Weequahic High School

Infobox_School
name = Weequahic High School


imagesize =
motto =
established = 1933
grades = 9 - 12
district = Newark Public Schools
type = Public high school
principal = Elizabeth Haden (acting)
vice principal = Ronald Morse
David Oliveria
enrollment = 1,026 (as of 2005-06)
faculty = 86.0 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 11.9
teamname = Indians
conference = Iron Hills Conference
colors = Orange and Brown
newspaper = "The Calumet"
publication = "Ergo"
yearbook = "The Legend"
location = 279 Chancellor Avenue
Newark, NJ 07112
information = 973-705-3900
website = [http://www.nps.k12.nj.us/weequahic/index.htm School website]

Weequahic High School is a public high school in Newark in Essex County, New Jersey. The school is operated by the Newark Public Schools and is located at 279 Chancellor Avenue.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,026 students and 86.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 11.9. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3411340&SchoolPageNum=5&ID=341134002206 Weequahic High School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 22, 2007.]

The school was the 305th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in "New Jersey Monthly" magazine's September 2008 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools". The school was ranked 308th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 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.]

History

Construction of the high school was completed in 1932 and classes began in September 1933. Max Herzberg was the first Principal and remained as the leader of the high school for 18 years until his retirement in 1951.

The high school is home to the New Deal era mural "Enlightenment of Man" painted by Michael Lenson who was director of New Jersey mural activities for the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration.

The Weequahic section of Newark, which is the neighborhood sending students to the high school, was described as it was in the thirties and early forties of the twentieth century by Weequahic alumnus Philip Roth in "The Plot Against America".

Weequahic High School has an active alumni association that raises scholarship monies for the students.

Athletics

The school's athletic teams are called the Indians and its colors are orange and brown. The school competes in the Hills Division of the Iron Hills Conference.

The boys basketball team won its first State Group IV Championship in 1962 and repeated as State Champions in 1966, 1967, 1972 and 2001. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/scripts-bracketmaker/tmenu.cfm?tid=3354&tclass=Group%20II,%20Semis/Finals 2001 - Group II, Semis/Finals] , NJSIAA. Accessed November 22, 2007.] The 1967 team was the number one ranked team in the country. The 2002 Boys Basketball won the North II, Group III state sectional championship, edging West Side High School in the tournament final. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=12868&tclass=North%20II%2C%20Group%20III 2002 Boys Basketball - North II, Group III] , NJSIAA. Accessed July 29, 2007.]

The 2006 football team won the Group 2 Central Division State Championship, the first ever for Weequahic and the first in Newark since 1975. Coach Altariq White was named state Coach of the Year and Amara Kamara was selected as the state Defensive Player of the Year.

Lester Fine was the coach of the basketball team in the sixties coaching many winning teams.His most successful season was 1966-67 when his team was 26-0 and captured the New Jersey State Championship in its Group. Some of his players went on to play in the National Basketball Association such as Alvin Attles.

Additionally, the school's marching band is regarded as one of the best in the conference, as their shows include dancing and singing while playing their instruments.

Extracurricular activities

The high school newspaper is "The Calumet", the literary magazine is "Ergo", and the yearbook is called "The Legend". The school's student governing body is the Orange and Brown Association (OBA).

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are: [ [http://www.nps.k12.nj.us/weequahic/index.htm Home page] , Weequahic High School. Accessed August 26, 2008.]
*Elizabeth Haden, Acting Principal
*Ronald Morse, Vice Principal
*David Oliveria, Vice Principal

Notable alumni

* Al Attles 1955, former NBA basketball player. [Johnson, Roy S. [http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FA0A11FC385C0C7B8EDDA80894DA484D81 "ATTLES COACHES IN A PERSONAL WAY"] , "The New York Times", January 28, 1982. Accessed November 22, 2007.]
* Al "Bubba" Baker 1974
* Sid Dorfman 1937
* Allen Garfield 1957
* Amara Kamara 2007, Starting Linebacker for the Temple Owls.
* Sherry Ortner 1956, cultural anthropologist. [Neatby, Nicole. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-132192590.html "Sherry B. Ortner, New Jersey Dreaming: Capital, Culture, and the Class of '58."] , "Labour/Le Travail", March 22, 2005. Accessed July 8, 2008. "SHERRY ORTNER is a respected anthropologist who has turned her attention away from Sherpas in Nepal to the Class of '58 Weequahic high school in Newark, New Jersey, the high school from which she herself graduated that year."]
* Philip Roth 1950, author, whose works — notably "Portnoy's Complaint" — have mentioned the school. [Lubasch, Arnold H. [http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/04/20/reviews/roth-highschool.html "Philip Roth Shakes Weequahic High"] , "The New York Times", February 28, 1969. Accessed September 8, 2007. "It has provided the focus for the fiction of Philip Roth, the novelist who evokes his era at Weequahic High School in the highly acclaimed "Portnoy's Complaint."... Besides identifying Weequahic High School by name, the novel specifies such sites as the Empire Burlesque, the Weequahic Diner, the Newark Museum and Irvington Park, all local landmarks that helped shape the youth of the real Roth and the fictional Portnoy, both graduates of Weequahic class of '50."]
* Richie Roberts (born 1941), played by Russell Crowe in the 2007 film "American Gangster". [Jones, Richard G. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/nyregion/01gangster.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1194008739-FaideGamkyJenViBOINa+A&oref=slogin "A New Jersey Crime Story’s Hollywood Ending"] , "The New York Times", November 1, 2007. Accessed November 22, [2007] .]

References

External links

* [http://www.nps.k12.nj.us/weequahic/index.htm Weequahic High School]
*NJReportCard|13|3570|0|Newark Public Schools
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3411340 Data for the Newark Public Schools] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://www.nj.com/hssports/football/ledger/stories/index.ssf?/hssports/football/ledger/stories/hsfb_defense.html 12/17/06 Newark Star-Ledger Article]
* [http://www.weequahicalumni.org/main.cfm?pageSubTitle=Home& Alumni Assn. Main Page]
* [http://www.weequahicalumni.org/scripts/history.cfm?pageSubTitle=School%20History& Famous Alumni]