Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School

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Location
Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School
123 Coles Street Jersey City, NJ 07302
Information
School district	Jersey City Public Schools
Principal	Edward Slattery
Vice principal	Alice Barone
Enrollment	584 (as of 2005-06)^[1]
Faculty	48.0 (on FTE basis)^[1]
Student:teacher ratio	12.2^[1]
Type	Magnet Public high school
Grades	9 - 12
Athletics conference	Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association
Nickname	Cougars
Color(s)	Brown and Yellow, Silver and Black
Publication	Cougar News
Established	1976
Information	201-418-7618
Homepage	School website

Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School (often dubbed Academic previous to its dedication, or as McNair) is a public high school located at 123 Coles Street in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey. The school is named in memory of Dr. Ronald E. McNair, the astronaut who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger. McNair is operated by the Jersey City Public Schools district. The principal is Mr. Edward Slattery, and the vice principal is Ms. Alice Barone.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 584 students and 48.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 12.2.^[1]

The school is particularly noted for its wide selection of Advanced Placement Program (AP) Courses, in addition to a standard curriculum that contains courses at the Honors level. Most electives are regular, unweighted classes. Over 99% of the student body goes onto college, with many going to the top institutions of the country. Many students from the Class of 2006 were accepted to Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, and Dartmouth. Collectively, the Class of 2006 earned more than $200,000 in scholarships.

1 History
2 Achievements
3 Standards
4 Athletics
5 Trivia
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

The school originally opened as Academic High School in 1976 on 70 Sip Avenue in Jersey City. However, in 1998 the school moved to its new location on 123 Coles Street due to safety and spacing reasons. Its name was also changed to honor the late astronaut.

The JROTC program at McNair Academic High School began on July 1, 1995 with only 30 members. Since then, the number has more than tripled.

In 2004, McNair Academic lost one of its most beloved teachers, Mr. Russo. The school's library was soon after renamed in his honor.

In September of 2006, the McNair's long time principal, Robert Roggenstein, retired. McNair was without a principal until November of 2006, when the school's vice principal, Edward Slattery, was named principal. The vice principal position is now held by Ms. Alice Barone as of December 2006.

[edit] Achievements

The school has been highly praised in recent history. Notable achievements include:

26th place in US News and World Report's November 29, 2007 issue listing the Best High Schools in the United States. McNair Academic High School was also named a Gold Medal School by US News and World Report for making the Top 100 list.
27th place Newsweek's May 22, 2007, issue listing the Top Public High Schools in the United States; the school was ranked in 83rd place in the 2006 survey and 15th in the 2005 rankings.^[2]
The title of "Star School" during the 2004-05 school year by the New Jersey Department of Education—the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve^[3].
For the 2005-06 school year, the school was one of 22 schools statewide selected as Governor’s School of Excellence Winners, an award given to schools that have demonstrated significant improvement over the previous two academic years.^[4]
McNair Academic High School was the top ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's January 2008 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools.^[5] It also earned the top spot in the magazine's September 2006 rankings.^[6] In January 2008, it repeated as the top ranked high school in the state by New Jersey Monthly.^[7]
On November 30th, 2007, McNair Academic was featured on News 12 New Jersey because it was ranked in the top 100 high schools in the country.

[edit] Standards

General admittance is based on a consensus of PSAT scores, academic performance from the 6th through 8th grades, extracurricular activities, and teacher recommendations. With the primary goal of diversity through affirmative action, the school's enrollment is based on a quota of 25% White, 25% Black, 25% Hispanic, and 25% Other (mostly Asian).

The school enforces a business-type dress code (though not a school uniform) for both students and teachers^[8] The basic protocols dictated the following:

Sneakers and shorts are permitted only in physical education classes.
Boys are required to wear slacks, button-down shirt and tie for the entire school year, complemented by a suit jacket or sweater during the autumn and winter seasons.
Females—less restricted—are advised to wear appropriate, unrevealing business attire. Pants or skirts above the knee are not allowed. Denim skirts are permitted, though the specifications have been worked around on numerous occasions.

Students are also required, in order to graduate, to perform 50 community service hours. They must also maintain a final grade of D or higher on all of their courses. If a student fails a course, he or she must go to summer school in order to pass the course. If a student receives a final grade of an F in two or more courses, he or she cannot re-enroll in the school the following school year, and must instead attend his or her local public or private high school.

Even though it is not required, students are expected to take at least 1 or 2 AP courses during their high school career at McNair Academic. They are also expected to participate in at least 1 extracurricular activity.

[edit] Athletics

The McNair Cougars compete in the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association (HCIAA), which includes 22 private and parochial high schools in Hudson County. The league operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).^[9]

[edit] Trivia

McNair works closely with New Jersey City University, where students may choose to apply for Visual & Performing Arts courses, and Rutgers University, where students take ITV courses.

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 International Science and Engineering Fair.

Beginning in the 2004-2005 school year, the incoming class size has increased from 140 students to 200.

The school's Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (Junior ROTC) program (referred to as the Cougar Battalion) is the school's largest student-run program, and has received numerous honors throughout its existence. The drill team in the program is one of the best in the eastern region of the U.S., consistently placing in numerous events. Students have qualified for drill competitions at the local, regional, and, in 2005, the national level. In 2005 the Cougar Battalion renewed its Honor Unit with Distinction star, earning a score of 99.97%. In 2006 the Cougar Battalion Drill team won Second Place overall in the Unarmed Division, and third Place in the Armed Division in the U.S. Army Cadet Command Eastern Region Championship. Cadets participate actively in community service projects, fundraisers, and host a plethora of battalion events throughout the school year. In 2007 the Cougar Battalion re-earned its Honor Unit With Distinction Star receiving a perfect score of 100.00%, making it one of the two schools on the east coast to earn such a score. This year (2008), the unarmed portion of the drill team qualified for nationals and will be attending.