West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North

West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North
Location
90 Grovers Mill Road
Plainsboro Township, NJ, 08536
United States
Information
Type Public
Established 1997
School district West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District
Principal Michael Zapicchi
Assistant principals Peter James
Melissa Levine
Faculty 126.4 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,622[1] (as of 2012-13)
Student to teacher ratio 12.84:1[1]
Campus Suburban
Color(s)      Royal Blue
     Gray
Athletics conference Colonial Valley Conference
Team name Northern Knights
Rival West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South
Newspaper The Knightly News
Yearbook Excalibur
Website Official Website

West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, also known as WW-P North, is a four-year public comprehensive high school located in Plainsboro Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades. The school is part of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, a school district serving students from West Windsor Township (in Mercer County) and Plainsboro Township (in Middlesex County).

As of the 2012-13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,622 students and 126.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.84:1. There were 48 students (3.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 28 (1.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North opened its doors in September 1997 and an addition was added in 2000. The first class to graduate was the Class of 2002. The facility covers 240,000 square feet (22,000 m2) and contains all core facilities. The school is located on an 80-acre (320,000 m2) tract on Grovers Mill Road in Plainsboro, across from the West Windsor-Plainsboro Community Middle School and the Millstone River Upper Elementary School.

The school mascot is the Northern Knight, and the school colors are Royal Blue and Silver, as voted on by the original three graduating classes, the Classes of 2002, 2003, and 2004.

Awards, recognition and rankings

During the 2006-07 school year, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[2] the highest award an American school can receive.[3][4]

The school was the 23rd-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.[5] The school had been ranked 32nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 29th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[6] The magazine ranked the school 19th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[7]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 44th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 8 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (92.9%) and language arts literacy (97.3%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[8]

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 18th in New Jersey and 708th nationwide.[9]

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 183rd in the nation among participating public high schools and 12th overall (sixth of non-magnet schools) in New Jersey.[10] The school was ranked 197th in the nation and 15th in New Jersey on the list of "America's Best High Schools 2012" prepared by The Daily Beast / Newsweek, with rankings based primarily on graduation rate, matriculation rate for college and number of Advanced Placement / International Baccalaureate courses taken per student, with lesser factors based on average scores on the SAT / ACT, average AP/IB scores and the number of AP/IB courses available to students.[11]

North's Fed Challenge team was the New York Federal Reserve District Champion in 2007, 2010, and 2014. In 2007 and 2010, the team advanced to the National Finals and placed 2nd.[12]

North beat out rival team West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South at the 2008 New Jersey state Science Olympiad competition, earning North their first Science Olympiad state championship and thereby their first trip to Nationals.[13] Held in Washington D.C., the national competition hosted 60 teams from 48 states. North won 9th place as a team and brought home several individual medals in specific events.

North's Model United Nations team is ranked number 7th in the nation As of the end of the 2011-2012 school year.[14] It was also ranked number two in the Mid-Atlantic at the beginning of the 2011-12 school year.[15] The team has won repeatedly at Princeton Model UN, Ivy League Model United Nations and Johns Hopkins Model United Nations.[16]

The school's student-run radio station is WWPH 107.9 FM, based in Princeton Junction.[17]

Distinguished teachers

In 2009, Timothy Cornell was selected as a winner of the 2009 Edyth May Sliffe Award for distinguished high school mathematics teaching, presented by the Mathematical Association of America, one of 22 teachers throughout high schools in the United States and Canada to be selected for the award.[18]

Sports

The West Windsor-Plainsboro High School Northern Knights participate in the Colonial Valley Conference, which includes high schools from Mercer, Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[19] With 1,196 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as Central Jersey, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,083 to 2,230 students in that grade range.[20] The high school has a fierce rivalry with its counterpart school, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South that began when the two high schools began operating independently of each other in 2000.

In 2007, the boys soccer team won the Central Jersey Group III state championship with a 3-0 win over Red Bank Regional High School in the tournament final.[21] The boys soccer team, under the direction of coach Trevor Warner, repeated as Central Jersey Group III Champions when they beat Wall Township in the sectional final, finishing the season with a 19-2 record, the best in school history. In 2008, they defeated Wall High School by a score of 2-1, becoming the first team from the Colonial Valley Conference to win back-to-back sectional finals.[22]

In 2008, the Ultimate Frisbee club team (a sport not officially recognized by the school) finished 2nd in the UPA NJ High School State Championships while also winning the Spirit Award for best sportsmanship. In 2012, the team placed 2nd again.[23]

Boys cross country

The North boys cross country team is led by coach Brian Gould.

In 2007, the Knights won the CVC Championship, Mercer County Championship, Central Jersey Group III Championship, Group III State Championship, and finished 5th at the New Jersey Meet of Champions.[24]

In 2008, the Knights came through with the then-greatest cross-country season in state history. The North harriers took 1st at the Shore Coaches Invite, posting the fastest team average of the day; finished 5th at the Manhattan Eastern States Championship; won the CVC championship; won their second straight Mercer County championship; won their 2nd straight Central Jersey Group III Championship; a 2nd straight Group III State Championship; the team's first ever Meet of Champions title, over Don Bosco Preparatory High School team, and set a Holmdel park course record average; the team's first ever NXN Northeast Regional championship. That win propelled them to a berth in the Nike Cross-Country National Championships (NXN), where they finished 5th, which was the best a New Jersey team had ever done until that time.[25]

