Passaic County
Passaic County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of Passaic County was enumerated at 524,118, an increase of 22,892 (4.6%) from t ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, is one of the oldest Islamic high schools in the United States. The school was founded in 1984, and serves students in
seventh
Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven.
Seventh may refer to:
* Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
* A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts
Film and television
*"The Seventh", a second-season epi ...
through
twelfth grade
Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...
s. The principal is Sr. Khaldiya Mustafa. Most students at Al-Ghazaly High School come from Al-Ghazaly and Al Hikmah Elementary School, located at Communipaw Avenue in
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Prospect Park, respectively.
As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 334 students and 33.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio
Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...
of 10:1. The school's student body was 54.5% (182) White, 30.2% (101) Asian, 12.0% (40) Black, 1.8% (6) Hispanic and 1.5% (5) two or more races.School data for Al-Ghazaly Jr./Sr. High School
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...
. Accessed March 10, 2022.
Al-Ghazaly's dress code has remained the same for many years to in order to show equality between students. Boys wear navy blue pants and white polo shirts while girls wear long navy blue Islamic dresses often referred to as " abaya" and red/maroon headscarves often referred to as " jilbab".
History
Between 1984 and 2013, Al-Ghazaly was located on 441 North Street in Teaneck, New Jersey. The new facility in Wayne (formerly Neumann Preparatory School and Lake View Learning Center) opened its doors to students in September 2013, with the Teaneck facility repurposed to serve students in pre-Kindergarten through third grade.Burrow, Megan "Al-Ghazaly Elementary School in Teaneck readies for opening" ''Teaneck Suburbanite'', August 29, 2013. Accessed October 3, 2013. "Iman El-Dessouky, a board member at Al-Ghazaly School, said the change was precipitated when the school secured a bigger building for its high school students in Wayne.... Originally, El-Dessouky said, the school planned to use the Teaneck campus for pre-kindergarten through first grade students, but after the school held an open house for parents and prospective students earlier this month, the board decided to expand its offerings up to third grade."
Curriculum
The students at Al-Ghazaly study standard subjects, such as math (from algebra to calculus), English, science, history. Additionally, the school includes
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
,
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
(memorization of the holy book),
tafsir
Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
(analyzing/finding deep meaning to Quran), and
Islamic studies
Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...
as part of the curriculum. In Islamic studies, the students learn the morals and teachings of Islam, Sunna and
shariah
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
.
The students pray Zuhr together everyday, and on Fridays, they have a
Khateeb
In Islam, a khatib, khateeb or hatib ( ar, خطيب ''khaṭīb'') is a person who delivers the sermon (''khuṭbah'') (literally "narration"), during the Friday prayer and Eid prayers.
The ''khateeb'' is usually the prayer leader (''imam''), b ...
(imam) preach to them, after which they pray
Jumu'ah
In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
.
Extracurricular activities
Al Ghazaly offers Forensics,
Model UN
Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science, including earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Over 7,800 middle school and high school team ...
,
Math League
Math League is a Math competition for elementary school, elementary, middle school, middle, and high school students in the United States, Canada, and other countries. The Math League was founded in 1977 by two high school mathematics teachers, Ste ...
, and many other extracurriculars. Students partake in
random acts of kindness A random act of kindness is a nonpremeditated, inconsistent action designed to offer kindness towards the outside world. The phrase "practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" was written by Anne Herbert on a placemat in Sausalito, Cal ...
. Ghazaly's basketball team is the Ghazaly Warriors.
With the opening of the new school building, new sports team are being founded by the students, including a boys and girls soccer team and a flag football team.
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...