Middletown High School North

Middletown High School North
Location
63 Tindall Road
Middletown, NJ 07748
Information
Type Public High School
Established 1966
Authority Middletown Township Public School District
Principal Dr. Patricia Vari-Cartier
Assistant principals Caroline Buckley (Curriculum)
(Vacant) (Freshman Academy)
John Carmody (Guidance)
Steven Trudell (Discipline)
Neil Leone (Discipline)
Faculty 121.6 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9 - 12
Enrollment 1,504[1] (as of 2012-13)
Student to teacher ratio 12.37:1[1]
Color(s) Orange      and Black     
Athletics conference Shore Conference
Team name Lions
Accreditation Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[2]
Publication Viewpoint
Newspaper The Lion's Roar
Yearbook Polaris
Website School website

Middletown High School North, home of the Lions, is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of the two secondary schools of the Middletown Township Public School District. Other students from Middletown Township attend Middletown High School South. The school also houses a 750-seat theater. Approximately 90% of North students attend college after graduation. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1936.[2]

As of the 2012-13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,504 students and 121.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.37:1. There were 195 students (13.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 67 (4.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 136th-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 128th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 159th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[4] The magazine ranked the school 143rd in 2008 out of 316 schools.[5] The school was ranked 164th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[6] Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 93rd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 73 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (87.4%) and language arts literacy (96.4%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[7]

Athletics

The Middletown High School North Lions compete in the Shore Conference, an athletic conference made up of private and public high schools centered at the Northern Jersey Shore.[8] All schools in this conference are located within Monmouth County and Ocean County, which operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[9] With 1,060 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.[10]

Each year, students, parents, teachers, alumni, and administrators gather for the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between Middletown North and Middletown South. The game is one of the most important events of the year for North students, and a pep rally is held before the game. At halftime, the homecoming court comes to the field to greet the fans.

Middletown North's football team has been unsuccessful in the past few years, but most recently finished their season 6-4 after losing to state champions Jackson Memorial HS in the first round of playoffs. This is Middletown Norths first winning season (2014–15) since the year 2000. Coach Steve Bush, formerly an assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins, looks the continue rebuilding this program over the next few years.

The girls soccer team won the 2005 Central, Group IV state sectional championship, edging Brick Memorial High School 2-1 in the tournament final.[11]

The ice hockey team has also been quite successful in recent years, amassing 86 wins in the last five seasons while reaching the Elite Eight of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Public Ice Hockey Tournament in 2004,[12] 2005,[13] and 2008,[14] and the Frozen Four in 2004.[12]

Renovation

Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the school underwent a massive renovation to update its teaching facilities. During the renovations, much of the school was inhospitable and sealed off. This resulted in the usage of both the upper and lower gymnasiums partitioned off into several classes, without ceilings.

The renovations were completed sometime in 2004. The new building is modern, featuring standard teaching facilities. The tent outside (the Middletown High School North Bubble) has remained, and is used to house sporting events. A 750-seat professional theater was also installed, which features new lighting and sound systems and hosts various professional events, as was a TV production studio, which Broadcasts student produced programs across Middletown and its surrounding boroughs.

SIDS Game

For the last six years, the Middletown North Student Council has hosted the annual Megan Biebel Memorial SIDS game to benefit research for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The event has raised over $100,000, and has attracted support from celebrities including singer Jon Bon Jovi. The game puts the Middletown North faculty and students up against New Jersey policemen. In recent years, the SIDS game has also held a pre-game carnival. The half-time show includes a performance by a special all-male cheerleading squad, as well as a raffle. The event is held in honor of Megan Biebel, who died of SIDS in March 2000. However, the event is not scheduled to take place in 2007, with Matt Biebel and his wife saying that they no longer wish to.

2007 will bring the "North Carnival," which will be the traditional SIDS event, but raising money for brain cancer charities.

Teachers strike

Middletown North and the Middletown School District received national attention in the fall of 2001 when its teachers, members of the Middletown Township Education Association, went on strike for the second time in three years. The strike disrupted classes for several days, and hundreds of teachers were jailed. After the strike, many members of the union leadership stepped down. There has not been a strike since 2001.

Performing Arts Center

Recently, the school has gained recognition for its Performing Arts Center. The PAC can seat 750 people, and houses a professional lighting and sound system. There is no orchestra pit but a full balcony, housing the sound and light systems, is present. The theater hosts cultural and musical events, as well as various drama productions. Several political figures have appeared there.

Notable events hosted at the MHSN PAC, and open to the public, include:

Television production

For several years Comcast Cable has run the student produced series North in Action, which features student made movies, comedy sketches, music, and news. The series was put on hiatus in 2007, but the program is set to resume for the 2008-2009 school year. The series is filmed in the school's TV production room. Rival Middletown High School South also has a Television program.

New television series are continuously produced within the Middletown High School North TV production center. The studio serves as the main production location for Middletown's Public-access television cable TV station on Comcast channel 20.

Random drug testing

A renovated hallway circa 2007

In October 2006, the Board of Education of the Middletown School District voted on a random drug testing procedure that would require all students in extracurricular activities or with a parking space at either High School to submit their name to a pool for random selection.

Controversy has recently sparked over the target group for the random drug testing, as many students and faculty believe that students who participate in school activities are less likely to be active with drug and alcohol abuse. However, New Jersey state law prohibits the entirety of the student population be tested, and so the students in after school activities and parking spaces make up a greater majority for the testing pool.[15]

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[16]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 School Data for Middletown High School North, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 26, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Middletown High School - North, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools. Accessed March 3, 2012.
  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 August 29, 2012.
  5. ↑ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 20, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  7. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 2, 2012.
  8. ↑ School Info, Shore Conference. Accessed March 9, 2008.
  9. ↑ League Memberships – 2014-2015, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 11, 2014.
  10. ↑ 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 11, 2014.
  11. ↑ 2005 Girls Soccer - Central, Group IV, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 30, 2007.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 2004 NJSIAA Ice Hockey Tournament Brackets, New Jersey high school hockey. Accessed July 31, 2008.
  13. ↑ 2005 NJSIAA Ice Hockey Tournament Brackets, New Jersey high school hockey. Accessed July 31, 2008.
  14. ↑ 2008 NJSIAA Ice Hockey Tournament Brackets, New Jersey high school hockey. Accessed July 31, 2008.
  15. ↑ Middletown school board OKs random drug testing: Some say plan would deter use, Asbury Park Press, October 24, 2006.
  16. ↑ Administrators' Page, Middletown High School North. Accessed February 20, 2011.

External links

Coordinates: 40°24′06″N 74°06′01″W / 40.401574°N 74.10036°W