South Hunterdon Regional High School

South Hunterdon Regional High School
Address
Map
301 Mount Airy-Harbourton Road

Lambertville, New Jersey
,
Hunterdon County, New Jersey
,
New Jersey
08530

United States
Coordinates40°23′19″N 74°53′28″W / 40.38868°N 74.891029°W / 40.38868; -74.891029
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1960[1]
School districtSouth Hunterdon Regional School District
NCES School ID340076903036[2]
PrincipalJennifer McKnight
Faculty49.7 FTEs[2]
Grades7-12
Enrollment417 (as of 2022–23)[2]
Student to teacher ratio8.4:1[2]
Color(s)  Blue and
  Steel[3]
Athletics conferenceSkyland Conference (general)
Big Central Football Conference (football)
Team nameEagles[3]
AccreditationMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools[4]
Websitehs.shrsd.org

South Hunterdon Regional High School is a regional public high school serving students in seventh though twelfth grades from three communities in southern Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, as part of the South Hunterdon Regional School District. It has been the smallest public high school in the state.[5][6] Students attend the school from Lambertville, Stockton and West Amwell Township.[7] The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1977.[4]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 417 students and 49.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.4:1. There were 80 students (19.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 24 (5.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]

South Hunterdon Regional High School's small size and broad extracurricular offerings provides the opportunity for students from outside the district to attend by paying tuition, as some consider the small class sizes and environment to be similar to that of a private school.[5]

History

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Constructed at a cost of $1.25 million (equivalent to $12.9 million in 2023), the school opened in September 1960 with an enrollment of 500 students.[8] Prior to the opening of the regional facility, students had attended Lambertville High School, which was then closed down.[9]

In a special election held in September 2013, voters from Lambertville, Stockton and West Amwell Township passed referendums to dissolve the South Hunterdon Regional School District and to combine the three existing school districts from each municipality (Lambertville City School District, Stockton Borough School District and West Amwell Township School District), with majorities in each community passing both ballot items.[10] A single combined regional district was created, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, in which property taxes are levied under a formula in which 57% is based on property values and 43% on the number of students. The executive county superintendent appointed an interim board of education for the new regional district, which was responsible for implementing the merger.[11]

Awards, recognition and rankings

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The school was the 100th-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.[12] The school had been ranked 21st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 74th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[13] The magazine ranked the school 58th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[14] The school was ranked 120th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[15] Schooldigger.com ranked the school as tied for 180th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 47 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).[16]

Athletics

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The South Hunterdon High School Eagles[3] compete in the Skyland Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools covering Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties in west Central Jersey, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[17] With 239 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.[18] The football team competes in Division 1B 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.[19] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 185 to 482 students.[20]

The South Hunterdon football team won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I state sectional title in both 1975 and 1979.[21] The team defeated Keyport High School by a score of 28–0 in the 1975 Central Jersey Group I championship game to win their first title.[22] The 1979 team finished the season with a 9–2 record after winning the Central Jersey Group I state sectional title with a 28–8 win against Dunellen High School in the final game of the tournament.[23]

The field hockey team won the Central Jersey sectional championship in 1974, and won the Central Jersey Group I title in 1975, 1976, 1980-1982 and 1984–1991, and won the combined North I and II Group I title in 2002; the team was Group I champion in 1976 (as co-champion with Chatham Township High School), 1984 (vs. Chatham Borough High School) and 1988 (vs. Belvidere High School).[24] The 1976 team was declared as the Group I co-champion following a scoreless tie after two overtime periods in the title game against Chatham Township; after flipping a coin, South Hunterdon obtained custody of the trophy for half the year while the trophy would be displayed at Chatham Township for the second half.[25]

The boys' basketball team finished the 2010 season with a record of 18–8, won the program's first divisional title and made it to the finals of the Central Jersey Group I tournament, but fell short to Asbury Park High School by a score of 73–57.[26]

The girls' basketball team won the Group I state championship in 1992, defeating Whippany Park High School in the tournament final.[27] The team made it to the finals of the 2006 Central Jersey Group I tournament, defeating Bordentown Regional High School by a score of 55–45.[28]

Administration

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Core members of the district's administration are:

