North Bergen High School

North Bergen High School
Location
7417 Kennedy Boulevard
North Bergen, NJ 07047
Information
Type Public high school
School district North Bergen School District
Principal Paschal Tennaro[1]
Vice Principals Denise Arenas
Patricia Brando
Thomas Liggio
Nicholas Sacco
Edward Somick
Faculty 162.4 (on FTE basis)[2]
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 2,597[2] (as of 2012-13)
Student to teacher ratio 16.00:1[2]
Color(s) Red and Gold[3]
Athletics conference Hudson County Interscholastic League
Team name Bruins
Website School website

North Bergen High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade from North Bergen, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the North Bergen School District. It is the city's only high school,[4] and its student body includes residents of both North Bergen and Guttenberg.

History

In terms of state aid, North Bergen High School is the most underfunded school in New Jersey, according to the Education Law Center. In 2013 it received $24 million less than what it is entitled to receive under the School Funding Reform Act formula.[5]

Curriculum

The school provides Advanced Placement course work and exams. The AP participation rate is 9 percent.[4]

Student body

The student body makeup is 52 percent male and 48 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 89 percent.[4]

As of the 2012-13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,597 students and 162.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 16.00:1. There were 1,477 students (56.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 184 (7.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]

Students from Guttenberg attend the school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Guttenberg Public School District.[6]

Awards, recognition and rankings

North Bergen High School was recognized as a "Benchmark Public High School for Academic Achievement" by the Business Coalition for Education Excellence, for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007.[7][8][9]

The school was the 286th-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 322nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 296th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[11] The magazine ranked the school 294th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[12] The school was ranked 285th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[13]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 198th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 39 positions from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[14]

In 2014 U.S. News and World Report magazine awarded a bronze medal to North Bergen High School, recognizing it as one of New Jersey's best public high schools, based on criteria such as test scores, student demographics, college readiness and faculty-student ratio. Superintendent Dr. George Solter stated that the school was awarded the medal specifically for it emphasis on reading skills, the dedication of its faculty, and the talent of its students.[5]

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[15]

Athletics

The school uses Bruins Stadium in nearby Braddock Park as its home field.
The soccer field at Bruins Stadium.

The North Bergen High School Track, Tennis, Football and Soccer teams use Bruins Stadium, which is located in James J. Braddock Park. The school's gymnasium serves as the home field for other sports. The Bruins compete in the Hudson County Interscholastic League, which includes private and parochial high schools in Hudson County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[16][17] With 1,862 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as North I, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,108 to 2,479 students in that grade range.[18]

Sports programs include Boys Football, Boys/Girls Basketball, Boys Baseball, Girls Softball, Boys/Girls Tennis, Boys/Girls Cross Country, Indoor Boys/Girls Track and Field, Outdoor Boys/Girls Track and Field, Boys/Girls Soccer, Boys/Girls Volleyball, Boys/Girls Bowling and Wrestling.

The Bruins cross country 2007 season earned a third-place finish at the NJSIAA state sectional after many years without placing and qualifying.

North Bergen Boys' Tennis team came in third place in the HCIAA finals after a 4–1 loss against their arch rival the Bayonne Bees. The first doubles team in the Boys Tennis team were recognized as the top 1st Doubles team in Hudson County. During the 2006 season the boys tennis team defeated Bayonne High School for the first time in 15 years and during the 2007 season NBHS beat Bayonne again (3–2).

The Boys Varsity Bowling team won the 1974 state title.[19]

On March 5, 2007, the boys' basketball team played in the North I, Group IV state championship, falling to Passaic County Technical Institute by 86–85 in overtime, in a game played at Wayne Valley High School.[20][21]

The football team won the North I Group IV state championship in 1977, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1997 and 2011.[22]

Other extra-curricular activities

North Bergen High School features various interest groups that include the Art Club, Academic Decathlon Team, Bible Club, Chess Club, Color Guard, Debate Team, Distributive Education Clubs of America, Environmental Club, FBLA-PBL and the Gay-Straight Alliance Club.[15]

The high school also offers various culture groups and honor societies, including the French Club, Indian Cultural Club, Muslim Cultural Awareness Club (MCAC), German Club, Italian Club, Spanish Club, Russian Club, German Club, National Honor Society, French National Honor Society, German National Honor Society, Italian National Honor Society, Russian National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society.

North Bergen High School students can participate in community service and student government groups, including Rebel, Key Club and Student Council.

North Bergen High School is home to various performance groups, such as the Stage Crew, Modeling club, Drama club, Dance club, Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble, The Advanced Sciences Club, Music Creation (M.C) and Advanced Music Creation (A.M.C).

