Point Pleasant Beach High School

Point Pleasant Beach High School is a four-year, comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Point Pleasant Beach in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Point Pleasant Beach School District. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1939 and is accredited through July 2025.[4]

Point Pleasant Beach High School
Address
700 Trenton Avenue

Point Pleasant Beach
,
Ocean County
,
New Jersey
08742

United States
Coordinates40.08932°N 74.051917°W / 40.08932; -74.051917
Information
TypePublic high school
Motto"The Few, The Proud, The Beach"
School districtPoint Pleasant Beach School District
NCES School ID341332004702[1]
PrincipalNathan Grosshandler
Faculty36.9 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment373 (as of 2021–22)[1]
Student to teacher ratio10.1:1[1]
Color(s)  Red and
  white[2]
Athletics conferenceShore Conference[3]
Team nameGarnet Gulls[2]
AccreditationMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools[4]
Websitewww.ptbeach.com/Domain/35

In addition to the students of Point Pleasant Beach, the high school serves the students of Bay Head and Lavallette for grades 9-12 and those from Mantoloking for K-12, as part of sending/receiving relationships, as well as some students who attend on a tuition basis.[5] The district earned more than $650,000 in revenue by accepting 85 tuition-paying students in 2015–16, many of whom played on the school's athletic teams, leading to claims that the school is competing unfairly with other schools that don't accept outside students.[6]

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 373 students and 36.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.1:1. There were 20 students (5.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 11 (2.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

History

The building in the block between Trenton and Forman Avenues was originally constructed in 1908, replacing a building nearby built in 1886 when Point Pleasant Beach was still part of Brick Township. It has been renovated and expanded several times since. Students from Brick Township, New Jersey attended the school until Brick Township High School opened in September 1958.[7] The school served students from both Point Pleasant Beach and Point Pleasant Borough students until the Point Pleasant Borough High School was built in 1963.[8]

In March 2009, the school debuted the musical The Wedding Singer as the first amateur performance of the show in New Jersey.[9]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 83rd-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.[10] The school had been ranked 78th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 58th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[11] The magazine ranked the school 59th in 2008 out of 316 schools, and was the top-ranked school in Ocean County in 2010 (Point Pleasant Boro High School was next with a ranking of 133rd).[12] The school was ranked 68th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. In 2009, the school was ranked 59th in the state.[13] Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 70th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 104 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (89.7%) and language arts literacy (96.6%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[14]

Athletics

The Point Pleasant Beach High School Garnet Gulls[2] compete in Division B Central of the Shore Conference, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools in Monmouth and Ocean counties along the Jersey Shore.[3][15] The league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[16] With 251 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.[17] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 200 to 463 students.[18] The mascot is the Garnet Gull, and the school colors are red and white.[2]

The school participates in joint cooperative boys / girls bowling, gymnastics, ice hockey and boys / girls swimming teams with Point Pleasant Beach High School as the host school / lead agency. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[19][20]

The boys track team won the indoor track Group I state championship in 1978.[21]

The girls' track team won the Group I state indoor relay championship in 1984.[22]

The boys' tennis team won the Group I state championship in 2002 (vs. Jonathan Dayton High School) and 2003 (vs. Middlesex High School).[23] The 2002 team became the county's first tennis program to win a state title, after winning the Group I state championship by defeating Cresskill High School 4-1 in the semifinals and then topping Jonathan Dayton 3-2 in the finals.[24]

The 2008 girls' tennis team won the Central Jersey Group I state sectional title with a 3–2 win over Highland Park High School.[25] The team lost to Leonia High School 3½-1½ in the semifinals of the 2008 Group I state tournament.[26] The 2010 girls' tennis team won the Group I state sectional title and went on to win the Group I state title with a 4–1 win against Haddon Township High School.[27][28]

The 2010–11 seasons proved to be one of the most successful athletic years in the school's history. Girls' soccer, girls' tennis, cross country, ice hockey, boys' and girls' swimming, baseball, and softball all won divisional titles with many of the teams going deep into the Shore Conference Tournament. Several of the teams qualified for the state playoffs, with girls' tennis winning the overall title.

