Highland Park High School (New Jersey)

Infobox_School
name = Highland Park High School


imagesize =
motto =
established = September 1926
grades = 9 - 12
district = Highland Park Public Schools
type = Public high school
principal = Frederick Williams
viceprincipal = Michael J. Lassiter
enrollment = 454 (as of 2005-06)
faculty = 35.4 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 12.8
nickname = Owls
conference = Skyland Conference
colors =
newspaper = "Fling"
yearbook = "The Albadome"
location = 102 North Fifth Avenue
Highland Park, NJ 08904
information = 732-572-2400
website = [http://www.highlandpark.k12.nj.us/users/hweb/ School website]

Highland Park High School (HPHS), is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students from Highland Park, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA, serving students in grades nine through twelve, as part of the Highland Park Public Schools. The school was established in 1926 as a junior high school, serving up to grade 10. Until 1937, students from Highland Park finished their education at either New Brunswick High School or Metuchen High School, when HPHS became a senior high school.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 454 students and 35.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 12.8. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3407170&ID=340717003372 Highland Park High School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 5, 2008.]

The school is well known for its high academic standards and achievements, with many recent students earning high scores on SAT and SAT 2 testsFact|date=February 2007, several going on to Ivy League schoolsFact|date=February 2007, and some receiving recognition for their academic achievements.

The original portion of the building was designed by architect Alexader Merchant and built in the 1920s. Later additions are the Science and Math wing in 1958; the English wing in 1968; the library and arts wing in the 1980s; and the Cafeteria and a connected middle school (grades 6, 7, and 8) in 1996. Student population peaked in the 1960s, with a population in the 900s. The school now has a very diverse student population of about 450.

Awards and recognition

The school was the 33rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 314 schools statewide, in "New Jersey Monthly" magazine's September 2008 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools". The school was ranked 31st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. [ [http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"] , "New Jersey Monthly", September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.]

In 2008, two students were National Merit Finalists, twelve were National Merit Commended Scholars, and eleven were Bloustein Distinguished Scholars. [ [http://www.highlandpark.k12.nj.us/users/hweb/ Highland Park High School Home Page] ]

In 2007, six students were National Merit Finalists, eleven students were National Merit Commended Scholars, eleven students were Bloustein Distinguished Scholars. Almost ten percent of the graduating class went on to Ivy League schools.

In 2006, HPHS students were recognized for Advanced Placement Awards. One student qualified for the National AP Scholar Award. 16 students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award. 13 students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award. 15 students qualified for the AP Scholar Award.

In 2005, a team of three HPHS students were recognized as First Place National Finalists in the 13th Annual Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards science competition for their innovative design of a satellite-based earthquake and tsunami detection/prediction system. [ [http://www.exploravision.com/past-winners/winners-2005.php ExploraVision 2005 National Winners] ] [ [http://dev.nsta.org/evwebs/1223/ Earthquake Detection : 7400 Leagues Above the Sea] ]

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular programs at HPHS include multiple instrumental music programs, drama club and tech crew, SAGA (The Straight and Gay Alliance), "the Highland Fling" (the HPHS newspaper), a prestigious Model United Nations and Model Congress Program, "Dead Center" (the HPHS literary magazine), and "the Albadome" (the HPHS yearbook). The HPHS academic teams compete in many all-state competitions such as Science League, Math League, and the News 12-sponsored NJ Challenge. These teams excel, having won top-10 plaques in past years.

WVHP-FM

The school at one time had a ten watt FM radio station, that broadcast from 6AM to 8AM and 5PM to 10:30PM Monday through Friday. Several radio personalities got their start there, among them Ken Friedman (WFMU-FM General Manager), Soterios Johnson (of WNYC in New York City) is the local host for NPR's "Morning Edition") and Bob Sommer (KALW-FM in San Francisco). Jim Axelrod (CBS News) was also on the air at WVHP at one point. Willie Paszamant (actor Willie Garson of "Sex and The City") had a morning show at WVHP.

