Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy (abbreviated as AHPA) is a four-year comprehensive

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, in Union County,

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 ...

, United States, operating as part of

Elizabeth Public Schools Elizabeth Public Schools is a public school district in Elizabeth, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were est ...

. The academy accepts students in

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

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 in Elizabeth who have passed the requirements for enrollment. The academy is operated by the Elizabeth Board of Education. The school has been accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 2013.Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 8, 2018. The school's college-preparatory curriculum prepares students for four-year colleges and universities. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 961 students and 62.5 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 15.4:1. There were 492 students (51.2% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the providing of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. It was once a common tradition in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with th ...

and 103 (10.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy

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 December 1, 2022.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 46th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide according to '' U.S. News & World Report''. The school was the 204th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey. The magazine was started in 1976. It is based in Morristown. In addition to articles of general interest, the publication fe ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school was the 303rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide in ''

'' magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", the first time that the school was included in the magazine's rankings.Staff
"The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical"
''

'', August 16, 2012. Accessed December 1, 2012.

History

Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy was originally known as Alexander Hamilton Junior High School No. 2 (Alexander Hamilton Middle School in 2007), which had been constructed in 1924 to replace the Cherry Street School after it was demolished. The middle school became a high school during the summer of 2008. The school was named after

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

, a one-time Elizabeth resident who served as the first Secretary of the Treasury and a Revolutionary War Leader who once resided and attended a school in Elizabeth back when the city was known as Elizabethtown.

Curriculum

Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy selects students with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher, who demonstrate academic potential and are committed to preparing for post-secondary education. Students will comply with a rigorous academic course sequence which includes: four years of English, four years of Mathematics, four years of Science, four years of Social Studies, three years of World Language, and one year of World Literature. eleventh and twelfth graders pursue a concentration in leadership studies.

Academic and elective courses

Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy offers major courses for students such as

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

I, II, II,

Geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

Algebra II In contemporary education, mathematics education, known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics – is the practice of teaching, learning and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge. Althoug ...

Pre-Calculus In mathematics education, precalculus is a course, or a set of courses, that includes algebra and trigonometry at a level which is designed to prepare students for the study of calculus. Schools often distinguish between algebra and trigonometr ...

Probability Probability is the branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an Event (probability theory), event is to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and ...

and

Statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...

Trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. T ...

and plenty of

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

classes such as

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

Forensic Science Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...

. As a new independent high school, the academy is beginning to offer a few

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

Programs (AP) classes for students who wish take them for

Course credit A credit is the recognition for having taken a course at school or university, used as measure if enough hours have been made for graduation. University credits United States Credit hours In a college or university in the United States, student ...

also known as college credits. Elective classes are also offered such as the fine arts, music, and business. Advanced Placement courses offered include

AP English Literature Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature and Composition (also known as Senior AP English, AP Lit, APENG, or AP English IV) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United Stat ...

AP Spanish Literature Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Literature and Culture (also known as AP Spanish Literature, AP Spanish Lit or AP SpLit) is a high school course and examination offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. The course This course i ...

, AP French Literature,

AP United States History Advanced Placement (AP) United States History (also known as AP U.S. History or APUSH () is a college-level course and examination offered by College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program. Course The AP U.S. History course is designe ...

AP Chemistry Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry (also known as AP Chem) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program to give American and Canadian high school students the opportunity to demonstrate their ...

and

AP Biology Advanced Placement (AP) Biology (also known as AP Bio) is an Advanced Placement biology course and exam offered by the College Board in the United States. For the 2012–2013 school year, the College Board unveiled a new curriculum with a greate ...

. A new Advanced Placement class that was added for the 2010–2011 school year is

AP Art History Advanced Placement (AP) Art History (also known as AP Art, or APAH) is an Advanced Placement art history course and exam offered by the College Board. AP Art History is designed to allow students to examine major forms of artistic expression re ...

which will involve students in the aspects of art and origins of paintings and sculptures. There are four foreign language courses available for students to take as an elective.

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

I, II, & III,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

I, II & III, French I, II & III and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

I, II & III. All students must have taken three years of a world language to obtain their credits. Electives available for students to choose are

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

I, II & III,

Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

Marching Band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

I, II, III (Marching Band is offered as a twelfth period course which is during after school hours),

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

I & II,

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

I & II,

Public Speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

Debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

I & II,

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

, Black Studies,

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

and

Drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

and

Painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

I & II. There are more electives offered at Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy, as well as the

Advancement Via Individual Determination Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is a non-profit organization that provides professional learning for educators to close opportunity gaps and improve college and career readiness for high school and middle school students, espec ...

(AVID) class which is a required course for every student.

Regulations

Students enrolled in the AHPA are expected to comply with all rules, regulations and policies of the Academy and the district. Students will be required to wear school uniforms, perform community service, and take ownership in the AVID program. The combination of rigorous and relevant courses, a variety of elective subjects, and the philosophy of the AVID program give students the opportunity to excel in high school and beyond. In order for a student to qualify for graduation, they must complete 160 credits and perform 60 hours of community service by their senior year, 25 of which must be completed during senior year.

AVID

The Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy integrates a rigorous curriculum with the philosophies of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. AVID is a research-based instructional model that encourages students to prepare for and participate in a challenging college preparatory curriculum. In addition to enrolling in honors and AP level courses, students will receive academic support through a specially designed AVID elective, taught by AVID-trained instructors.

Clubs and organizations

Student Government A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

Association *The Green Team *

Yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...

Committee *

Club *After school Chorus *

Key Club Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. As a student-led organization, Key Club's goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. Key Club International is the hig ...

*Game Club *Nature Club *The

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

*Afterschool Tutoring *Shakesperience club

Athletics

The Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy does not have its own athletic teams. Instead the students participate in sports that represent the whole city of Elizabeth not just one academy. Students from all the Elizabeth Academies including Elizabeth High School are all on one sports team competing against other schools outside the city.

References

External links

AHPA Website

Directions to AHPA

The AVID Website
* {{Authority control 2008 establishments in New Jersey Education in Elizabeth Educational institutions established in 2008 Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Public high schools in Union County