In 2010, the girls' soccer team won their conference title, division title, and the Central Jersey Group I state sectional championship with a 1–0 win against Metuchen High School, the first sectional title in the history of the program.[29]

The 2011-12 boys' soccer team won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I sectional title, the program's first, with a 1–0 over Burlington City High School and finishing the season with a record of 13-8-1.[30][31]

The girls' basketball team won the Group I state championship in 2013, defeating Bloomfield Tech High School by a score of 56-54 in the tournament final played at the Pine Belt Arena.[32][33]

The 2013 boys' basketball team won both a divisional title and the Central Jersey Group I sectional title, the first in program history, with a 69–40 win over Bound Brook High School.[34] The team won the Group I title in 2013 with a 43-29 win against Jonathan Dayton High School in the finals played at the Rutgers Athletic Center.[35][36]

In 2013, the football team finished the season with a record of 11-2 after defeating division rival Shore Regional High School by a score of 12–7 to win the Central Jersey Group I state sectional title, the program's first in its history, avenging a 31–0 loss to Shore Regional just a week earlier in the Shore Conference divisional title game.[37][38]

The school maintains a rivalry with nearby St. Rose High School and Shore Regional High School.[39] The school has had a longstanding football rivalry with Shore Regional, which leads the series with an overall record of 30-12 through the 2017 season, including the games in which the two teams faced each other in the Central Jersey Group I championship game in both 2013 and 2014. NJ.com listed the rivalry at 29th on their 2017 list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football".[40]

The wrestling team won the Central Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 2016-2018 and 2020[41] The 2014 wrestling team set a school record for wins and finished 27–5. They also won their fourth straight divisional title and were Central Jersey Group 1 finalists. The divisional title was their 18th in the past 25 years.[42] The 2015-16 wrestling team defeated Manville High School 37–25 to win the Central Jersey Group I state sectional title, the first in the program's history.[43]

The ice hockey team won the Dowd Cup in 2020.[44]

Administration

The school's principal is Nathan Grosshandler.[45]