  • Jennifer MacKnight, principal[29]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ "South Hunterdon Regional High School opens on September 8, 1960". The Courier-News. August 25, 1960. p. 2. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e School data for South Hunterdon Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c South Hunterdon Regional High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  4. ^ a b South Hunterdon Regional High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed August 30, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Leeds, Curtis. "South Hunterdon High sets open house; hoping for school 'choice' OK", The Hunterdon County Democrat, January 9, 2011. Accessed January 28, 2011. "South Hunterdon Principal Mark Collins thinks his school will be an attractive option for some students. It's the smallest public high school in the state."
  6. ^ Rojas, Cristina. "South Hunterdon, N.J.'s smallest public high school, graduates 55 students in its Class of 2012", Hunterdon County Democrat, June 21. 2012. Accessed June 2, 2016.
  7. ^ South Hunterdon Regional School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 2, 2016. "Bordering the Delaware River and located in the culturally rich and rural region of Southern Hunterdon County, South Hunterdon Regional School District serves the communities of Lambertville, Stockton, and West Amwell."
  8. ^ "New School Opening Set", Courier News, August 25, 1960. Accessed November 17, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Hunterdon County's newest high school the South Hunterdon Regional High School will open on Sept. 8. It is expected there will be an enrollment of 500 pupils children from the districts of Lambertville, the Borough of Stockton and West Amwell Township, is the least expensive of the County's four Regional High Schools. 'The $1,250,000 junior-senior high school is an awful lot of school for the money,' said County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kenneth A. Woolf."
  9. ^ "450 in Hunterdon To Be Graduated", Courier News, May 28, 1959. Accessed November 17, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Two of the graduating classes will be the last to graduate from buildings in Lambertville and Frenchtown. With two new regional schools being built, the 100-year-old Lambertville High School will close its doors permanently and the 34-year-old Frenchtown building will become an elementary school when it reopens next September.... Lambertville, West Amwell Township and Stockton make up the South Hunterdon Regional District, which is erecting a new building at Mt. Airy in West Amwell Township."
  10. ^ Lambertville Public School District 2013 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 7, 2016. "In September, 2013, the communities of West Amwell, Lambertville and Stockton voted to approve the dissolution of the South Hunterdon Regional High School District and the formation of a new pre K-12 school district."
  11. ^ Tredrea, John. "Lambertville: Schools turn how to make merger work; After historic vote, decisions on buildings, contracts need to be made", The Beacon, October 2, 2013. Accessed October 15, 2013. "Now that the two referendum questions on merging the Stockton, West Amwell, Lambertville and South Hunterdon Regional High School districts into one pre-k to grade 12 district have been overwhelmingly approved, the process of implementing the regionalization can begin."
  12. ^ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  13. ^ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012.
  14. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed October 4, 2011.
  15. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  16. ^ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed January 18, 2012.
  17. ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  18. ^ NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  19. ^ 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."
  20. ^ NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  21. ^ NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  22. ^ Frezza, Harry. "South Hunterdon seniors eager for one last - very big - game together", Courier News, December 4, 2014. Accessed November 21, 2016. "South Hunterdon has qualified for playoffs 12 times with four final appearances and two titles (beat Dunellen 28-8 in 1979 and Keyport 28-0 in 1975)."
  23. ^ "Williams No. 1 as Somerville Rolls", New York Daily News, December 2, 1979. Accessed January 16, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "South Hunterdon 28, Dunellen 8 - Chet Reasoner scored two touchdowns and gained 229 yards in pacing South Hunterdon to the Central Jersey, Group 1 championship in Lambertville.... South Hunterdon, finished with a 9-2 record and Dunellen 7-4."
  24. ^ History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  25. ^ Budd, Linda. "Glad Girls Are State Co-Champs", The Chatham Press, November 25, 1976. Accessed February 15, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The Chatham Township High School Field Hockey Team are co-owners of the Group I State crown by virtue of a 0-0 deadlock with a South Hunterdon squad on Saturday....With a 0-0 tie at game's end, two overtime periods followed. Defenses of both squads were outstanding holding back all attacks at the goal. The decision was made that both teams earned a championship title. South Hunterdon won the toss and so will keep the trophy for six months after which it will be on display in the C.T.H.S. trophy case."
  26. ^ Staff. "Asbury Park 73, South Hunterdon 57", The Star-Ledger, March 8, 2010. Accessed October 4, 2011. "Consider the fact that prior to this season, South Hunterdon had reached the state tournament just two times in school history – the last of which came a season ago. Consider the fact that this group won the first division title in school history, hosted the first playoff game in school history, earned the No. 1 seed for the first time in school history (boys or girls) and won the first three state tournament games in school history – which included Friday night's comeback in which the Eagles scored 34 fourth-quarter points to erase a 17-point deficit and shock Dunellen."
  27. ^ Girls Basketball Championship History: 1919–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated March 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  28. ^ 2006 Girls Basketball - Central, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 8, 2006.
  29. ^ Staff Directory, South Hunterdon Regional High School. Accessed October 29, 2020.
  30. ^ Tredrea, John. "Lambertville: City rallies for hometown Olympian Kyle Tress; Banner wishing him well hangs over Bridge Street", centraljersey.com, January 29, 2014. Accessed April 1, 2016. "He's Kyle Tress, a Lambertville favorite son and 1999 graduate of South Hunterdon Regional High School. A member of the three-man U.S. skeleton team, he will compete in the Winter Olympics in Solchi, Russia, next month."
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