South Amboy Middle High School

South Amboy Middle / High School (also known as H. G. Hoffman High School) is a seven-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in sixth through twelfth grades from South Amboy in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the South Amboy Public Schools.[3]

South Amboy Middle High School
Address
200 Governor Harold G. Hoffman Plaza

South Amboy
,
Middlesex County
,
New Jersey
08879

United States
Coordinates40.481437°N 74.274203°W / 40.481437; -74.274203
Information
TypePublic high school
School districtSouth Amboy Public Schools
NCES School ID341512000154[1]
PrincipalJames H. Brown Jr.
Faculty40.3 FTEs[1]
Grades6-12
Enrollment584 (as of 2021–22)[1]
Student to teacher ratio14.5:1[1]
Color(s)  Purple and
  gold[2]
Athletics conferenceGreater Middlesex Conference
Team nameGovernors or Guvs[2]
Websitemhs.sapublicschools.com

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 584 students and 40.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.5:1. There were 128 students (21.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 24 (4.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 245th-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.[4] The school had been ranked 172nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 165th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[5] The magazine ranked the school 209th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[6] The school was ranked 198th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[7] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 205th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 3 positions from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[8]

Athletics

The South Amboy Middle High School Governors (or Guvs)[2] compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County area, and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[9] With 210 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.[10]

The school participates in joint cooperative field hockey and football teams with Sayreville War Memorial 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.[11]

The boys' basketball team won the Group II state championship in 1939 (defeating Wildwood High School in the tournament final) and won the Group I title in 1963 (vs. Wood-Ridge High School).[12] The 1939 came back in the fourth quarter to defeat Wildwood for the Group II title and was presented the championship trophy by former Governor Harold Hoffman, the school's namesake.[13] In 1963, the team defeated Wood-Ridge 63–60 in overtime to win the Group I state championship game in front of a crowd of 5,000 at Convention Hall in Atlantic City.[14]

The 1984 baseball team won the Group I state title with a 3–0 victory against Emerson Jr./Sr. High School in the championship game, to finish the season 19–3.[15][16]

The girls' basketball team won the Group I state championship in five consecutive seasons, in 1985 (defeating New Providence High School in the tournament final), 1986 and 1987 (vs. Waldwick High School both years), 1988 (vs. Roselle Park High School) and 1989 (vs. University High School); the five state titles are tied for ninth-most in the state.[17] The team won their second consecutive Group I title in 1987 with a 73–29 win in the championship game against Waldwick.[18] Despite being one of the smallest high schools in New Jersey, the 1989 team set a state record with their fifth consecutive group title, before being awarded the sixth and lowest seed in the Tournament of Champions, where they defeated third-seeded Bishop Eustace Preparatory School 74–61 in the first round and then second-seed Pascack Valley High School by a score of 45–43 in the semifinals before a 45–43 overtime win against fourth-seeded Union Catholic Regional High School in the finals.[19] For their accomplishments, the team was inducted into the NJSIAA Hall of Fame in 2015.[20][21]

The 1986 softball team finished the season with a record of 19-0-1 after winning the Group I state championship in with a 10-2 one-hitter against Pompton Lakes High School in their first and only playoff final to date.[22][23]

Administration

The principal is James H. Brown Jr. His administration team includes the vice principal.[24]

