North Brunswick Township High School

For other schools named Brunswick High School see Brunswick High School (disambiguation).

For the school in North Carolina, see North Brunswick High School

North Brunswick Township High School
Location
98 Raider Road North Brunswick, NJ 08902
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1973
School district	North Brunswick Township Public Schools
Principal	Joseph Peter Clark
Asst. Principal	Suzan Ezdinli-Palazzo Jason Lester Debra Serafin Aaron Speller
Faculty	117 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9 - 12
Enrollment	1,789 (as of 2009-10)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	15.29[1]
Color(s)	Blue and Gold
Athletics conference	Greater Middlesex Conference
Nickname	Raiders
Website	School website

North Brunswick Township High School (NBTHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in North Brunswick Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the North Brunswick Township Public Schools.

Student body and school ranking

As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,789 students and 117 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.29.^[1]

The school was the 143rd-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 132nd in 2008 out of 316 schools.^[2] The school was ranked 130th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.^[3]

Nearly 90% of the 1,800 students at NBTHS go on to institutions of higher education, with many choosing to attend Rutgers University, the nearby state university. The school has sent students to the summer programs at the Governor's School of New Jersey summer program and the Johns Hopkins University Center For Talented Youth. The school offers over fifteen Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses, and had over 20 AP scholars for the 2005-06 school year.

The school is considered to be both economically and ethnically diverse. As of 2005, the student body was 44% White, 23% Black, 17% Asian, and 16% Hispanic. Economically, the school enrolls students who come from high-income to low-income backgrounds.

Awards and recognition

For the 1999-2000 school year under the leadership of Dr. Robert J. Rimmer, North Brunswick Township High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,^[4] the highest award an American school can receive.^[5][6]

Property and facilities

NBTHS is located on a sprawling 10-acre (40,000 m²) property off of U.S. Route 130 South. The school was first built in 1973 to accommodate the growing student population (which, at the time, attended New Brunswick High School). The school, at the time an architectural marvel, was nicknamed by students from neighboring schools as the “Country Club” in its early years. Due to the growing population of students in North Brunswick, the school has undergone two expansions in 1990 and 2004-2006. During the latter renovation project, it was discovered that the land under the high school had served as a garbage dump prior to the construction of the building. This was a chief cause in the delays of the construction project. Another major cause for delay was multiple budgetary issues that required a public vote by township citizens. Apart from standard classrooms, the school has a fully equipped library, six electronic classrooms, several computer labs with both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh computers, industrial technological rooms, naturally lit art studios, a photography studio with a Darkroom, three gymnasiums, two music rooms, an auditorium with an orchestra pit, television production studios, and a commons area that serves as a link between the school and outside community.

Athletics

NBTHS is a member of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) and holds membership in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC). NBTHS has a wide range of athletic facilities, available to both its student body and the North Brunswick community. With over six multipurpose athletic fields, a six-lane track, a football stadium, five tennis courts, a gymnasium that seats over 1,500 people, and three multipurpose baseball/softball diamonds, the school has long been considered one of the premier athletic facilities in the county. Furthermore, the school is one of the only GMC members that has a six-lane indoor swimming pool, and has thus frequently been the host of GMC Championships and state sectional meets. Annually, the school's boys’ soccer and girls’ swimming teams are among the stronger representatives of the school's athletics, with which numerous state championships have been captured over the last decade.The girls swim team was undefeated in the 2007-2008 season, in addition to being the GMC champions.The school also fields teams in football, girls’ soccer, boys and girls’ tennis, boys and girls’ basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls’ lacrosse, boys’ swimming, diving, boys and girls’ winter and spring track and field, cross-country, gymnastics, wrestling, and golf. Volleyball was introduced in the 2005-06 season.The school's main rivals include the New Brunswick Zebras, East Brunswick Bears and the South Brunswick Vikings.

Extracurricular activities

NBTHS offers close to 35 extracurricular activities for its students, many of which are integrated with the school’s academic curriculum. Its DECA program, linked with the school’s marketing coursework, has won championships at the regional, state, and the national levels. The Model United Nations has won honors at a variety of prestigious conferences, including those held at Harvard University, Georgetown University and Princeton University. Daedalus, the product of the school’s yearbook program, has won awards for excellence in yearbook production across New Jersey and at an annual conference held by Columbia University.

The school also serves as the host to a chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Key Club, as well as honor societies like the National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, French Honor Society, German Honor Society, Latin Honor Society, and Italian Honor Society.

