Matawan Regional High School is a four-year regional

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 Aberdeen Township, United States, 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 as the lone secondary school of the

Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District The Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District is a regional public school district in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The district serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from the communities of Aberdeen Townsh ...

. Serving students from Aberdeen Township and Matawan, it is one of Monmouth County's largest schools. 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 ...

since 1951.Matawan Regional High School

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools, backed up by the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

as of March 15, 2012. Accessed March 26, 2015. The school mascot is a husky. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,139 students and 95.4 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 11.9:1. There were 187 students (16.4% 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 45 (4.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Matawan Regional 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.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 139th-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 92nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 126th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 111th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 115th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"
''

'', September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 253rd out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 38 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 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).

History

When the State of New Jersey mandated graded school systems replace district schools in 1894, Matawan Township and Matawan Borough constructed an eight-room brick school building at the corner of Broad Street and South Street, which was completed and occupied in 1895.Federal Writers' Projects: Matawan, 1686–1936, pp 70-71. A 1913 graduate described the school as having four rooms on the first floor, and four rooms and a long, wide hall on the second floor. There was no indoor plumbing until a major addition was made to the building about 1910, so outdoor toilets were used for about fifteen years. Sanitary facilities were added in the basement. The Class of 1913 consisted of 34 eighth graders, most of whom were expected to go to work after they finished school. By 1923, the school was so overcrowded that it was running double sessions to teach its students in 12 rooms, so the township voted to build a new high school next door. The first Matawan High School was completed and occupied in 1924 on at the corner of Broad Street and South Street. The -story brick building of Georgian design was constructed at a cost of $175,000 (equivalent to $ million in ). It contained 13 classrooms, a study hall, a cafeteria, an auditorium seating 527, and a gymnasium with capacity for 300. The school had 388 students and 14 teachers in 1936; 76 seniors graduated with the Class of 1936. The school had recently taken in students from Laurence Harbor, effectively doubling the graduating class between 1933 and 1936. The school, which included some middle school students in 1957, had 540 high school students and their 28 teachers.Tiemann, Alice M., Township of Matawan, 1857–1957, pg 35 After it was replaced in 1962, consideration was given to making the old high school an elementary school but it was eventually demolished. Matawan Regional High School was built to deal with sharp population growth due to the construction of 2,300 new housing units in the area. Population nearly doubled between the 1960 census figure of 12,456 and the 1965 estimate of 21,177. Constructed at a cost of $2.5 million (the value of $ million in ), the school opened in September 1962 with nearly 1,200 students in grades 7–12. The school had 1,780 students and 102 teachers in the 1964/1965 school year. The 62 rooms included 33 classrooms, two gymnasiums, an auditorium, a cafeteria, two music rooms, two industrial arts shops, eight science rooms, and two fine arts rooms.League of Women Voters, Know Your Town: Matawan Borough and Township, 1965, pp 40-46 The school underwent a $13.3 million renovation project completed in September 2004 which included a new facade, new chemistry and oceanography laboratory classrooms, a new art wing, including a kiln, computer labs, as well as a new greenhouse. The sports department received a renovated artificial turf football field and stadium lighting. Streetside saw a new electronic sign.

Demographics

Sports

The Matawan High School HuskiesMatawan Regional 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 North 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 797 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 III South for football for 2018–2020. The school participates in a joint ice hockey team with Howell High School as the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. The Matawan High School baseball team (63-2) won the Central Jersey championship three consecutive years from 1922 to 1924 under Coach Benjamin W. Davis. Matawan's African-American pitcher Henry Schanck was edged out by

Keyport High School Keyport High School is a four-year public high school in Keyport, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, operated as the lone secondary school of the Keyport Public Schools. Students ...

in a 16-inning match in 1924. The

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

(WPA) added a sports field at the high school in 1936. The 1959 Huskies baseball team, coached by George Deitz, won the Shore Conference championship and competed in the Group I state championships, losing in the first round. Their star pitcher, Carl Stephens, threw three no-hitters that season and was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing in their minor league system until an arm injury ended his career. The team won the Central Jersey Group II state sectional championship in 1960. The Matawan Catfish swim team competed against the Laurence Harbor Eels at nearby

