Rahway High School

Rahway High School
Location
1012 Madison Avenue
Rahway, NJ 07065
Information
Type Public high school
School district Rahway Public Schools
Principal John Farinella
Vice Principals Cary Fields
Chey Rivera
Patricia Volino-Reinoso
Faculty 99.5 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 1,040[1] (as of 2012-13)
Student to teacher ratio 10.45:1[1]
Color(s) Red      and Black     
Athletics conference Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference
Team name Indians
Newspaper Rho Eta Sigma
Yearbook Allegarooter
Website School website

Rahway High School is a four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Rahway, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Rahway Public Schools. The high school's present location was built in 1941. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1931.[2]

As of the 2012-13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,040 students and 99.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.45:1. There were 454 students (43.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 124 (11.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 215th-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 191st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 261st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[4] The magazine ranked the school 249th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[5] Schooldigger.com ranked the school as 316th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 13 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).[6]

Fine and performing arts

Rahway High School's fine & performing arts department serves more than half of the school population, who are involved in at least one aspect of the department's offerings. Fine Art, Drama, Chorus, Madrigals, Piano, Music Theory, Musical Theater, Dance, Band, and Orchestra curriculum coursework are available to the student body.

The Musical Theater program has been largely recognized by the Papermill Playhouse Rising Star program as one of the finest in the state, with awards won in 2003 for "Outstanding Achievement in Choreography" for the production of Crazy for You, and in 2004 for "Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design" for the production of 42nd Street along with a final nomination for Outstanding Overall Production that year, Several final nominations were awarded in 2006 and 2007 for the productions of Me and My Girl and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat respectively.

The Papermill Playhouse nominated Rahway High School's Spring 2009 production of The Will Rogers Follies in 13 categories, and was awarded four Rising Star Awards for "Outstanding Costuming Achievement", "Outstanding Achievement by a Teacher or an Outside Director", "Outstanding Achievement by a Chorus", and "Outstanding Overall Production".[7]

In 2011, Rahway High School was awarded the Educational Impact Award by the Papermill Playhouse for its production of West Side Story.[8]

Advanced Placement courses

Rahway High School offers Advanced Placement courses in AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP United States History, AP United States Government and Politics, AP Comparative Government & Politics, AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Physics.

Advanced Placement Incentive Program (APIP)

Beginning in 2007 with support from Rahway alumnus and former Merck & Co. CEO Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, President of The Marianthi Foundation, the new Advanced Placement Incentive Program (APIP) was introduced. The APIP Program involves naming teachers as AP Teacher, Pre-AP Placement Teacher, Lead Teacher, and AP Advisor, providing financial incentives for students and teachers based upon AP enrollment and AP exam results.

Vagelos Scholars Program

Rahway High School seniors who are admitted to and attend a U.S. News & World Report ranked Top 25 National University or Liberal Arts College will receive a scholarship from the Marianthi Foundation. The Vagelos Scholarship is funded by retired Merck and Co. CEO Dr. P. Roy Vagelos.

Athletics

Rahway High School competes in the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[9] With 732 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as Central Jersey, Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 506 to 749 students in that grade range.[10] Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the Mountain Valley Conference, which included public and private high schools in Essex County, Somerset County and Union County.[11]

The football team won the North II Group III state sectional championships in 1978-79 and 1984.[12]

Extracurricular activities

Allegarooter, the Rahway High School yearbook received state-wide recognition for earning the 2007 and 2008 Garden State Scholastic Press Association Yearbook 1st Place Gold Award in Content and Design.[13]

Rahway High School also has the Marine Corps JROTC Drill Team, the Devil Pups. This team competes in the National High School Drill Team Championships, held annually at Daytona Beach, Florida. In May 2008, the Devil Pups earned the title of Overall National Champions at NHSDTC. In addition to the overall title, the team also brought home several more first and second place trophies in each section at the event: Inspection, Regulation, Color Guard, and Exhibition. In the area of Armed Dual Exhibition, the team claimed both first and second place in that event, a feat never before seen at NHSDTC.[14][15]

The Devil Pups were featured in the Disney Channel made-for cable movie Cadet Kelly (2002) after earning a National Runner-Up trophy in Platoon Exhibition the previous year.[16]

Marching Indians

In 2003 and 2005, the Rahway High School Marching Band took 1st place in the USSBA State Championship. In 2008, they finished in 2nd place.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[17][18]

Notable alumni

Carl Sagan
Antonio Garay

Notable alumni of Rahway High School include:

