Allentown High School

For the high school in Allentown, Pennsylvania known as Allentown High School from 1858-1960, see William Allen High School.
Allentown High School
Location
27 High Street
Allentown, NJ 08501
Information
Type Public high school
Established 1972
School district Upper Freehold Regional School District
Principal Constance DeNicola Embley
Vice principal Brandon Crosby
Lynn Folino
Faculty 58.1 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9 - 12
Enrollment 1,233[1] (as of 2012-13)
Student to teacher ratio 21.22:1[1]
Color(s) Red and black
Athletics conference Colonial Valley Conference
Nickname Redbirds
Website School website

Allentown High School is a public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from three communities in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Upper Freehold Regional School District. The school serves students from Allentown Borough and Upper Freehold Township. Millstone Township sends students to the High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[2][3] The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1959.[4]

As of the 2012-13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,233 students and 58.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 21.22:1. There were 51 students (4.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 30 (2.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

The district participates in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program at Allentown High School, having been approved on November 2, 1999, as one of the first ten districts statewide to participate in the program.[5] Seats in the program for non-resident students are specified by the district and are allocated by lottery, with tuition paid for participating students by the New Jersey Department of Education.[6]

History

Students from Plumsted Township had attended the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Plumsted Township School District prior to the passage of a referendum under which New Egypt High School was opened in September 2001 with an initial class of 100 students in ninth grade.[7]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 125th-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.[8] The school had been ranked 135th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 82nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[9] The magazine ranked the school 90th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[10] The school was also ranked 103rd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[11] Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 175th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 37 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (81.1%) and language arts literacy (92.5%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[12]

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 675th in the nation among participating public high schools and 52nd among schools in New Jersey.[13]

Athletics

The Allentown High School Redbirds compete in the Colonial Valley Conference, which consists of public and private high schools located in Mercer County, Monmouth County and Middlesex County, operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[14] With 905 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as Central Jersey, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 776 to 1,073 students in that grade range.[15]

The 2004 field hockey won the Central, Group II sectional championship, edging Shore Regional High School 3-2 in the tournament final.[16] The 2004 team repeated the championship, defeating Cinnaminson High School 2-0.[17]

In 2006, the girls softball won the Central, Group II sectional championship over John F. Kennedy Memorial High School, by a 3-0 final score.[18] The team moved on to win the NJSIAA Group II state championship, topping Pascack Valley High School 11-1.[19]

The 2003 girls tennis team won the Central, Group II title with a 3-2 win over Shore Regional High School.[20]

The 2008 varsity baseball team won the NJSIAA group II state championship against Mahwah High School.[21]

The 2010 football team won first in the Colonial Valley Conference, their record was 6-4. Their biggest win was over Trenton Central High School, they won 74-44.[22]

Student life

The classes feature block scheduling. The third block is split into four lunch periods.

After paying a fee, eleventh and twelfth grade students are given the privilege to drive their cars to school and park in assigned spots. Twelfth grade students park in the parking lot at the back of the school, while eleventh grade students park their cars at the adjoining Byron Johnson Recreation Area parking lot.

Extracurricular activities

Marching band

The Allentown High School marching band has received recognition over the years, including winners of the 2000, 2003, 2008 and 2009 USSBA marching band All-State Finals competitions. The percussion section of the band has won the award for Best Percussion at All-State Finals in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2014. The band has gone on to winning many other awards and appearances, such as the St. Patrick's Day Parade on New York City's Fifth Avenue. The band enjoyed back-to-back victories in New York in 1990 and 1991, then five in a row from 1999-2003.[23] Meanwhile, the band repeated their performance in Philadelphia's parade, winning in 1990-93, 1999–2000, and 2005-06.[24]

