Kearny High School (New Jersey)

Kearny High School
Location
336 Devon Street Kearny, NJ 07032
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1923
School district	Kearny School District
Principal	Dr. Cynthia Baumgartner
Vice principal	Michael Barbone John Millar Patrick Ragnoni
Faculty	138 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9 - 12
Enrollment	1,774 (as of 2009-10)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	12.86[1]
Color(s)	Red      and Black
Athletics conference	Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association
Nickname	Kardinals
Website	khs.kearnyschools.com

Kearny High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Kearny, New Jersey, and operating as part of the Kearny School District.

Construction began on the present school facility began in 1921. Kearny High School opened for the fall semester in September 1923. The school's stadium was completed in 1925. In 1940, an addition costing $400,000 was added. In 1974, another addition was added that cost $5 million dollars, providing a new Music and Art Department, new gymnasium, locker rooms, classrooms and parking. The school is divided into two different buildings that are connected to each other.

As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,774 students and 138 classroom teachers (on a FTE basis, for a student–teacher ratio of 12.86.^[1]

The school was the 230th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 235th in 2008 out of 316 schools.^[2] The school was ranked 200th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.^[3]

The Kearny Museum includes a full collection of Kearny High School yearbooks.^[4]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The Kearny High School Kardinals compete in the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association, which is made up of public high schools in Hudson County in North Jersey, operating under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).

In 2002, the boys soccer team earned the North I, Group IV sectional title, edging Clifton High School 3-2 in the tournament final.^[5]

The Kearny High School Boy's soccer team has won 16 NJSIAA group IV championships since 1946, averaging a championship approximately every 3.85 years, in 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1954-56, 1958, 1975, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1999, 2002, and 2004.^[6]

The baseball team won the North I, Group IV state sectional championship in 2003 with a 5-3 win vs. Ridgewood High School in the tournament final.^[7]

In 2007, the girls soccer team, seeded #2, won the North I, Group IV state sectional championship with a 3-0 win over fourth-seeded Montclair High School in the tournament final, the team's second consecutive title.^[8][9]

The girls soccer team also won the first-ever Hudson County Tournament, defeating Bayonne High School 6-0.^[10]

In 2009, the boys Indoor Track and Field team won the county championship as the team continues its return to its previous status when many nationally ranked relays and individuals competed for the school. In cross country the school has produced many county, conference and state champions.

The girl's cross country team won consecutive county championships in 2007 and 2008, in addition to four consecutive state sectional titles and a Meet of Champions title in 1986, when Liz Duarte took the Group IV title.^[11]

The Kardinals wrestling team has won three consecutive Conference championships from 2001-2004 again in 2006, and then again in 2008 in the Watchung Conference. Dave Cordoba won the 1999 state championship at 130 lbs, and holds the school record for career victories.^[12]

In 2006, the girls crew Lightweight Four boat (130 pounds and under) competed in the New Jersey Scholastic Rowing Championship and placed first. They had won the state championship for the third year in a row. The team's Crew House is located in Riverbank Park on the Passaic River.^{[citation needed]}

Marching Unit

The Kearny High School Marching Unit has enjoyed several years of great success in the past. Most notably, they were Tournament of Bands Class III Atlantic Coast champions in 1985, and their percussion section won High Percussion honors for three years straight, from '83 to '85. In addition the Kearny High School Marching Unit under the direction of Patrick Ragnoni was group 3A USSBA Champions two years in a row in 1999 and 2000.^[13] In 2003, the field was under construction. This was devastating to the marching band, and the winning streak was lost. The Kearny High School Marching Unit under the direction of Edward Gargiulo is currently a Group 3A marching band as of the fall of 2008.