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 School Data for Rahway High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 29, 2015.
  2. ↑ Rahway High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools, backed up by the Internet Archive as of April 24, 2012. Accessed March 29, 2015.
  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 September 12, 2012.
  5. ↑ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2011.
  6. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 5, 2012.
  7. ↑ Staff. "Paper Mill Playhouse announces Rising Star Awards winners", NewJerseyNewsroom.com, June 23, 2009. Accessed October 17, 2011. "Among the nominated high schools, Rahway High School led the way with four Rising Star Awards including the award for Outstanding Overall Production."
  8. ↑ Staff. "Educational Impact Award", Suburban News, June 27, 2011. Accessed February 5, 2012. "Recently, New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse, as part of its 2011 Rising Star Awards, gave the 2011 Educational Impact Award to Rahway High School."
  9. ↑ League Memberships – 2014-2015, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 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 October 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ Home Page, Mountain Valley Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 2, 2011. Accessed December 15, 2014.
  12. ↑ Goldberg, Jeff. NJSIAA Football Playoff Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 17, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Yearbook gets first place", Home News Tribune, December 11, 2007. Accessed December 23, 2007. "THE 2006–07 STAFF of Allegarooter, the Rahway High School student yearbook, won state recognition from the 2007 Garden State Scholastic Press Association Yearbook Contest."
  14. ↑ Meeting Agenda for June 19, 2008 of the Union County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders. Accessed July 9, 2008. "Congratulating the Rahway High School MJROTC Drill Team for achieving first place in the Masters Level National High School Drill Team Competition."
  15. ↑ 2008 National High School Drill Team Championships Masters Level Individual Placement Awards, National High School Drill Team Championships. Accessed July 9, 2008.
  16. ↑ 2001 Masters Level Event Standings, National High School Drill Team Championships. Accessed February 5, 2012.
  17. ↑ Principal, Rahway High School. Accessed October 20, 2014.
  18. ↑ Vice Principals, Rahway High School. Accessed October 20, 2014.
  19. ↑ Earl Clark, University of Louisville. Accessed June 17, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Nobel winner Milton Friedman dies at 94", Chicago Tribune, November 16, 2006.
  21. ↑ Lewis, John A. "Sparks finds a home in Cinnaminson", Burlington County Times, February 1, 2007. Accessed October 17, 2011. "Chicago defensive tackle Antonio Garay, a product of Rahway High School, was the state champion at heavyweight in 1998.
  22. ↑ Antonio Garay, Scout.com. Accessed October 17, 2011. "Earned Prep Star All-American and All-New Jersey Group III honors as a senior at Rahway H.S. in Rahway, N.J. after totaling 141 tackles and 10 sacks in his final season... Outstanding wrestler who was tabbed the 275-pound national champion by the National High School Coaches' Association"
  23. ↑ Votes Database: Wayne Gilchrest, The Washington Post. Accessed July 9, 2008. "GILCHREST, Wayne Thomas, a Representative from Maryland; born in Rahway, Union County, N.J., April 15, 1946; graduated from Rahway High School, Rahway, N.J., 1964"
  24. ↑ ,
  25. ↑ Staff. "Religion in the News", Courier News, March 25, 2004. Accessed September 12, 2012. "After graduating from Rahway High School, Miller went on to earn bachelor's degree in biology from Brown and a doctorate in biology from the University of Colorado."
  26. ↑ About The Surrogate, Ocean County, New Jersey. Accessed October 20, 2014. "Surrogate Moran was born in Winfield on December 23, 1946. He attended school there, and was graduated from Rahway High School in 1965."
  27. ↑ Oral history interview with Carl Sagan, 1991 August 27., American Institute of Physics. Accessed October 20, 2014. "Interview covers period through 1968. Born in New Jersey in 1934; recollections of early home life, education at Rahway High School..."
  28. ↑ Tuckner, Howard M. "High School Sports Notes; Many Coaches Seek Ban on Zone Defense to Thaw Basketball's Deep Freeze", The New York Times, December 4, 1956. Accessed October 17, 2011. "Four backfield aces who tallied a total of 456 points this season were named to the first annual Associated Press All-New Jersey scholastic football team. They were George Telesh of Clifton, who led Interscholastic A. A. teams in scoring with 157 points; Richie Haines of Montclair with 126; Bob Scarpitto of Rahway with 109, and Fred Erhardt of Camden Catholic with 64."
  29. ↑ Peterson, Iver. "A Company Move That Hasn't Irked the Neighbors", The New York Times, November 15, 1992. Accessed February 5, 2012. "In addition, Merck donated $40,000 to fund a study on improving Rahway's downtown business district, it paid $126,000 to help cover the cost of paving some roads adjoining its complex, and it put new scientific equipment in Rahway High School, the alma mater of Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, the corporate chairman."

External links

Coordinates: 40°36′39″N 74°17′35″W / 40.610762°N 74.293119°W