FIRST Robotics Team

Allentown High School is home to FIRST Robotics Team #1807, Redbird Robotics. Though one of the school's newer competitive activities, the team has received much support from the surrounding community and multiple awards. Since its rookie year in 2006, Redbird Robotics has accepted such honors as the 2006 New Jersey Star Award, the 2007 Regional Motorola Quality Award, and the 2009 New York City Regional Underwriters Laboratory Safety Award and Regional Champion.[25] The team also qualified for and attended the 2006 and 2009 FIRST Robotics Championships in Atlanta.[26] Redbird Robotics is sponsored by NASA, TAH Enterprises, Blank Sheet Inc, Upper Freehold Regional School District Board of Education, Laser expressions and the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics.[27]

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[28]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 School Data for Allentown High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 23, 2015.
  2. ↑ Upper Freehold Regional School District 2014 School Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 23, 2015. "The Allentown High School (AHS) welcomes students from Allentown, Upper Freehold, and Millstone as well as Choice students from communities within a twenty mile radius of our campus."
  3. ↑ A.H.S. - Upper Freehold Community, Allentown High School. Accessed June 22, 2011. "It is part of the Upper Freehold Regional School District and serves students from the K-8 districts of Upper Freehold Township, Allentown Borough and Millstone Township in Monmouth County."
  4. ↑ Allentown High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  5. ↑ Interdistrict Public School Choice Program: Approved Choice Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 19, 2008.
  6. ↑ Interdistrict Public School Choice Program: Introduction, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 19, 2008.
  7. ↑ Vosseller, Bob. "NHS receives high praise for curriculum", The New Egypt Press, September 14, 1999. Accessed August 12, 2014. "History will be made this week when 100 ninth-graders enter the New Egypt high School marking its inaugural class. Two years ago Plumsted Township voters in a strong majority vote withdrew from Allentown High School in the Upper Freehold Regional School District through a referendum vote."
  8. ↑ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 1, 2012.
  10. ↑ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 14, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  12. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 6, 2012.
  13. ↑ Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2013.
  14. ↑ League Memberships – 2014-2015, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 8, 2014.
  15. ↑ 2014-2015 Public Schools Group Classification: ShopRite Cup–Basketball–Baseball–Softball for Central Jersey, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of July 8, 2014. Accessed September 8, 2014.
  16. ↑ 2003 Field Hockey - Central, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, accessed May 14, 2007.
  17. ↑ 2004 Field Hockey - Central, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, accessed May 14, 2007.
  18. ↑ 2006 Softball - Central, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, accessed May 14, 2007.
  19. ↑ 2006 Softball - Public Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, accessed May 14, 2007.
  20. ↑ 2003 Girls Team Tennis - Central, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, accessed May 14, 2007.
  21. ↑ Rosenfeld, Josh. "Allentown captures Group 2 championship", The Star-Ledger, June 7, 2008. Accessed February 18, 2011.
  22. ↑ Allentown Football Schedule (2010-11), MaxPreps.com. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  23. ↑ Collins, Karyn D. "Redbirds march to the beat of St. Paddy's drum", Asbury Park Press, August 20, 2007. Accessed June 22, 2011. "As for St. Patrick's Day, the Allentown Redbirds have won the New York parade five years in a row, a feat no other band has ever accomplished. They've taken top honors in the Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day Parade, too, sometimes snagging the top prize in both cities in the same year."
  24. ↑ Parade Awards, Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day Parade. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  25. ↑ Kohlhepp, Jennifer. "AHS robotics team revels in new season", Allentown Examiner, April 5, 2007. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  26. ↑ Redbird Robotics kicks new season into high gear, accessed June 15, 2007.
  27. ↑ Allentown Redbird Robotics Website, accessed June 15, 2007.
  28. ↑ Administrative and Staff Contacts, Allentown High School. Accessed August 12, 2014.
  29. ↑ Staff. "Research Team from Corning Incorporated Earn Nation’s Highest Honor for Accomplishments", University of Utah press release, March 14, 2005. Accessed February 14, 2011. "Irwin M. Lachman was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930, but raised in Roosevelt, New Jersey. He graduated in 1948 from Upper Freehold Township High School, now called Allentown High School."

External links

Coordinates: 40°10′28″N 74°35′16″W / 40.174416°N 74.587791°W