International Festival

Kearny High School is noted for its International Festival. Every year in May or June the students comes together to show off their heritage. The festival includes an assembly, in which many fellow students perform songs or dances from a specific country. The school's 13th annual International Festival in 2010 featured more than 85 tables of food, music and information from the broad range of cultures and ethnicities represented in Kearny's student body.^[14]

Legal cases and controversy

Religion in classroom controversy

In the autumn of 2006, a controversy was generated by the discovery that David Paszkiewicz, a history teacher at Kearny High of 14 years, preached Christian doctrine to his students during an American history class. When confronted by Kearny High School junior Matthew LaClair in a meeting with Paszkiewicz and the administration, Paszkiewicz denied the charge. After this, LaClair produced recorded tapes in which Paszkiewicz was recorded saying that God:

...did everything in his power to make sure that you could go to heaven, so much so that he took your sins on his own body, suffered your pains for you, and he’s saying, 'Please, accept me, believe.' If you reject that, you belong in hell.

The teacher is said to have also taught that there were dinosaurs aboard Noah’s Ark and that there is no scientific basis for evolution or the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.

The incident received considerable coverage, with LaClair being interviewed on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° and in The New York Times.

The controversy raised questions over the legal right of students to record what teachers tell them during class, with some advocating the practice to ensure teacher accountability, and others arguing that it infringes on the teacher's personal liberty.^[15]

LaClair's supporters reported that "he has been the target of harassment and a death threat from fellow students and 'retaliation' by school officials who have treated him, not the teacher, as the problem. The retaliation, they say, includes the district's policy banning students from recording what is said in class without a teacher's permission and officials' refusal to punish students who have harassed Matthew."^[16]

Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) said Kearny High School had "violated the spirit and the letter of freedom of religion and the First Amendment", and that the ACLU would support the LaClairs if they were to file suit. The People for the American Way Foundation expressed similar support.

Sexual conduct allegation

During the 2006-07 school year Celeste Adamski, a 27-year-old English teacher who had taught for three years at the school, was suspended with pay on suspicion of sexual activity with one or more of her students. Based on allegations passed on to the school principal, Adamski was then suspended with pay for the summer of 2007 until October, while the investigation was conducted. In mid-October she pleaded guilty to an allegation concerning her behavior with one male student. As part of her plea agreement, she gave up her teaching certificate, and was barred from teaching or holding a public job. Her husband, John Adamski, a history teacher at the school, will continue to teach.^[17]

Administration

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

• Dr. Cynthia Baumgartner - Principal
• Michael Barbone - Vice Principal of Curriculum
• John Millar - Vice Principal of Athletics and Student Activities
• Patrick Ragnoni - Vice Principal of Discipline and Attendance