The school’s arts program continues to rapidly grow. As a consequence of the growth, the North Brunswick Board of Education approved a $67 million expansion that includes a 1,000 seat auditorium, music practice rooms, and theater and film production studios. The school has a marching band, which competes locally in the United States Scholastic Band Association (USSBA) circuit, along with a full orchestra, choir, a cappella group, jazz band, and winter percussion ensemble, who has been currently six years undefeated. The school also has a full theatre program (The Alchemist Theatre Company), which puts on three performances on an annual basis. During the 2009-2010 school year, they performed the farce Noises Off in the fall, the student-directed "Theatre Revue 2010" in the winter, and the zany musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical) in the spring, all grossing more profits than any other school function. In the 2010-2011 school year, the Alchemist Theatre Company is performing The Laramie Project in the fall, "Theatre Revue 2011" in the winter, and Hairspray in the spring.

Members of NBTHS also participate in the FIRST Robotics Program. Team 25, Raider Robotix, sponsored by local corporation Bristol-Myers Squibb, won the national Championship in 2000, and finished as world championship finalists in 2003 and 2006. The team has also consistently won numerous state regionals all across the country as well and received international recognition for its achievements.

Other organizations include the school newspaper (The Banner), Environmental club, language clubs, Film production club, Care-to-Walk Club, Health Careers Club, Human Psych Club, Chemistry Club, Science League, the Academic Team, Mock Trial, the Debate Team, and the LAMBDA Coalition.

In the 2008-09 school year the mock trial team earned the titles of Middlesex County Champions, as well as Central Jersey, and ended third in the state. It was the first time in over 30 years that a Middlesex County team advanced to semi-regionals.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:^[7]

• Joseph Peter "Pete" Clark, Principal
• Suzan Ezdinli-Palazzo, World Language Supervisor/Assistant Principal - Class of 2011
• Jason Lester, Business-Technology Supervisor/Assistant Principal - Class of 2012
• Debra Serafin, Physical Education & Health Supervisor/Assistant Principal - Class of 2013
• Aaron Speller*, Social Studies Supervisor/Assistant Principal - Class of 2014
• Patricia Van Langen, Learning Center (Special Education) Supervisor/Assistant Principal - Class of 2014

As of April 25, 2011, it was announced that Mr. Aaron Speller (Class of 2014 Assistant Principal/Social Studies Supervisor) would be relocated to be an interim assistant principal at North Brunswick's middle school, Linwood Middle School. Mrs. Patricia Van Langen, supervisor of the learning center/special education would serve as the assistant principal for the class of 2014 for the remainder of the 2010-2011 school year. Until the end of the school year, teacher Sidney Dawson will serve as a liaison for the social studies department.

Notable faculty

• James Egan is a band teacher at NBTHS and professional trombonist and trumpeter who has performed with ska bands such as Catch 22 and Streetlight Manifesto

Notable alumni

• Tim Howard (born 1979), class of 1997, is the first choice goalkeeper for the US National team. Professionally he plays in the Premier League with Everton and previously with Manchester United.^[8]
• Jim Norton (born 1968), comedian, personality on the Opie and Anthony Show.^[9]
• VaShaya Ramsey (born 1976), celebrity make-up artist works with Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, featured in Vogue, Elle, Avenue, The New York Times and Oprah.^[10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} North Brunswick Township High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed May 29, 2011.
2. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 22, 2011.
3. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
4. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), accessed May 11, 2006.
5. ^ 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."
6. ^ 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."
7. ^ Administration, North Brunswick Township High School. Accessed March 22, 2011.
8. ^ Galarcep, Ives. "Opportunity excites Howard", Herald News, May 12, 2006. Accessed August 27, 2007. "Howard, a North Brunswick High School graduate, who arrived at the U.S. World Cup team's training camp in Cary, N.C., on Wednesday, recalled the frustrations of playing in just six matches after playing in 71 matches during his first two seasons with the club."
9. ^ Troncone, Tom. "Opie 'n' Anthony sidekick is awfully entertaining", The Record (Bergen County), January 30, 2005. Accessed August 6, 2008.
10. ^ Carpello, Sandi. "Style was always part of area native’s makeup", North Brunswick Sentinel, February 24, 2005. Accessed June 17, 2009.

External links

• North Brunswick Township High School
• North Brunswick Township Public Schools
• Great Schools: North Brunswick Township High School Profile
• North Brunswick Township Public Schools's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the North Brunswick Township Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Raider Robotix Web Page
• North Brunswick Township High School Key Club

Coordinates: 40°27′06″N 74°28′04″W / 40.451752°N 74.467813°W / 40.451752; -74.467813