Notable alumni

References
  1. School data for Point Pleasant Beach High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  2. Point Pleasant Beach High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. Shore Conference Realignment for 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, Shore Conference. Accessed November 15, 2020.
  4. Point Pleasant Beach High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 28, 2022.
  5. Point Pleasant Beach School District 2016-17 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 20, 2018. "Point Pleasant Beach High School is a public school serving students from Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head and Lavalette. The school also accepts tuition students, selected through an application and interview process."
  6. Stanmyre, Matthew. "Paying for public school? You bet, and it’s impacting sports in major way", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 15, 2016, updated August 23, 2019. Accessed February 25, 2020. "So what Eastern and others — Point Pleasant Beach's boys basketball team is another notable example — have done is create a perfectly legal public vs. public imbalance.... Point Pleasant Beach has a staggering 85 tuition students in the high school this year among its total enrollment of 404. Each pays $7,747, amounting to a financial windfall of $658,495."
  7. "It Took 2 Years, $1 1/2 Million to Build And It's Overcrowded Before Opening", Asbury Park Press, September 7, 1958. Accessed May 2, 2022, via Newspapers.com "Brick Township used to send its pupils to Point Pleasant Beach and Berkeley Township Regional High Schools. Beginning tomorrow, Brick students will attend this new 36-room $1,600,000 high school."
  8. Chickaree in the Wall: a History of one-room schools in Ocean County, NJ. Carolyn M. Campbell. Ocean County Historical Society, 1987. p. 134.
  9. Competello, Alena. "High school to tak crowds back to '80s", The Ocean Star, March 6, 2009. Accessed February 3, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "It is time for an '80s flashback this weekend, courtesy of the students of Point Pleasant Beach High School, who will delight audiences with a performance of "The Wedding Singer... Point Pleasant Beach High School is, in fact, the New Jersey amateur premiere of the show, Mr. Raguseo noted."
  10. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  11. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 22, 2012.
  12. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed January 31, 2011.
  13. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  14. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 27, 2012.
  15. Member Schools, Shore Conference. Accessed November 15, 2020.
  16. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  17. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  18. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  19. NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  20. NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  21. NJSIAA Indoor Group Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  22. History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  23. History of Boys' Team Tennis Championship Tournament, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  24. Grace, Keith. "Gulls make history with first Group I title; Calfano wins pivotal match in victory over Dayton", The Ocean Star, May 31, 2002. Accessed February 3, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Just two days after winning the program's third South Jersey Group I crown last Tuesday, Califano and Point Beach secured the 3-2 win over Dayton, the North Jersey Section 2 Group I champ and defending Group I champ in the final. The team also beat Cresskill. the North Jersey Section 1 Group I champ 4-1 in the semifinals. The Group I Championship marks the first for any athletic team at Point Pleasant Beach High School. The feat is also the first of any tennis program in Ocean County."
  25. 2008 Girls' Team Tennis - Central, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 23, 2008.
  26. 2008 Girls' Team Tennis - Public Group Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 23, 2008.
  27. Parker, Chris. "Ed Hanley, Point Pleasant Beach, Girls' Tennis" Archived July 9, 2012, at archive.today, Asbury Park Press, December 11, 2010. Accessed August 2, 2011. "Hanley coached his team to the Class B Central division title and a trip to the NJSIAA semifinal match against top-seeded Glen Ridge.... Carrying the momentum from their dramatic semifinal victory, Point Beach defeated Haddon Township, 4-1, giving their coach his first NJSIAA Group I sectional title."
  28. History of NJSIAA Girls Team Tennis Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  29. Staff. "Point Pleasant Beach 1, Metuchen 0", The Star-Ledger, November 12, 2010. Accessed August 22, 2012. "Erin Springsteen produced a goal just shy of halftime and keeper Cora Wallace made the score stand up as Point Pleasant Beach stamped a breakthrough season with a 1-0 triumph over Metuchen yesterday in the NJSIAA/The Sports Authority Stores Central Jersey, Group 1 final in Metuchen. The victory marked the first sectional title for Point Pleasant Beach (13-3-3) and earned it a date with South Jersey champion Pennsville on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Toms River South."
  30. Lewis, John A. "Boys' Soccer C.J. Group 1 Final: Point Pleasant Beach 1, Burlington City 0 Boys' Soccer: Blue Devils reflect on progress made and more to come", Burlington County Times, November 13, 2011. Accessed December 21, 2011. "He could go short term, and reflect on opportunities missed in a game they could have won — Friday's 1-0 loss to Point Pleasant Beach in the Central Jersey Group 1 championship game; or he could go long term, and reflect on City's best season in five years, and the steps the Blue Devils took toward regaining their status as a force in the local soccer picture."
  31. Staff. "Point Pleasant Beach (1) at Burlington City (0), NJSIAA Tournament, Final Round, Central Jersey, Group 1 - Boys' Soccer", The Star-Ledger, November 11, 2011. Accessed December 21, 2011.
