Lacey Township High School 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 ...

serving 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, located in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, in

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

, which operates as part of the

Lacey Township School District The Lacey Township School District is a comprehensive community public school district serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located in South Jersey along t ...

. The school is overseen by the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

and 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 1983.Lacey Township High School

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 6, 2022. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,256 students and 92.0 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 13.7:1. There were 200 students (15.9% 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 the ...

and 52 (4.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Lacey Township 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 December 1, 2022. The school's mascot is a lion, the symbol is a paw, for the "Lacey Lions." The school's colors are navy blue, silver, and cardinal Lacey Township High School has implemented a random drug testing policy. Students participating in any extracurricular activities including after school sports, clubs or any school event must sign a waiver that allows them to be drug tested randomly. The first offense includes suspension from all after school activities for 10 days.

History

Organized efforts to establish a high school in the township go back to 1971, when a group of residents that included a Central Regional High School District board trustee created the Lacey Township High School Study Committee to consider the options available, based on advice from experts. By March 1976, the Lacey Township Taxpayers Association suggested consideration of a township school for grades 7 and 8 as the first step towards withdrawal of the 1,100 township students attending Central Regional. Constructed at a cost of $9.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) and designed to handle a maximum enrollment of 1,200, the school opened its doors in September 1981 with 850 students in grades 9-12. Before the new facility opened, students from Lacey Township had attended

Central Regional High School Central Regional High School is a four-year regional comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, operating ...

in neighboring Berkeley Township as part of a

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

. A new west wing was added onto the school in 2003, which offers upgraded classrooms. In 2018, the school was sued by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

after suspending two students who had posted photos of themselves at a gun range, in their own free time and not on school property. One of the students, Cody Conroy, was vocal about the situation. "Sharing our completely legal weekend activities on Snapchat should not result in three days of in-school suspensions."

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 210th-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 had been ranked 257th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 225th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 238th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 201st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school as tied for 211th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 1 position 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 The High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA, pronounced "hess-pah" (/ˈhɛspə/) or sometimes just "H-S-P-A") was a standardized test that was administered by the New Jersey Department of Education to all New Jersey public high school students in ...

(HSPA). Maurice Grillon III was recognized by

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

as one of four outstanding New Jersey secondary school teachers, honored at its June 1, 2004 Commencement. Through Grillon's efforts, the school's

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

program was expanded to 210 students. Math teacher

Mark Geiger Mark William Geiger (born August 25, 1974) is an American sports administrator and former soccer referee. He is the senior director of match officials at the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which oversees domestic referees in Major Lea ...

was recognized in April 2011 as a recipient of the

Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is the highest recognition that a kindergarten through 12th-grade mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States. Author ...

, in recognition of his efforts to identify "for new and innovative ways to teach mathematics in order to make it relevant and to connect to each of his students." In 2014, Mark Geiger was selected as the first American soccer referee to officiate in the FIFA World Cup since 2002.

Advanced Placement courses

Lacey Township High School offers

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 ...

(AP) courses to students including

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 ...

AP Calculus AB Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus (also known as AP Calc, Calc AB / Calc BC or simply AB / BC) is a set of two distinct Advanced Placement calculus courses and exams offered by the American nonprofit organization College Board. AP Calculus AB cov ...

AP Calculus BC Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus (also known as AP Calc, Calc AB / Calc BC or simply AB / BC) is a set of two distinct Advanced Placement calculus courses and exams offered by the American nonprofit organization College Board. AP Calculus AB cov ...

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 ...

AP Computer Science A Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science A (also known as AP CompSci, AP CompSci A, APCS, APCSA, AP Computer Science Applications, or AP Java) is an AP Computer Science course and examination offered by the College Board to high school students as ...

AP English Language and Composition Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition (also known as AP English Language, APENG, or AP Lang) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program. When AP exams were first implemen ...

AP English Literature and Composition 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 State ...

AP Environmental Science Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science (also known as APES, AP Enviro, AP Environmental, AP Environment, or AP EnviroSci) is a course and exam offered by the American College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program to high school ...

AP French Language and Culture Advanced Placement (AP) French Language and Culture (also known as AP French Lang, AP French Language or AP French) is a course offered by the College Board to high school students in the United States as an opportunity to earn placement credit ...

, AP German Language and Culture,

AP Physics 1 Advanced Placement (AP) Physics 1, along with AP Physics 2, is a year-long AP course whose first exam was given in 2015. The course is intended to proxy a one-semester algebra-based university course. In its first five years, the exam covered fo ...

AP Psychology Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology (also known as AP Psych) and its corresponding exam are part of College Board, College Board's Advanced Placement Program. This course is tailored for students interested in the field of psychology and as an op ...

AP Spanish Language and Culture Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language and Culture (also known as AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish V, or AP Spanish) is a course and examination offered by the College Board in the United States education system as part of the Advanced Placemen ...