Notable alumni

• Sam Dente (1922-2002), major league baseball shortstop from 1947-1955.^[19]
• Ed Halicki (born 1950), baseball pitcher for San Francisco Giants.^[20]
• John Harkes (born 1967), soccer player (Captain of the US Men's National team for ten years and Olympian).^[21]
• Tony Meola (born 1969), soccer goalkeeper for New York Red Bulls now playing for New Jersey Ironmen in indoor soccer.^[22]
• Archie Stark (1897-1985), early American soccer player.^[23]
• Bob Stanley (born 1954), Class of 1973, baseball pitcher for Boston Red Sox.^[24]
• Ray Toro (born 1976), guitarist for My Chemical Romance.^[25]
• Alex Webster (born 1931), former fullback and head coach for the New York Giants.^[26]
• Ray Yagiello (born 1923), former Los Angeles Rams player and Montclair State University head football coach^[27]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Kearny High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed July 5, 2011.
2. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 28, 2011.
3. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
4. ^ Kearny Museum, Kearny Public Library. Accessed July 5, 2011. "A staff of volunteers organizes the local displays, which includes a collection of photographs, articles of clothing, war memorabilia, and a collection of Kearny High School yearbooks."
5. ^ 2002 Boys Soccer - North I, Group IV, NJSIAA. Accessed July 16, 2007.
6. ^ History of NJSIAA Boys Soccer, NJSIAA. Accessed July 5, 2011.
7. ^ 2003 Baseball Tournament - North I, Group IV, NJSIAA. Accessed July 16, 2007.
8. ^ 2007 Girls Soccer - North I, Group IV, NJSIAA. Accessed November 15, 2007.
9. ^ Bernstein, Jason. "Back-2-back: straight sectional title", Jersey Journal, November 9, 2007. Accessed November 15, 2007. "In her final game on Kearny's home field, Pace tallied two goals and an assist in the Kardinals' 3-0 victory over Montclair in the final of the NJSIAA North I, Group IV girls soccer tournament. With the victory, Kearny High (19-3-1) repeated as sectional champion."
10. ^ Bernstein, Jason. "Kardinals cruise to Hudson title", Hudson County Varsity, November 1, 2009. Accessed July 5, 2011. "Yesterday was no exception as four different players found the net as Kearny stormed past Bayonne 6-0 to win the Hudson County Tournament in a performance that head coach Vine Almeida said was their best of the season."
11. ^ State Group Individual Champions, NJSIAA. Accessed July 5, 2011.
12. ^ Hague, Jim. "Wrestling: Dugan's comeback remarkable; St. Peter's Dudziak made his mark", The Star-Ledger, March 27, 2004. Accessed September 29, 2008.
13. ^ Staff. "HIGH SCHOOL BANDS COMPETE IN CITY AFTER WINNING, ONE STUDENT SAID THE SACRIFICES WERE WORTH IT.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 6, 2000. Accessed July 5, 2011. "The Kearny High School Kards Marching Band of Kearny, NJ, won the Group 3-A Open competition yesterday."
14. ^ Duger, Rose. "Kearny High School holds international festival", Kearny Weekly, June 17, 2010. Accessed July 5, 2011.
15. ^ "Talk in Class Turns to God, Setting Off Public Debate on Rights", The New York Times, December 18, 2006.
16. ^ "Student, 16, Finds Allies in His Fight Over Religion" The New York Times, February 19, 2007.
17. ^ Appezzato, John. "Kearny teacher suspended after sex allegations", NJ.com, June 15, 2007.
18. ^ Administration, Kearny High School. Accessed July 5, 2011.
19. ^ Sam Dente, The Baseball Cube. Accessed December 30, 2007.
20. ^ Ed Halicki profile, The Baseball Cube. Accessed June 18, 2007.
21. ^ Yannis, Alex. "Cosmos Spirit Infuses 2 At Tournament Debut", The New York Times, June 2, 1989. Accessed December 17, 2007. "Harkes, who went to Kearny High School, has been the most industrious player for the Americans in their three World Cup qualifying games (1-1-1) thus far."
22. ^ Curry, Jack. 'The Goalie With No Nerves;Meola's Calm Helps Keep U.S. in World Cup Play", The New York Times, January 3, 1990. Accessed September 15, 2008. "Just 18 months removed from Kearny High School, Meola has startling confidence to go with his considerable talent."
23. ^ Walker, Ian. "Football: Town that built US soccer from immigrant legacy", The Independent, July 31, 2003. Accessed May 20, 2007. "Many of these immigrants, particularly the Scots, settled in the New Jersey town of Kearny. Starting with the Glaswegian immigrant Archie Stark, who is the highest-scoring player in the history of American soccer, through to John Harkes, Tab Ramos and Tony Meola, key players in the national team of the Nineties, this small town (population 35,000) has been home to many of the America's best players. It was also, until recently, home to Tim Howard, United's new keeper."
24. ^ Bob Stanley player profile, The Baseball Cube. Accessed May 20, 2007.
25. ^ Macadam, Harry. "Geeks become No1 emo stars", The Sun (United Kingdom), October 23, 2006. Accessed January 30, 2011. "The other picture is of another Jersey kid, now MCR lead guitarist Ray Toro. The 29-year-old hails from Kearny, two miles from Belleville, where he attended Kearny High School."
26. ^ Alex Webster profile, databaseFootball.com. Accessed July 12, 2007.
27. ^ Ray Yagiello, databaseFootball.com. accessed July 5, 2011.

External links

• Kearny High School
• Kearny School District
• Kearny School District's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Kearny School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• Kearny High School Alumni