Spotswood High School (New Jersey)

Spotswood High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade in Spotswood, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Spotswood Public Schools.

Spotswood High School
Address
105 Summerhill Road

Spotswood
,
Middlesex County
,
New Jersey
08884

United States
Coordinates40.399138°N 74.386642°W / 40.399138; -74.386642
Information
TypePublic high school
School districtSpotswood Public Schools
NCES School ID341554003660[1]
PrincipalAmy Jablonski
Faculty59.0 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment729 (as of 2021–22)[1]
Student to teacher ratio12.4:1[1]
Color(s)  Royal blue
  gold[2]
Athletics conferenceGreater Middlesex Conference (general)
Big Central Football Conference (football)
Team nameChargers[2]
RivalSouth River Rams
NewspaperThe Scribbler
Websiteshs.spsd.us

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 729 students and 59.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1. There were 53 students (7.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 9 (1.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Students from Helmetta, a non-operating district, attend school in Spotswood beginning in grammar school; students from Milltown attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Milltown Public Schools.[3][4][5] As of 2021, Spotswood High School has had a postsecondary education rate of 33% for a four-year school, 33% for a two-year school, 7& for a business or technical school, and 27% into the workforce/other. Spotswood High School offers 14 Advanced Placement courses and 28 honors courses. Spotswood High School also offers the Seal of Biliteracy, certifying students in their proficiency in English and another language.[6]

Awards, recognition and rankings

During the 1992-93 school year, Spotswood High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[7] the highest award an American school can receive.[8][9]

The school was the 159th-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 102nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 105th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[11] The magazine ranked the school 126th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[12] The school was ranked 183rd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[13]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 80th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 17 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (89.8%) and language arts literacy (95.8%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[14]

Athletics

The Spotswood High School Chargers[2] compete in the Blue Division of the Greater Middlesex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in the Middlesex County area and operates under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[15] With 509 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.[16] The football team competes in Division 2B of the Big Central Football Conference, which includes 60 public and private high schools in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Warren counties, which are broken down into 10 divisions by size and location.[17] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 480 to 674 students.[18]

The school participates together with South River High School in a joint ice hockey team in which East Brunswick High School is the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[19]

Cross country
  • The men's cross country team had a 36 consecutive dual meet winning streak that started in 2000 and was snapped by Metuchen High School in September 2006.[20]
  • In the 2003 season, the men's team won the Central Jersey Group II sectional title.[21]
  • In 2005, the men's team won the Central Jersey Group II state sectional and Group II titles.[22] The team advanced to the Meet of Champions, where the team finished in 11th place.

Track and field
  • The 2004 men's spring track team broke Metuchen's 11-year win streak becoming 2004 Blue Division champions.
  • The 2013 men's spring track team beat division rivals Kennedy and Metuchen to finish the season undefeated and become Blue Division Champions.

Baseball

Basketball
  • The women's basketball team won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I state sectional title in 1999 with a 56-50 win over Montgomery High School to earn the program's first title.[28][29]

Administration

The principal is Amy Jablonski. Her administration team includes the assistant principal.[6]

Notable alumni

References
  1. School data for Spotswood High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  2. Spotswood High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. Milltown Fact Sheet 2015-2016, Milltown Public Schools. Accessed July 11, 2016. "Through a formal send–receive contract, approved by the Department of Education, our high school students are sent on a tuition basis to Spotswood High School. Our 2015-2016 operating budget of $15.9 million supports Parkview School and Joyce Kilmer School, as well as the tuition for students attending Spotswood High School."
  4. Spotswood High School 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed July 11, 2016. "I want to welcome you to Spotswood High School, a comprehensive institution that focuses on excellence in academics, the arts, athletics, and community service. Spotswood High School has served the residents in Spotswood, Helmetta, and Milltown since 1976."
  5. Principal's Corner, Spotswood High School. Accessed July 11, 2016. "I want to welcome you to Spotswood High School, a comprehensive institution that focuses on excellence in academics, the arts, athletics, and community service. Spotswood High School has served the residents in Spotswood, Helmetta, and Milltown since 1976."
  6. School Profile, Spotswood High School. Accessed October 2, 2023.
  7. Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
  8. "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."
  9. "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."
  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 September 7, 2012.
  12. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 25, 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 March 1, 2012.
  15. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  16. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  17. Kinney, Mike. "Big Central revises 2020 football schedule for its shortened inaugural season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 12, 2020. Accessed April 18, 2021. "The newly formed Big Central Football Conference has released a revised 2020 schedule for its inaugural season.... the BCFC is comprised of schools from Middlesex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties."
  18. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  19. NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  20. Buganski, Patrick. "Metuchen hits stride, snaps Spotswood's streak", Home News Tribune, September 30, 2006. Accessed September 7, 2012. "The latest step toward revitalizing a once-great program was a dual meet win over defending NJSIAA Group II champion Spotswood. With a 26-29 win, Metuchen snapped the Chargers' 36-meet winning streak, as the Bulldogs improved to 3-0."
  21. Grant, Ed. Sectional Cross-Country Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 7, 2011.
  22. NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  23. 2007 Baseball - Central, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed June 6, 2007.
  24. Spivey, Mark. "Chargers enjoy thrilling 24-hour period", Home News Tribune, June 3, 2007. Accessed February 16, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "After capturing the first sectional championship in team history with a 1-0 win over Somerville Friday afternoon, most of the Chargers went home to get showered and decked out for the Spotswood Senior Prom. And following a night out on the town and a couple restless hours of sleep at best they took the field at East Brunswick Tech on Saturday only to beat J.P. Stevens 7-6 to capture the first Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship in team history."
  25. 2007 Baseball - Public Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed June 13, 2007.
  26. NJSIAA Baseball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  27. Orlando, Chris. "Spotswood 7, Gov. Livingston 5", The Star-Ledger, May 29, 2010. Accessed June 1, 2011. "Pace, a senior right-hander, delivered a gutsy effort on the mound and hit a big two-run home run in the sixth inning to lift Spotswood to a 7-5 victory over Gov. Livingston in the championship game of the NJSIAA/Star-Ledger Central Jersey, Group 2 tournament yesterday at Gov. Livingston in Berkeley Heights."
  28. Bigleow, Pete. "Central Jersey Group I Girls Basketball: Spotswood 56, Montgomery 50 Poised Chargers capture first sectional crown", Home News Tribune, March 10, 1999. Accessed December 21, 2012.
  29. Bigelow, Pete. "Herren returns to coaching at Roselle Catholic", Home News Tribune, December 17, 1999. Accessed December 21, 2012. "Charger Tribute: Spotswood will unveil its sectional championship banner tonight when the Chargers host Middlesex at 7 pm. The Chargers won the Central Jersey Group I championship last year, defeating Montgomery 58 [sic]-50 for the title."
  30. Jordan, Chris. "Spotswood native returns home as Hey Monday bassist", MyCentralJersey.com, November 13, 2008. Accessed June 1, 2011. "It's Mike Moriarty, formerly of local bands At A Glance and Someday Never, and the captain of Spotswood High School's 2003 Central Jersey Group II cross-country championship team."
  31. Geno Zimmerlink, Pro Football Archives. Accessed November 15, 2020. "Born: 3/23/1963 Milltown, NJ; High School: Spotswood (NJ)"
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