  • Key Club
  • ”Lights, Camera, Action!” Video Production Club
  • Literary Magazine Club
  • Mathletes
  • Mock Trial Club
  • Model UN
  • Multicultural Club
  • National Honor Society
  • Peace Ambassadors
  • Poetry Club
  • The Photography Club
  • Project Graduation
  • Science/Robotics Club
  • New Jersey Science League
  • Spanish Honor Society
  • Student Council
  • Table Tennis Federation
  • Technology Club
  • Tri-M Music Honor Society
  • Yearbook Club
  • The Young Science Achiever's Club
  • Youth and Government
Marching Falcons

The MTHS Marching Band competes in independent and USBands competitions held within New Jersey and New York. The marching band was under the direction of Martin Griffin and Alfred Hadinger. Now it is under the direction of Megan Alexander. Some of the instructors have a musical past of competing in the Drum Corps International circuit or Drum Corps Associates circuit. Some of the members have even branched out and joined a drum corps. 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. In 2018 they won Yamaha Cup in 4A with a score of 85.625. They are now a Group 4 Amateur marching band and plan on competing at the Yamaha Cup, Amateur Class State, and National Championships, as well as other local events.

Athletics

The Monroe Township High School Falcons[2] compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which is comprised of 33 public and private high school in the Middlesex County area, operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[16] With 1,732 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.[17] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V South for football for 2018–2020.[18]

Interscholastic sports for both boys' and girls' include bowling, track and field, basketball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and cross-country. Girls' only sports include softball, volleyball, and field hockey. Boys' only sports include football, baseball, ice hockey and wrestling. The team's colors are purple and Vegas gold.[2]

The Falcons finished the 2009 season with an 11-1 record after winning the Central Jersey Group III state football title with a 30-10 victory in the championship game against a Middletown High School South team that came into the finals undefeated.[19][20][21]

The boys' soccer team won the Group II state championship in 1987 as co-champion with Millburn High School.[22] The Falcons were the 2012-13 Greater Middlesex Conference boys' soccer champions, defeating South Brunswick High School by the score of 2-1, to earn the program's first conference title since 2008.[23] 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 had won a sectional title since 1987.[24]

The Monroe boys' bowling team won the Group III state championship in 2017.[25][26]

The ice hockey team won the Kolodney Cup in 2018 with a 3-1 win against Woodbridge High School.[27][28]

Administration

The principal is Kevin Higgins. His core administration team includes four vice principals.[29]

Madreperla was appointed to serve as Acting Principal in the 2018-19 school year while Robert Goodall was interim superintendent[30] for the school district, however, a permanent superintendent, Dori Alvich, has been selected.[31]

Notable alumni

References
  1. School data for Monroe Township High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  2. Monroe Township High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. Monroe Township High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed August 30, 2020.
  4. Monroe Township High School 2016-17 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 14, 2018. "Monroe Township High School continues to welcome roughly 300 high school students from the nearby sending district of Jamesburg since 1980."
  5. 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."
  6. Ellis, Linda. "Contrasting Jersey Schools Show Dollar's Almightiness", The New York Times, February 3, 1974. Accessed August 28, 2012.
  7. Waldron, Martin. "New Jersey Journal", The New York Times, May 13, 1979. Accessed November 26, 2017. "The state's smallest high school, at Jamesburg in Middlesex County, is being closed. The 40-year-old school has 182 students this year. The State Board of Education voted to send the school's students to nearby Monroe after July 1."
  8. Reports of cases argued and determined in the Superior Court, Appellate Division, Chancery Division, Law Division, and in the County Courts of the State of New Jersey, Volume 169, p. 332. New Jersey Superior Court. Accessed November 26, 2017. "In a prior related appeal, Docket No. A-3257-78, we upheld a determination of the state board ordering the closing of Jamesburg High School, effective June 30, 1979, and designating pupils of Jamesburg in the 9th through the 12th grades as tuition pupils at Monroe Township High School, effective July 1, 1979."
  9. Racz, Gene. "Farm remnants at Monroe site won't halt H.S. construction", Courier News (New Jersey), June 13, 2008. Accessed October 28, 2008.
  10. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  11. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed November 29, 2012.
  12. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 26, 2011.
  13. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  14. School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2003-11 HSPA results, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 6, 2012.
  15. "Clubs Homepage / Clubs & Advisors Contact List". http. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  16. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  17. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  18. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2018–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, finalized August 2019. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  19. 2009 Central Jersey Group III Football, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 30, 2011.
  20. NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  21. Allinder, Jimmy. "Monroe Falcons newly crowned champions", CentralJersey.com, December 10, 2009. Accessed January 21, 2021. "If you are a Monroe Township High School football fan, you have to be bubbling with excitement. Not only are the Falcons newly crowned Central Jersey Group III champions, thanks to a dominating 30-10 win over previously unbeaten and top-seeded Middletown South, played Saturday in a cold rain, but the Falcons look for all the world like they can continue winning championships.... Then there is the staff Beagan has assembled, chief among them offensive and defensive coaches Justin Cella and John Denuto, respectively, who crafted masterful game plans the entire season, one in which Monroe finished 11-1, easily the best in the school’s history."
  22. NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  23. 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."
  24. 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."
  25. Allinder, Jimmy. "East Brunswick, Monroe pick up titles on the lanes", Examiner, February 27, 2017, backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 1, 2017. Accessed December 12, 2017. "Monroe Township High School came away with the Group III championship."
  26. History of NJSIAA Boys Bowling Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  27. NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  28. Tufaro, Greg. "Monroe parlays early lead, air-tight defense into GMC ice hockey title", Courier News, February 17, 2018. Accessed January 12, 2021. "The junior defenseman’s first power play goal of the season, which came just four minutes into the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final, proved to be a game-changer, providing the Monroe High School ice hockey team with an early lead that enabled the Falcons to enact their defensive strategy on the way to a 3-1 victory over Woodbridge Township on Friday night.... 'They shut us down,' said Woodbridge netminder Adam Godfrey, who epitomized class in defeat, coming out of the locker room after his team already had held a postgame meeting to once again shake the hands of Monroe players and watch them skate around the ice with the Kolodney Cup."
  29. Home Page, Monroe Township High School. Accessed January 21, 2021.
  30. Lang, Christopher. Monroe BOE officially appoints H.S. principal as acting superintendent, MonroeNOW. Accessed August 6, 2019.
  31. Lang, Christopher. "New Monroe superintendent adjusting well to role leading the district", MonroeNOW. Accessed August 6, 2019.
  32. Nick Dini, Wagner College Athletics. Accessed August 8, 2019. "Played his prep ball at Monroe Township High School under the direction of Greg Beyer"
  33. Tufaro, Greg. "Royals draft former Monroe star Dini, Rutgers LHP McCoy", Courier News, June 10, 2015. Accessed December 12, 2017. "The only player from Monroe to reach the Major Leagues is former Houston Astros pitcher Dave Meads, a 1981 graduate of the high school who also played at Middlesex County College."
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