AP Statistics Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics (also known as AP Stats) is a college-level high school statistics course offered in the United States through the College Board's Advanced Placement program. This course is equivalent to a one semester, non-ca ...

AP Studio Art Advanced Placement (AP) Studio Art (also known as AP Art and Design) is a series of Advanced Placement Courses divided into three different categories: AP Studio Art Drawing, AP Studio Art 2D Design, and AP Studio Art 3D Design. Portfolio Unlike ...

, and

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 ...

Athletics

The Lacey Township High School LionsLacey Township High School

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in Division B South of the

Shore Conference The Shore Conference is an athletic conference of private and public high schools in the U.S. state of New Jersey, centered at the Northern Jersey Shore. All schools in this conference are located within Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County ...

, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools in

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

and Ocean counties along the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

.Shore Conference Realignment for 2018-2019 and 2019-2020

. Accessed November 15, 2020. The league operates under the jurisdiction of the

(NJSIAA). With 876 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 893 to 1,296 students. The school participates as the host school / lead agency in a joint ice hockey team with

Barnegat High School Barnegat High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Barnegat Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as a part of the Barnegat Township Sc ...

. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. Sports offered by the high school include: The football team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional titles in 1988, 1989, 2006 and 2010. The 1988 team finished the season with a 10-1 record after winning the South Jersey Group III sectional title with a 31-28 victory against Woodrow Wilson High School in the championship game on a field goal kicked with two seconds left in the game. The 1989 team finished with a record of 11-0 after defeating Woodrow Wilson in the finals by a score of 28-28 to win the team's second consecutive South Jersey Group III title. In 2006, the Lacey Lions beat Seneca High School 12-0 becoming the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III state champions. This is only the second time that the Lions went undefeated. It was the third state championship under Coach Lou Vircillo, the only head football coach the school has had since it opened in 1981. In 2010, the Lions football team reached the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III state championship game and defeated Delsea Regional High School 56–7, finishing a perfect 12–0 season, earning the fourth state championship under Coach Lou Vircillo, and marking the third team in school history to go undefeated. The Lions football team also reached the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III state championship game in both 2005 and 2007, but were defeated by

Delsea Regional High School Delsea Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Elk Township (feeding into Delsea from Aura Elementary School, which serves grades PreK-6) and Frank ...

(by a score of 21-6) and Shawnee High School (losing 23-20), respectively. The field hockey team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional title in 1993, 1994 and 1995. The 1994 team finished the season with an 18-2-3 record after winning the Group III state championship game by a score of 2-1 against a

West Essex High School West Essex High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in North Caldwell. The high school is part of the West Essex Regional School District, which comprises the constituent municipalities of Essex Fells, Fairfield, No ...

team led by

Michelle Vizzuso Michelle Vizzuso (born April 13, 1977 in Fairfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey) is an American former field hockey player who made her international senior debut for the Women's National Team in 1997. Playing as a forward, Vizzuso was a mem ...

that had not lost in 86 consecutive games in a four-year span.History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The girls bowling team won the Group II state championship in 2018.

Administration

The school's principal is Jason King. His core administration team includes the two assistant principals.

Notable alumni

* Melissa Drexler (born 1978), known as the "Prom Mom". * Keith Elias (born 1972), former professional football player for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. * Chris Fleming (born 1970, class of 1988), basketball player who played at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

before starring in Germany and becoming the head coach of Germany's men's national basketball team. * Warren Smith (born 1990, class of 2008), American football player who played at

Iona College Iona University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochell ...

and the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

before playing in Germany, the

Richmond Raiders The Richmond Raiders were a professional indoor football team located in Richmond, Virginia the Richmond Coliseum as their home arena. The Raiders began play in the 2010 as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). The ...

, the

Trenton Freedom The Trenton Freedom was a professional indoor football team based in Trenton, New Jersey. The Freedom were a member of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). The Freedom began play in 2014 as an expansion member of the PIFL. The Freedom ...

and the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...

. *

Rhett Titus Everett Lawrence Titus (born September 15, 1987) is an American professional wrestler working for Ring of Honor (ROH). where he is a former ROH World Television Champion, an overall two-time ROH Tag Team Champion individually, as well as winn ...

(born 1987, class of 2005), professional wrestler in

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

. *

Garry Tonon Garry Lee Tonon (born September 12, 1991) is an American submission grappler and mixed martial artist. He is a five-time Eddie Bravo Invitational champion, and has won titles at ADCC submission wrestling championship, IBJJF ...

(born 1991),

submission grappler Submission wrestling, also known as Submission grappling, Submission fighting a form of competition and a general term for martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission through the ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

.Procida, Le
"Lacey students note long list of accomplishments"
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'', July 8, 2019. Accessed December 21, 2022.

References

External links

Lacey Township High SchoolLacey Township School District
*
School Data for the Lacey Township School District

DigitalSports Lacey Homepage
{{Authority control 1981 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1981 Lacey Township, New Jersey Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Public high schools in Ocean County, New Jersey