In 2009, the team followed up the successful 2008 campaign, and the graduation of four top runners, by finishing 3rd in the New Jersey Meet of Champions and 4th at Nike Nationals Northeast. Preceding these championship races, the team finished 1st at Manhattan College Invitational, 3rd at Shore Coaches Invitational, 1st at Briarwood Invitational and finished the season undefeated once again (14-0). The Knights also took their 3rd straight CVC, Mercer County, Central Jersey Group III, and Group III State championships. The team had won 55 consecutive dual meets.[26]

In 2010, the boys cross-country team finished 3rd at Shore Coaches (Championship Race); 9th at Eastern States Championship; won its 4th consecutive NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Sectional Championship; won its 4th straight NJSIAA Group 3 Championship; 5th place at the New Jersey Meet of Champions; and 4th place at the Nike Cross Northeast Regional team. WW-P North became just the 5th program in state history to finish top-5 at the Meet of Champions four years in a row (Haddonfield, Christian Brothers Academy, Don Bosco, and Westfield were the other teams).

The 2011 team had an up-and-down season with only two varsity runners returning, finishing 9th at the Shore Coaches Invitational; 2nd at the Old Bridge Invitational; 2nd in the CVC Championships behind arch-rival West Windsor-Plainsboro South; 4th at the Mercer County Championships; 4th at the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV Sectional Championship; and 13th at the New Jersey Group IV State Championships. They missed qualifying for the New Jersey Meet of Champions for the first time in four years.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[27]

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 School Data for West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 15, 2015.
  2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized in 2006, United States Department of Education. Accessed April 16, 2007
  3. ↑ "CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
  4. ↑ "Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
  5. ↑ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  6. ↑ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012.
  7. ↑ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 1, 2011.
  8. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 26, 2012.
  9. ↑ Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North", The Washington Post. Accessed July 28, 2011.
  10. ↑ Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013.
  11. ↑ Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2012", The Daily Beast / Newsweek, May 20, 2012. Accessed May 22, 2012.
  12. ↑ St. Joseph High School Wins 2010 National Fed Challenge!, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Accessed July 28, 2011. "On May 18, a team of six students from Saint Joseph’s High School in South Bend, Indiana, representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Seventh District, took on teams representing several other Fed Districts and won the High School Fed Challenge competition national championship held in Washington D.C. Other participants in the finals were second place winner West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, from Plainsboro New Jersey (New York District)..."
  13. ↑ State Championship Tournament, New Jersey Science Olympiad. Accessed October 30, 2008.
  14. ↑ Best Delegate Rankings, Best Delegate. Accessed September 28, 2011 .
  15. ↑ Preseason Rankings, Best Delegate. Accessed September 28, 2011 .
  16. ↑ North Model United Nations, North MUN. Accessed September 28, 2011 .
  17. ↑ 107.9-FM, WWPH. Accessed January 2, 2011. "107.9-FM, WWPH, Princeton Junction Home of the Pirate and the Knight....The student radio station for West Windsor--Plainsboro High Schools North and South."
  18. ↑ THE EDYTH MAY SLIFFE AWARDS FOR DISTINGUISHED HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TEACHING, University of Minnesota Duluth. Accessed July 28, 2011.
  19. ↑ League Memberships – 2014-2015, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 14, 2014.
  20. ↑ 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 14, 2014.
  21. ↑ 2007 Boys Soccer - Central, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 14, 2007.
  22. ↑ 2008 Boys Soccer - Central, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 2, 2011.
  23. ↑ 2008 UPA NJ High School Championships, Ultimate Players Association. Accessed August 1, 2008.
  24. ↑ Wood, Charlie. "Raider boys cross country places fifth at statesMiles Schoedler qualifies for Meet of Champions with an eighth place finish", Ocean City Sentinel, November 19, 2009. Accessed April 22, 2012. "The Rosa twins, Jim and Joe, juniors at West Windsor-Plainsboro North, had little trouble defeating defending state champ Tyler Udland in last Saturday's Group III state championship meet, and Ocean City junior Miles Schoedler, the Group III sectional champ, finished eighth overall to qualify for this Saturday's Meet of Champions, also at Holmdel.... Overall West Windsor-Plainsboro North won the team championship for the third year in a row with 64 points."
  25. ↑ Lubin, Gail. "Boys cross country Team of the Year: WWPN's season was among best in state history", The Star-Ledger, December 12, 2008. Accessed April 22, 2012.
  26. ↑ Bloom, Marc. "In New Jersey Twins, a New Generation of Runner", The New York Times, November 20, 2009. Accessed April 22, 2012.
  27. ↑ Schools, West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. Accessed April 23, 2015.
  28. ↑ Daly, Pete. "Bye-Bynum", The Trentonian, June 29, 2005. Accessed November 11, 2007. "Andrew Bynum, a former West Windsor North High School player and powerhouse center at St. Joseph High in Metuchen, became the youngest player ever drafted in the National Basketball Association last night."
  29. ↑ Matt Lalli, San Francisco Dragons. Accessed August 24, 2008.
  30. ↑ Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship: 2004 Winners, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 23, 2007.
  31. ↑ USC Signs 7 Prep Stars: High school standouts from around the country ink with the Trojans.", CSTV, November 15, 2004. Accessed August 10, 2008.

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Coordinates: 40°19′26″N 74°35′56″W / 40.323771°N 74.598888°W