Notable alumni

References
  1. School data for South Amboy Middle/High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  2. South Amboy High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. South Amboy Middle/High School 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 18, 2017. "South Amboy Middle/High School offers a wide variety of academic, athletic, and art programs to students in grades 6-12."
  4. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  5. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012.
  6. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed January 9, 2012.
  7. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  8. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed January 9, 2012.
  9. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  10. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  11. NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  12. NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  13. "State Title Taken by West New York; Memorial Defeats Bloomfield Five, 50-33--Lodi, Hoffman and St. Peter's Win", The New York Times, March 19, 1939. Accessed January 20, 2021. "Harold Hoffman High School of South Amboy annexed the Group II public high school championship of the state by coming from behind to defeat Wildwood High School by 28-24. Hoffman trailed for three periods.... Former Governor Harold Hoffman presented the trophy emblematic of the championship to the winners."
  14. Lio, Augie. "Inability to Convert Fouls Costs Wood-Ridge State Group One Title", Herald News, March 25, 1963. Accessed February 14, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "It was a long dreary ride back home on the dark Garden State Parkway for the Wood-Ridge High School basketball team and 500 rooters Saturday night. Earlier at the spacious Convention Hall here located on the famous boardwalk, the Blue Devils lost their biggest game of the 1962-63 season. They bowed to Hoffman High of South Amboy, 63-60, in overtime, and with it went the Group One state title. A crowd of 5,000 watched the action."
  15. NJSIAA Baseball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  16. "Tailing fastball stops Emerson", The Record, June 10, 1984. Accessed January 12, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The 3-0 win yesterday by Hoffman High School of South Amboy was not a case of Emerson tailing off at the end of a long season.... Left-hander John Skarzynski may be only No. 2 among Hoffman pitchers, but he had the upper hand yesterday in shackling the Cavos and winning the Group 1 baseball championship of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament.... Hoffman (19-3) appeared shaky in that inning as a confused Skarzynski was nearly thrown out at second after Pete Smith's blooper dropped in for a hit down the right-field line."
  17. NJSIAA Girls Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  18. "Losers learned hard way", The Record, March 15, 1987. Accessed December 6, 2020. "The domination was total, the destruction complete. But there was Bob Klie, the Waldwick girls basketball coach, wearing a big smile after his team had absorbed a 73-29 pounding, from Hoffman of South Amboy Friday night in the final of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 1 tournament."
  19. NJSIAA Girls Basketball Tournament of Champions History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  20. NJSIAA Hall of Fame Inductees 2015: The 1989 Hoffman Girls Basketball Team, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 18, 2017.
  21. Staff. "School Basketball; St. Anthony Takes Title to End at 32-0", The New York Times, March 20, 1989. Accessed December 18, 2017. "H. G. Hoffman of South Amboy, which defeated Union Catholic, 45-43, for the girls' championship, is also one of the smallest schools in New Jersey with 226 students. Kristine Kuziemski, who finished with 13 points, hit two free throws with four seconds remaining in overtime to seal the triumph for Hoffman (30-5)."
  22. NJSIAA Softball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  23. Fox, Ron. "Mistakes sink Pompton Lakes", The Record, June 8, 1986. Accessed January 12, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "There is no simple or logical reason why Pompton Lakes did not win a New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 1 softball championship yesterday. The Cardinals' 10-2 loss to Hoffman of South Amboy will remain a puzzle for some time. On paper, the reasons for the loss Group 1 softball appear clear. An unbeaten pitcher, Hoffman's Dawn Kaiser (19-0), gave up only one hit, a sharp single into left field by Lucy McMurtry with one out in the fifth inning."
  24. Principal's Page, South Amboy Middle High School. Accessed April 11, 2023.
  25. Mack, Lonnie. "Hoffman gets an 'A'", The Home News, June 2, 1976. Accessed January 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com.
  26. "Hoffman, Harold Giles, (1896 - 1954)", Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed November 24, 2014. "Hoffman, Harold Giles, a Representative from New Jersey; born in South Amboy, N.J., February 7, 1896; attended the public schools, and was graduated from the South Amboy High School in 1913"
  27. "Weiss, Theodore S. (1927-1992)", Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed September 21, 2020. "Weiss, Theodore S., a Representative from New York; born in Gava, Hungary, September 17, 1927; attended the primary schools of Hungary until 1938 when he emigrated to the United States and settled in South Amboy, N.J.; continued his education in the public schools of South Amboy; graduated from Hoffman High School, 1946"
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