  32. NJSIAA Girls Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  33. Guthrie, Charles. "Bloomfield Tech (54) at Point Pleasant Beach (56), NJSIAA Group Tournament, Final Round, Group 1 - Girls Basketball", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, March 10, 2013, updated August 25, 2019. Accessed December 19, 2020. "With her team clinging to a one-point lead in the waning seconds of the game, Flaherty dove on a loose ball after a missed foul shot, which kept possession in her team's favor and helped Point Pleasant Beach, No. 11 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, secure a 56-54 victory over Bloomfield Tech yesterday in the NJSIAA/ShopRite Group 1 final at Pine Belt Arena in Toms River."
  34. Christopher, Chris. "Garnet Gulls win first sectional title", Asbury Park Press, March 5, 2013. Accessed December 21, 2013. "The Point Pleasant Beach High School boys' basketball team made history Tuesday night. The top-seeded Garnet Gulls beat Bound Brook, 69-40, to win their first sectional title in school history, the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I championship."
  35. NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  36. Parachini, JR. "Dayton boys' end 22-6 after winning sectio", Union County LocalSource, March 14, 2013. Accessed December 19, 2020. "The Dayton boys' basketball team came ever so close to capturing its first-ever state title, falling to Point Pleasant Beach 43-39 in Sunday night's Group 1 state championship game at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway."
  37. Lanni, Patrick. "Football playoffs: Point Pleasant Beach gets revenge on Shore, wins first state title in program history", The Star-Ledger, December 7, 2013. Accessed December 21, 2013. "His optimism came to fruition yesterday when Point Pleasant Beach defeated Shore, 12-7, in the Central Jersey, Group 1 final at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. The triumph gave the Ocean County school its first state title in school history."
  38. NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  39. Wall, Karen. "Football: It's Deja Vu for Point Pleasant Beach The Garnet Gulls face Shore Regional in the playoffs for the fourth straight year", Point Pleasant, NJ Patch, November 10, 2014. Accessed October 25, 2020. "Point Pleasant Beach and Shore Regional have been making a habit of this. For the last four years, the Shore Conference Class B Central football rivals have duked it out twice a season. First, during the regular season, then again in the playoffs."
  40. Stypulkoski, Matt. "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 27, 2017, updated May 15, 2019. Accessed December 1, 2020. "29-Point Pleasant Beach vs. Shore Jody Somers / For The Star-Ledger One of the top small school rivalries in New Jersey, Shore and Point Pleasant Beach have met twice for the Central Jersey, Group 1 title – in 2013 and 2014.... All-time series: Shore leads, 30-12"
  41. NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2021.
  42. Badders, Bob. "Wrestling – Proud Tradition: Point Beach 39, Shore 15", Shore Sports Network, January 15, 2014. Accessed March 29, 2015. "The Garnet Gulls have always hung their hats on competing for and winning what is now the Class B Central title, and in the last 25 years, they have dominated.In the de facto Shore Conference Class B Central title match on Friday night, Point Beach won 10 of 14 bouts against host Shore Regional for a 39-15 win that officially clinched at least a share of its 18th division title and fourth consecutive championship."
  43. Kratch, James. "Point Pleasant Beach makes history, defeats Manville in Central Jersey Group 1 wrestling final", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 13, 2016. Accessed July 25, 2016. "But Friday night's Central Jersey, Group 1 against Manville presented a much more level playing field. Despite being the lower seed, Point Beach entered the evening with the Mustangs even on paper, and perhaps a hair better. And the Garnet Gulls showed up, won the toss, got their matchups, and did everything they had to do from there, knocking off the Mustangs, 37-25, to win the first sectional title in school history."
  44. NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  45. Staff, Point Pleasant Beach High School. Accessed January 18, 2022.
  46. Christie, Sherlon (April 17, 2014). "Matt Farrell of Point Pleasant Beach boys basketball signs with Notre Dame". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  47. Constant, Andrew. "Katelynn Flaherty transfers from Point Pleasant Beach to Metuchen", Courier News, January 3, 2014. Accessed January 17, 2021. "As was first reported by Scott Stump Thursday afternoon, senior point guard Katelynn Flaherty has transferred from Point Pleasant Beach to Metuchen. Flaherty, a University of Michigan commit who has scored 2,174 career points in her first three seasons at Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach, will join Cassie Smith to form a high-scoring duo for Metuchen.... Flaherty started her high school career at Manasquan and transferred to Point Pleasant Beach before the 2012-13 season. Once at Point Pleasant Beach, she teamed with Marina Mabrey to lead the Garnett Gulls to a 26-2 record."
  48. Kamin, Arthur Z. "New Jersey Q & A: John R. Ford; Analyzing the Simpson Case for TV", The New York Times, August 7, 1994. Accessed February 27, 2012. "Jack Ford was an all-county football quarterback at Point Pleasant Beach High School, won a scholarship to Yale University and then helped to finance his tuition at the Fordham University School of Law with the winnings from appearances on the television quiz show Jeopardy." .
  49. Adelizzi, Joe. "Vietnam Wall bound for Berkeley", Asbury Park Press, April 26, 2001. Accessed August 2, 2011. "The opening ceremonies at 10 am May 24 will be highlighted by a visit from retired US Marine Corps Commandant Alfred Gray, a Point Pleasant Beach High School alumnus who was a star athlete before joining the Marines."
  50. General Alfred M. Gray, USMC, Point Pleasant Beach School District. Accessed November 30, 2017. "Alfred Gray graduated in 1936. After transferring from Rahway High School into 10th grade he became one of the most active members of his class."
  51. Assemblyman James W. Holzapfel, New Jersey Senate Republicans. Accessed August 2, 2011. "Assemblyman James W. Holzapfel was born and raised in Point Pleasant Beach, where he graduated from high school in 1962."
  52. Spoto, MaryAnn. "Leonard Lomell, World War II hero from Toms River, dies at 91", The Star-Ledger, March 2, 2011. Accessed August 2, 2011. "Born in Brooklyn, he moved with his parents to Point Pleasant Borough on the Jersey Shore, where he graduated from Point Pleasant Beach High School."
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