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tennaro, Paschal H. "About NBHS: Principal's Message". North Bergen High School. Accessed October 25, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 School Data for North Bergen High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ "North Bergen High School Football Schedule". MaxPreps. Accessed February 8, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 :North Bergen High School Overview". U.S. News & World Report. Accessed May 3, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "North Bergen High School recognized as one of NJ’s best public high schools Read more: Hudson Reporter - North Bergen High School recognized as one of NJ s best public high schools". The Hudson Reporter. May 2, 2014.
  6. ↑ Shortell, Tom. "3 candidates on ballot to be Guttenberg's mayor", The Jersey Journal, November 2, 2008. Accessed March 23, 2011. "Scoullos, who has worked as a budget analyst, said he also plans to audit the town's contracts in order to find ways to cut taxes. Scoullos said in the late 1990s, North Bergen overcharged the town for services at North Bergen High School, which takes Guttenberg students as part of a sending/receiving network."
  7. ↑ Just for the Kids – New Jersey Benchmark List 2005, Business Coalition for Education Excellence. Accessed October 23, 2008.
  8. ↑ Just for the Kids – New Jersey Benchmark List 2006, Business Coalition for Education Excellence. Accessed October 23, 2008.
  9. ↑ Just for the Kids – New Jersey Benchmark List 2007, Business Coalition for Education Excellence. Accessed October 23, 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 December 2, 2012.
  12. ↑ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 7, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  14. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed December 31, 2011.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 North Bergen High School Profile 2013 - 2014, North Bergen High School. Accessed September 12, 2014.
  16. ↑ Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 15, 2007.
  17. ↑ League Memberships – 2014-2015, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 12, 2014.
  18. ↑ 2014-2015 Public Schools Group Classification: ShopRite Cup–Basketball–Baseball–Softball for North I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of July 8, 2014. Accessed September 12, 2014.
  19. ↑ "History of NJSIAA Boys Bowling Championships". New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 28, 2012.
  20. ↑ Zagoria, Adam (March 7, 2007). "Passaic Tech wins sectional title in overtime". Herald News.
  21. ↑ 2007 Boys Basketball – North I, Group IV, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed March 7, 2007.
  22. ↑ Goldberg, Jeff. "N.J.S.I.A.A. FOOTBALL PLAYOFF CHAMPIONS". New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 7, 2011.
  23. ↑ Henry, Samantha via Associated Press. "2 NJ terror suspects had brushes with authority", The Boston Globe, June 8, 2010. Accessed September 12, 2014. "Alessa transferred to North Bergen High School in December 2004, and Al-Huda officials said they had no further contact with him."
  24. ↑ "School: NJ terror suspect was dangerous as student" Associated Press/Forbes. June 8, 2010.
  25. ↑ Monaco, Lou (January 8, 2012). "Bob Hurley, Sr. & Rick Apodaca to be honored at Dan Finn Classic Saturday". NJ.com.
  26. ↑ "Rick Apodaca". NBA Development League. Accessed September 1, 2013.
  27. ↑ Hague, Jim. "NB comedian lands role on 'My Name is Earl'", Hudson Reporter, September 23, 2007. Accessed June 7, 2012. "So how did Joey 'Coco' Diaz begin his life in comedy? 'It all comes down to being from North Bergen,' said Diaz, the comic actor who was born and raised in North Bergen before heading for Hollywood a few years ago to pursue his career. 'I got my comedy start in North Bergen High School. If you don't have a good sense of humor coming from North Bergen, then you better just shoot yourself.'"
  28. ↑ "Rena Sofer". Oh, Grow Up. WCHS. Accessed September 22, 2011. "Born in Arcadia, California, Rena moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, following her parents' divorce, and later to North Bergen, New Jersey, where she finished high school."
  29. ↑ Lipton, Michael A. "Heart Condition: For Rena Sofer, Checking into General Hospital Meant Finding a Healing Love with Costar Wally Kurth". People. October 31, 1994. Accessed September 22, 2011. "Neither parent remarried, and today Sofer maintains close relations with both her father, who presides at Temple Beth El in North Bergen, N.J., and her mother, a professor of developmental psychology at the University of North Carolina in Fayetteville.... She took a drama class during her senior year at North Bergen High School and then, after less than a semester at Montclair State College, took acting lessons in New York."
  30. ↑ Elected Officials: Commissioner Dr. Count J. Wiley. West New York, New Jersey. Accessed September 23, 2012.

External links

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Coordinates: 40°47′40″N 73°59′59″W / 40.79435°N 73.999734°W