Lake Lefferts Lake Lefferts (Latitude: 40.414552, Longitude: -74.234589) is an engineered lake in Matawan, New Jersey. The lake is the result of the construction in 1928 of Lake Lefferts Dam, which captured and stored the flow of Matawan Creek. The lake is h ...

in spring 1936. The boys track team won the spring track title in Group I in 1955-1958 and won the Group II championship in 2013. The boys' bowling team won the overall state championship in 1969. The boys' team won their division back-to-back in 2017 (tied with Keansburg as co-champion) and 2018. The 2018 season saw the boys team achieve an undefeated season in divisional matches going 45–0. In 1958, the Matawan High School Huskies football squad, led by Coach Barry Rizzo, won the Shore Conference Championship, losing only to

Neptune High School Neptune High School is a comprehensive four-year community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Neptune Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Neptune Townshi ...

. They defeated their rivals, the

Red Raiders in a hard-fought Thanksgiving Day game, by a score of 6–2. Notable players on that Huskies team were the "Touchdown Twins", David Jones and Purvis Peeler. The 1973 football team finished the season with a record of 7-2 and was awarded the Central Jersey Group III title by the NJSIAA based on strength of schedule, despite

Manasquan High School Manasquan High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Manasquan, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone high school of the Manasq ...

finishing with a 9–0 record. In the playoff era, the football team won the Central Jersey state sectional championships in Group IV in 1975; in Group III in 1988, 1991, 1992 and 2014; and in both 2009 and 2011 in Group II. In 1975 the team won the Central Jersey Group III title with a 7–0 win against previously unbeaten

Colonia High School Colonia High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades in the Colonia section of Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It operates as part of the ...

in the championship game to finish the season with a record of 11-0 and extend their winning streak to 19 games. The 1988 team finished the season with an 11–0 record after winning the Central Jersey Group III title with a 14–6 victory against Franklin High School, which had entered the championship game with a 21-game winning streak. The 1991 team won the Central Jersey Group II title with a 28–14 victory against

Ocean Township High School Ocean Township High School (OTHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school in the Ocean Township ...

to finish the season 9–2. In 1992, the team finished the season 10-1 and won its second Central Jersey Group II sectional title with a 29–28 win against Neptune High School on a

Two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...

scored in overtime. In 2009, the football team won the Central Jersey Group II sectional title by a score of 28–12 against

in a game played at

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...

, marking the program's first sectional title in more than 25 years. The team won the program's seventh sectional title in 2014 with a 27–7 win against

Carteret High School Carteret High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Carteret in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, as the lone secondary school of the Carteret School Distr ...

in the Central Jersey Group III state sectional championship. The girls spring track team was the Group IV state champion in 1973 and 1974. The girls bowling team was overall state champion in 1974 and won the Group I title in 2018. In 2005 , the girl's softball team won the Central Jersey Group II state sectional championship with a 1-0, 12-inning win in the tournament final against

, earning the program's first state championship. In 2009, the boys indoor and outdoor track and field teams took the Central Jersey Group II titles, marking the first time since 1996 since the boys team took the outdoor title, and the first time the indoor team had ever taken a state title. The indoor team won a second consecutive title in 2010, defeating second place Summit Senior High School by 56–42. In 2011, the outdoor track and field team won its third consecutive Central Jersey, Group II sectional title, edging

Long Branch High School Long Branch High School is a comprehensive high school, comprehensive, four-year community state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school that serves students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades in the city o ...

80-77 for the victory. The boys track team won the indoor relay state championship in Group II in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The girls team won the Group II title in 2013. The boys track team won the indoor track state championship in Group II in 2013. The girls team won the Group II title in 2015. The boys' basketball team won the 2013-14 Central Jersey Group II state sectional championship with a 67–54 win in the tournament final against

Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School The Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (often abbreviated RFH) is a regional, four-year comprehensive public high school and school district in the eastern United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from the suburban ...

, going 24-5 throughout the season. In 2014, the boys' track and field team won the B-North division championships and the Central Jersey Group II sectional champs, earning the team's seventh sectional title, having most recently won in 2011.

Academics

Music

Music has deep roots at Matawan. In 1895, the ''

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...

