High Tech High School

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High Tech High School
Location
2000 85th Street North Bergen, NJ 07047 USA
Information
Principal	Karol Brancato
Enrollment	536 (as of 2005-06)[1]
Faculty	59.6 (on FTE basis)[1]
Student:teacher ratio	9.0[1]
Type	Public high school
Athletics conference	Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association
Mascot	Lasercats
Established	1991
Information	201-662-6801
Homepage	School website

High Tech High School (or High Technical High School, according to College Board, as of 2006) is a full-time public high school, located in North Bergen, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Hudson County Schools of Technology. Since its establishment in 1991, High Tech High School has been named a Top Ten High School, a Governor's School of Excellence, a New Jersey Star School (twice) and has been cited by New Jersey Monthly magazine as one of the state's great public high schools.^[2] The school is well noted for exceeding highly in the sciences and in the performing arts (winning several awards in both fields).

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 536 students and 59.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 9.0.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Musical Theatre Program 3 Sports 4 Facts 5 Majors 6 Student Government 7 Awards 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History

High Tech High School was founded in 1991 by the Hudson County Schools of Technology school district to provide Hudson County residents with a quality public education in a technology based environment. The high school has grown from 30 students in 1991 to 480 students in present school year. High Tech has been able to maintain a student to faculty ratio of 12 to 1. Hudson County is the smallest of New Jersey's 21 counties. Highly urbanized and densely populated, the 2000 census ranked this area as fourth in the nation on the ethnicity index. As a regional school of choice, High Tech draws on its diverse student population from the 12 towns and cities within the county. 43% of the student body is hispanic, 32% is white, 16% is Asian, and 9% is black^[3]. The average expenditure per student is $14,760 and is derived from federal, state, and county aid. High Tech High School is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education.^[4]

[edit] Musical Theatre Program

The musical theatre group at High Tech High School has won numerous Rising Star Awards from New Jersey's prestigious Paper Mill Playhouse, and has always explored the bizarre and different when selecting a musical. In 2002, the students put on a production of Oz. The production was named the best overall musical in the state that year, and in 2003, the cast performed the production Off-Broadway. In 2005, the students put on Bat Boy: The Musical. The production won a host of awards in the Paper Mill Playhouse's annual Rising Star Awards, including "Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role" to Sasha Formoso, and "Outstanding Lobby Display" to Krystal Acosta. In 2007, the musical theatre program was invited to Scotland to perform in the Fringe Festival representing the American High School Theatre Festival. Originally, they had planned to bring a production of Hair to the festival, but to some problems with the rights, they revived their production of Oz, re-vamping it and making it even more in-tune with current events.

[edit] Sports

The High Tech Lasercats compete in the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association (HCIAA), which includes private and parochial high schools in Hudson County. The league operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).^[5]

High Tech has a few sports teams, including girl's and boy's tennis, bowling, and basketball, as well as soccer, but their best continues to be their softball team. The High Tech Lasercats have won the County Championship for seven out of the last eight years.

[edit] Facts

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Out of every 14 students who apply to High Tech, only 1 is accepted.^{[citation needed]}
• As of 2004, the student-to-computer ratio was 1.1.^[6]
• School policies include:
  • Counting anything below a 70 as an "NP" (Not Proficient)^[7]
  • Not requiring students to wear a specific type of clothing^[8]
  • Requiring students to achieve a minimum of 130 credits by senior year, and 2 years of Foreign Language, 3 years of Social Studies, 3 years of Science, 4 years of Language, 3 years of Mathematics, 4 years of Physical Education, and 2 years of a major are compulsory^[9]
  • Suspending non-senior students who are caught purchasing food from "Tonnelle Mall" (2 blocks away)^{[citation needed]}
  • Allowing students to go to school 2 hours later than normal on selected "delayed openings", and leave 2 hours earlier on selected "early dismissals" (all 40 minute periods become 27 minute periods on those days)^{[citation needed]}
  • Requiring students to get to homeroom in under 3 minutes, and if they are even a few seconds late to homeroom, they receive a 2-hour detention (students are also required to get to their next class in under 2 minutes)^{[citation needed]}
  • Requiring students to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance each morning^{[citation needed]}
  • Preventing students from entering the school through the door adjacent to the bus parking lot^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Majors

At High Tech, Juniors are required to have 80 minutes of a major per day, and Seniors are required to have 120 minutes (2 hours) of a major per day^[10]:

• Accounting (discontinued, last class 2006-2007)
• Advanced Cybernetics
• Audio Tech
• Automotive Tech
• Broadcasting
• Business Applications and Technology
• CADD
• Dance
• Desktop Publishing (DTP)
• Motion Picture
• Office Systems
• Studio Arts
• Musical Theatre
• Theatre Arts
• TV Production
• Web Site Development
• AP Biology/AP Chemistry
• AP Computer Science
• AP Physics

[edit] Student Government

According to the school's website, "The High Student Government provides the main forum for discussing student concerns and ideas.^[11]

The student government consists of four student councils (one each for the freshman class, the sophomore class, the junior class, and the senior class). Student government meetings are attended by these four councils, the student government counselor, the Principal, the Vice Principal, and representatives from various departments, such as the cafeteria, maintenance, transportation, etc. In addition, student councils from new programs such as AACT are also present.

Each student council consists of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a homeroom representative from each homeroom. In addition, representatives-at-large are occasionally appointed by the President. Each council also has two faculty advisers, one male and one female.

[edit] Awards

Awards received by High Tech High School include:^[12]

• 2003 Governor's School of Excellence^[13]
• 2002 School Leader Award, NJ School Boards Association
• 2001 Best High School Musical, Director, Costumes - Paper Mill Playhouse
• 2000 2000 National Student Community Service Award - Skills USA
• 1999 100 Top Wired Schools in the US by Family PC Magazine
• 1998 New Jersey Star School by NJ Department of Education.^[14]
• 1997 Flagship School for Exemplary Video Journalism by Channel One
• 1996 NJ Best Practices in World Languages by NJ Dept. of Education
• 1995 New Jersey Star School by NJ Department of Education.^[15]
• 1995 10 Best Overall Schools in New Jersey by New Jersey Monthly Magazine
• 1994 Philanthropic Corporate Award by Panasonic, Matsushita
• 1993 Outstanding Program Award by NJASCD
• 1992 School Leadership Exemplary Program Award by NJSBA
• 1992 NJ State National Blue Ribbon Nominee, New Jersey Department of Education
• 1992 School Leader Award Competition, NJ School Boards' Association
• 1991 Model Parental Involvement Program Award by NJSBA

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The High Tech High School website
• High Tech High School's 2006-07 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Hudson County Schools of Technology, National Center for Education Statistics
• Class of 2000