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 ''Öffentlichk ...
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 ...
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, serving students in ninth 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 Montgomery Township School District.
As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,561 students and 112.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.8:1. There were 50 students (3.2% 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 ...
District Factor Group
{{refimprove, date=February 2013
Membership in a District Factor Group (DFG) is an indicator of the socioeconomic status of citizens in school districts of New Jersey. DFGs were first developed by the New Jersey Department of Education in 1975 for ...
ranking of "J" indicates that the school serves students of relatively high socioeconomic status.
History
After the
Princeton Public Schools
Princeton Public Schools (PPS) is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Princeton, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States.Hillsborough Township School District and also sought other sending-receiving relationships.
Ground was broken in April 1968 for a building that would accommodate an enrollment of 1,100 students and be constructed at a cost of $3.3 million (equivalent to $ million in ). The original high school opened in January 1969 for students in grades 7-10, before which students from the township attended Princeton High School under the terms 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 high school building opened for the 2005-06 school year.
The school had been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools from 1976 until 2013, when the school's accreditation status was removed.
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...
, the highest award an American school can receive.
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', the school was ranked 13th in New Jersey and 636th nationwide. The school was ranked 643rd nationwide, the 18th-highest in New Jersey, in ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools. In ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
's'' May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Montgomery High School was listed in 656th place, the 13th-highest ranked school in
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 ...
.
The school was the 33rd-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. The school had been ranked 61st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 10th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 16th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 4th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.
Schooldigger.com ranked the school 39th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 7 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (93.3%) and language arts literacy (98.1%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).
Testing
Montgomery was recognized in 2006 as excellent in
Advanced Placement 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 rele ...
; all 203 students who took the AP exam that year scored 3 (out of 5) or above.
SAT Scores
In 2005–06, Montgomery averaged a 1760 combined
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
score, 15th-highest statewide, and ranked 7th among all non-magnet, general admission public high schools. In 2006–07, Montgomery averaged a 1755 SAT score, 14th-highest in the state and the 7th-highest for any non-magnet, general admission public high school.
Student activities
Clubs and publications
Montgomery High School offers multiple academic, co-curricular and athletic club programs.
In science, Montgomery High School has a
FIRST
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
Robotics Competition Team, TSA TEAMS, science league, science bowl, and
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 ...
. The band program also offers several extracurricular activities, including: a
marching band
A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...
which plays at every varsity football game and at various area competitions, where they have received superior ratings and special awards such as "Best Overall Effect", "Best Color Guard", and "Best Music"; a jazz band; and a lower-level jazz group called the "Stage Band." All musical ensembles are non-competitive, and only attend competitions in exhibition.
The Yearbook is called the ''Lens'' and, since 2007, is printed in full color.
Each year a video is produced for the senior class, known as senior video. The video is a look back at the time spent in Montgomery by the outgoing seniors and consists of a wide variety of video footage, from the annual senior class trip to
Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
all the way back to
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
. It has historically been handled by the TV department, however since 2008 it has been done as a joint venture between the TV department and the Class Historian for the graduating class. The video is shown once, at the senior dinner dance.
There are other extracurriculars at the school. The Future Business Leaders of America Club competed for the first time at competitions and 9 out of 11 people placed in regionals and went to states and three people went to and placed at the national competition.
''Pawprint'' is MHS' high school newspaper.
MHS also offers a Literary Magazine that gets published annually. Students can submit poetry, prose, photography, and traditional and digital artwork.
FIRST Robotics Competition
Montgomery High School is the home o Team 1403, Cougar Robotics which has been participating in the
FIRST Robotics Competition
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work during a six-week period to build robots capable of competing in that year's game that weig ...
since 2004. Over the years they have been to the Worlds Competitions 8 times, earned 6 blue banners, won 34 awards, such as Xerox Creativity Award, Motorola Quality Award, Chrysler Team Spirit Award, Excellence in Engineering Award, Industrial Design Award, etc. were finalists at 9 Events, and won at 2 Events
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad in Montgomery is run by the teachers in the Science department. From 1997 to 2005, the school won the New Jersey state championships nine consecutive times, qualifying for the national tournament each time. The team qualified for the national tournament in 2022 after defeating West Windsor-Plainsboro. The ten state titles are tied with West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South for the most titles of any high school in the state.
Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War:
* Warren County, Georgia
* Warren County, Illinois
* Warren County ...
in west
Central Jersey
Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation of Central New Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym.
Geographic area and descriptions
While the State of New Jersey is often divided into North and ...
, and operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,232 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range. The football team competes in Division 4 of the Big Central Football Conference, which includes 60 public and private high schools in Hunterdon,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, Somerset,
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
and Warren counties, which are broken down into 10 divisions by size and location. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV North for football for 2018–2020. Sports offered at Montgomery High School include
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
,
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...
,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
,
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
,
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
,
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
,
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
,
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
,
fencing
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
,
cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
, Girl's volleyball, and track.
The school participates in a joint ice hockey team with
Hopewell Valley Central High School
Hopewell Valley Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school operating as part of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Townshi ...
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 1991 boys soccer team finished the season with a record of 14-4-2 after winning the Group I state championship with a 1-0 win against
Glen Rock High School
Glen Rock High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Glen Rock, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Glen Rock Pub ...
in the final game of the tournament at Trenton State College.
The boys' tennis team won the Group IV state championship in 1993 (vs.