'' ran a statewide competition to determine the most popular new school in the budding New Jersey school system. Matawan returned the most coupons, defeating its nearest competitor by 40,000 votes, thereby winning a

Chickering and Sons Chickering & Sons was an American piano manufacturer located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1823 by Jonas Chickering and James Stewart, but the partnership dissolved four years later. By 1830 Jonas Chickering became partners ...

piano.

Marching band

The Matawan Marching Huskies band won the national championships in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1977. They are led by band director Kevin Cotter. In the 2011 season, the Marching Huskies finished first in the

Tournament of Bands The Tournament of Bands (TOB) is one of the largest competitive band organizations in the United States and is one of several major circuits in the mid-Atlantic states (other circuits include Cavalcade of Bands and USBands). TOB was founded in 1972 ...

(TOB) Group II Chapter X (Greater NYC Metro) Championships with a score of 93.0. The chapter title was the first for the band since 2006. They ended the season with a 3rd-place finish at the TOB Atlantic Coast Championships in

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The community is lo ...

with a score of 95.5, earning the Marching Huskies not only their highest-ever placement at the ACCs, but their highest score in school history.

Staff

The school's principal is Aaron Eyler, who is assisted by three assistant principals.Administration
Matawan Regional High School. Accessed May 8, 2021.

Notable alumni

Monica Aksamit Monica Aksamit (born February 18, 1990) is an American Olympic saber fencer. She represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, earning a bronze medal in the Women's Saber Team competition. She won a gold medal with Team USA at t ...

(born 1990, class of 2008), saber fencer who won a bronze medal at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in the Women's Saber Team event. *

Jay Bellamy Jay Bellamy (born July 8, 1972) is a former American football safety who played for the Seattle Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at Rutgers University, he went undrafted i ...

(born 1972),

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who played in the NFL for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. *

Erison Hurtault Erison George Hurtault (born December 29, 1984) is an American retired sprinter who has represented Dominica in international events, including the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics. He specialized in the 400 metres. He grew ...

(born 1984, class of 2003), Olympic sprinter who competed in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

representing

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

. * Eugene Michael Hyman (born 1950, class of 1968), retired judge. *

Jim Jeffcoat James Wilson Jeffcoat, Jr. (born April 1, 1961) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills. He was most recently an assistant football coach for the Dallas Renegades of the ...

(born 1961), professional football player for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and the

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

from 1983 to 1997. * Robert F. Milligan (born 1932, class of 1951), retired lieutenant general in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

who served as Comptroller of Florida from 1994 to 2002.Past Inductees Matawan Regional High School Hall Of Fame/Alumni
Matawan Regional High School. Accessed November 17, 2021. "Lt. General Robert Milligan, USMC (Ret.) 1951 – Florida Comptroller, Marines... Eugene M. Hyman 1968 - Superior Court Judge" *

Retta Marietta Sirleaf,Jung, E. Alex Vulture.com, May 23, 2018. rchived https://web.archive.org/web/20180523214634/https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/retta-has-a-story-to-tell.htmlon 05-23-2018

(born 1970, class of 1988), actress known for her role as Donna Meagle on NBC's ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

''. *

Charlie Rogers John Edward "Charlie" Rogers (born June 19, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks (1999–2001), the Houston Texans (2 ...

(born 1976), former NFL running back, wide receiver and kick returner. *

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...

(born 1954), writer for television, film and comics, attended 1970. * Eileen Tell (born 1966), former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. * Nancy J. Woodhull (1945–1997, class of 1963), co-founding editor of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', president of

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Southern Progress Corporation Southern Progress Corporation, based in Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, is a publisher of lifestyle magazines and books owned by IAC (company), IAC's Dotdash Meredith. The company publishes such magazines as ''Southern Living'', ''Coo ...

.Past Inductees Matawan Regional High School Hall of Fame/Alumni
Matawan High School. Accessed September 14, 2020.

References

External links

Matawan Regional High School websiteMatawan-Aberdeen Regional School District
*
School Data for the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District

DigitalSports Matawan HomepageMatawan Football Alumni FoundationHuskies Sports OnlineHuskies football statistics
{{Authority control 1924 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1924 Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Public high schools in Monmouth County, New Jersey Works Progress Administration in New Jersey Aberdeen Township, New Jersey Matawan, New Jersey