Athletics

The school's mascot is the Owl. The colors of HPHS are cardinal and white, but most school apparel is maroon. Highland Park High School competes in the Greater Middlesex Conference Blue division in all sports (Gold division in football), and its main sports rival is Metuchen High School. HPHS is well known for the performance of its football team, under the leadership of only three coaches during the program's entire history. Starting with Bus Lepine, then Jay Dakelman, the football team is now led by its former all-state quarterback Joe Policastro (class of 1959). L.J. Smith, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, was a star of the HPHS football team in the 1990s. HPHS is also known for its long time success in football, and track and field, and more recent successes in Boys' soccer, Girls' Basketball, Girls' Tennis, Girls' soccer, and Baseball. HPHS is also home to an Ultimate Frisbee team, the Enforcers, although the team is not affiliated with the school's varsity sports program.

The Boys Varsity Soccer team, under the direction of Keith Roig, won 7 consecutive Gold Division titles before moving up to the Blue Division in the 2006/2007 season.

The girls basketball team won the 2007 Central, Group I championship, topping Dunellen High School, 50-35 in the final. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=202578&tclass=Central%2C%20Group%20I 2007 Girls Basketball - Central, Group I] , NJSIAA, accessed May 10, 2007.] [Lerner, Gregg. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_docid=117B6C3072684818&p_docnum=14&p_queryname=NaN&p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated4&p_nbid=G43P49BAMTE4NTg0NzQ0OS4yODY4NjU6MTo3OnJhLTE4ODg "Highland Pk. prevails, 50-35"] , "The Star-Ledger", March 6, 2007. Accessed August 2, 2007. "Last night, Wallace was indeed a factor, collecting 13 points and nine rebounds while Boyd and Zakiya Sailor netted 14 apiece to send Highland Park to a 50-35 victory over Dunellen in the NJSIAA/ShopRite Central Jersey, Group 1 final at West Windsor-Plainsboro North in Plainsboro."]

Notable alumni

*Jim Axelrod, class of 1981, White House correspondent for CBS News.Fact|date=March 2008
*Wheeler Winston Dixon, filmmaker, critic, and author. [Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey [http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/03/27/wheeler_winston_dixon.html "Community, Loss, and Regeneration: An Interview with Wheeler Winston Dixon"] , Senses of Cinema. Accessed August 2, 2007.]
*Willie Garson (born 1964, as Willie Paszamant), class of 1984, actor best known for his appearances on "Sex and The City" [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_docid=10A42710A7AE78A5&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=NaN&p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated4&p_nbid=I5DG5DAUMTE4NTg0NzQ0OS4yODY4NjU6MTo3OnJhLTE4ODg "B"] , "Home News Tribune", may 13, 2005. Accessed August 8, 2007. "Highland Park high school graduates who have gone on to careers in the media and the performing arts will be the featured speakers at the Highland Park Educational Foundation's spring fundraiser tomorrow. The speakers are WNYC news ancher Soterios Johnson, CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod and Willie (Paszamant) Garson, the actor from "Sex in the City," "NYPD Blue," "Groundhog Day," and "Something About Mary"."]
*Michael Jacobs, Class of 1973. Broadway playwright and award-winning creator of many television series such as "Boy Meets World", Dinosaurs and "Charles in Charge".Fact|date=August 2007
*Soterios Johnson, local host of NPR's "Morning Edition" on WNYC.
*L. J. Smith (born 1980), tight end who currently plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. [ [http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/team/teamRosterDetails.jsp?id=563 L.J. Smith profile] , Philadelphia Eagles. Accessed June 9, 2007. "Growing up in the small town of Highland Park, NJ (2 square miles, population 14,500), Smith graduated from the local high school as part of a 115-person class.... Attended Highland Park (NJ) HS where he caught 10 TDs and had 143 tackles, 11 sacks and 5 INTs at LB as a senior.]
*Justin Louis, afternoon drive host at New Jersey's WJLK, "94.3 The Point". [ [http://943thepoint.com/dj-justin-louis.htm Justin Louis DJ bio.] , Accessed October 16, 2007.]
*Robert "Bob" Bernstein, class of 1974, former Universal Music Co. president, current co-owner of "Little Dogg" Records. Also participated in music creation for the soundtrack of Brokeback Mountain, which produced a Grammy award.

References

External links

* [http://www.highlandpark.k12.nj.us/users/hweb/ Highland Park High School official web pages]
* [http://www.highlandpark.k12.nj.us/ Highland Park Public Schools]
*NJReportCard|23|2150|0|Highland Park Public Schools
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3407170 Data for the Highland Park Public Schools] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://www.highlandparkalumni.com/ Web page for Highland Park alumni. Includes classes 1938-Present]