Haddonfield Memorial High School
Haddonfield Memorial High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Haddonfield, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary sch ...
), 1997 (vs.
Pitman High School
Pitman High School is a comprehensive community public high school in Pitman, in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Pitman School District.
As of ...
), 1998 (vs.
Madison High School Madison High School may refer to:
* Madison County High School (Alabama), Gurley, Alabama
* Madison High School (Idaho), Rexburg, Idaho
* Madison Consolidated High School, Madison, Indiana
* Madison High School (Kansas), Madison, Kansas
* Kentuc ...
) and 1999 (vs. Haddonfield), and won the Group IV title in 2017 (vs. Livingston High School), 2018 (vs.
Westfield High School Westfield High School may refer to:
* The Westfield School, Perry, Georgia
* Westfield High School (Westfield, Indiana)
* Westfield High School (Massachusetts), Westfield, Massachusetts
* Westfield Technical Academy, Westfield, Massachusetts
* West ...
Newark Academy
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Coll ...
in the final match of the tournament), 2018 (vs. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South) and 2019 (vs. Newark Academy). The 2019 team won the Group IV state title over Montclair 5-0 in the tournament final and went on to finish the season 23-0 after winning the Tournament of Champions over Newark Academy 3-2 in the final round.
The girls swimming team won the Public Group B state championship in 2004 and the Public B title in 2015. The boys team won the Public Group B title in 2020.
The girls soccer team was the Group III co-champion in 2005 with
Moorestown High School
Moorestown High School (MHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Moorestown in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the M ...
and won the Group IV state championship with a 1–0 win over Ridge High School in 2012.
The ice hockey team won the Dowd Cup in 2003.
The girls' softball team won the 2004 NJSIAA Group III state championship. They also won the 2009 Somerset County Tournament.
The boys and girls track teams won the 2005 North II Group III state championships.
The baseball team won the 2005 North II Group III state championship with a 3–1 win over
Millburn High School
Millburn High School is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Millburn (including its Short Hills neighborhood), in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school ...
.
Montgomery High School made it to the 2006 and 2011 NJSIAA Public School Ice Hockey state championship game, falling to Randolph High School both times in the finals of the 64-team tournament.
The boys lacrosse team won the Group III state championship (defeating Randolph High School in the tournament final), and won the Group IV title in 2017 (vs. Ridgewood High School) and 2019 (vs.
Hunterdon Central Regional High School
Hunterdon Central Regional High School is a comprehensive, four-year public high school, and regional school district that serves students from five municipalities in east central Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. Students hail from ...
). The team won the 2007 Group III state championship with a 10–8 win in the playoff finals over Randolph High School.
The 2007 girls' tennis team won the Central Jersey, Group IV state sectional championship with a 3–2 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South in the tournament final. The team won the Group I state championship in 1994 vs. Verona High School and 1996 vs. Mountain Lakes High School. The team won the Group II championship in 2002 vs. Summit High School.
The boys' basketball team won the Central Jersey Group IV sectional title in 2010 with a 57–30 win over
North Brunswick High School
North Brunswick High School is a public school located in Leland, North Carolina It is one of five high schools in the Brunswick County Schools district. As of the 2016–17 school year, North Brunswick has 1300 students currently enrolled in gra ...
, and have also won their respective conference championship in 1975, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2018.
The 2010 boys' tennis team won the Central Jersey Group IV sectional title with a 3–2 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South.
The girls fencing team was the overall state champion in 2016 and 2022, won the épée team state title in 2011 and 2019, and was the foil team winner in 2016 and 2017.
The 2011, 2012 and 2015 boys' golf teams won the Central/South Group IV state sectional championship.
The boys fencing team was the foil team state champion in 2019.
The Varsity Cheerleading squad qualified for Nationals in 2010-2011 and 2011–2012 seasons. The Junior Varsity squad qualified for Nationals in 2011–2012 season, placing first at Empire Regionals at Hofstra University.
Administration
The school's principal is Heather Pino-Beattie. The core administrative team includes three vice principals.
Notable alumni
*
Anthony Cassar
Anthony Cassar (born March 9, 1996) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He is a one-time NCAA Division I champion and a one-time Big Ten Conference champion out of Penn State University, as well as a one-time ...
Chris Chugunov
Chris Chugunov is a former American football quarterback for Ohio State. He played high school football at Montgomery High School in Skillman, New Jersey.
High school career
Playing at Montgomery High School, Chugunov committed to West Virgin ...
(born 1997, class of 2015),
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
who played for the
West Virginia Mountaineers
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Mou ...
and the
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
for the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
ARCA Menards Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nation ...
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
John Milhiser
John Milhiser (born November 29, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. Milhiser first garnered attention for his work as a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch group Serious Lunch, before achieving widespread success for his brief s ...
(born 1981, class of 2000), actor and comedian who was a cast member on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' for the 2013–2014 season.
* Dave Wasserman (born 1984, class of 2002), Senior Editor, U.S. House of Representatives for ''The Cook Political Report''.
* Mark Wiltse (born 1988) soccer defender and midfielder who played for the
Charleston Battery
The Charleston Battery are an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in th ...
* Yannick Smith (born 1990), former professional soccer player, currently a Health & PE teacher and a coach at the school.Smith, Yannick / Overview Montgomery High School. Accessed August 4, 2019.