Sparta High School is a four-year comprehensive community

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 from

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

, in Sussex 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 the lone secondary school of the Sparta Township Public School District. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,065 students and 98.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 10.8:1. There were 28 students (2.6% 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 11 (1.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Sparta 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.

History

The school opened in September 1959 after Newton High School in neighboring

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

, which had served Sparta students, could no longer take on Sparta's rapidly growing high school-aged population. The sending districts of

Hopatcong Hopatcong ( ) is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 14,362, a decrease of 785 (−5.2%) from the 2010 ...

and Byram Township combined with Sparta to form the initial student body. In its first year of operation, Sparta High enrolled over 400 students enrolled in just three grades, from the three communities that shared the school. In May 1964, Sparta graduated its first class—of 160 students—that had attended the school for all four years. Students from the Byram Township and Stanhope had attended Sparta High School until 1974, when

Lenape Valley Regional High School Lenape Valley Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school and school district in serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from two municipalities in Sussex County and one in Morris County, New Jersey, Unite ...

was created. During the 1970s, Sparta High School instituted split sessions to help alleviate problems brought on by increased enrollment. This was only a temporary fix, however, and the township later approved a referendum to build an annex onto the back of the school, more than doubling its area. The section added a new cafeteria, a library, and open classroom spaces. In the early 1990s, the open spaces provided by the built-on annex were renovated and became closed classrooms. By this time, over one thousand students—all from Sparta—were enrolled in the school. Later in the 1990s, the high school was expanded yet again, adding a new science wing and a number of technological upgrades. In September 2006, Sparta residents approved a referendum to perform major renovations on the school. The construction began in the spring of 2008 and was completed by the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. This reconstruction was to alleviate the issue of overcrowding that the school faced. During the construction, many classrooms were displaced to a cluster of modular trailer rooms.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 34th-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 83rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 78th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 63rd in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 73rd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 104th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 6 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (86.6%) and language arts literacy (96.2%) 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). For the 2013-14 school year, Sparta High School ranked first out of nine public high schools in SAT scores.

Sports

The Sparta High School SpartansSparta 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 the

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) is a sports league that includes 39 public and private high schools from Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex County and Warren County, New Jersey, Warren County ...

, which is comprised of public and private high schools in

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

, Sussex and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the

(NJSIAA). Sparta High School had participated in the Sussex County Interscholastic League until the SCIL was dissolved in 2009 as part of the NJSIAA's restructuring. With 824 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 football team competes in the United Red division of the

North Jersey Super Football Conference The North Jersey Super Football Conference is a football-only athletic league of high schools in New Jersey. The 115-team league was formed in 2016. History The NJSFC consists of nearly all of the football playing members of four conferences that w ...

, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III North for football for 2018–2020. Interscholastic sports programs compete in one of three seasons: *Fall: Football, Boys' Soccer, Girls' Soccer, Cross-Country (Boys' & Girls'), Field Hockey, Girls' Volleyball, Cheerleading, Marching Band, and Girls' Tennis *Winter: Boys' Basketball, Girls' Basketball, Skiing (Boys' & Girls'), Bowling (Boys' & Girls'), Winter Track (Boys' & Girls'), Wrestling, Swimming (Boys' & Girls'), and Ice Hockey *Spring: Track and Field (Boys' & Girls'), Boys' Lacrosse, Girls Lacrosse', Baseball, Softball, Golf (Boys' & Girls') and Boys' Tennis The school participates with

Jefferson Township High School This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence. Buildings Elementary schools *Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas *Thoma ...

in a joint ice hockey team in which

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

is 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 football team won the North I Group II state sectional championship in 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982 and 2003 and won the North I Group III title in 2013 and 2014. The 1976 team won the North I Group II state sectional title with a 34-7 win against

Tenafly High School Tenafly High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school in Tenafly in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Tenafly Public Schools. ...

in the championship game. A punt returned for a touchdown provided the margin needed to win the 1979 North I Group II state sectional title with a 14-7 victory against Garfield High School in the playoff finals to finish the season 10-0-1. The 1980 team finished the season with an 11-0 record after winning the North I Group II state sectional title by defeating Saddle Brook by a score of 13-7 in overtime in the championship game. A stout defense helped the 1982 team defeat

Ridgefield Park High School Ridgefield Park High School is a six-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Ridgefield Park, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary scho ...

by a score of 21-14 in the North I Group II sectional championship game to finish the season with a record of 11-0. In 2003, Sparta's football team won the North I, Group II state championship at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...

against Dover High School by a score of 16-0 in the championship game, finishing the season with a 12-0 record and making them Sussex County's only 12-win undefeated football team. The team won consecutive North I Group III sectional titles against

River Dell Regional High School River Dell High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school, part of the River Dell Regional School District, which is shared with the neighboring communities of Oradell and River Edge in Bergen County, New Jersey, Unite ...

, winning by a score of 40-0 in 2013 and 31-23 in 2014. The boys track team won the Group II spring track state championship in 1976 and 1977. The boys' cross country team won the Group II state championship in 1979. The wrestling team won the North I Group II sectional title in 1983 and the North I Group III title in 2000; the team won the Group II state championship in 1983 The wrestling team won the North I, Group III state sectional championship in 2000 with a 36-29 win against Indian Hills High School. The girls' basketball team won the Group II state championship in 1985 (defeating

Middle Township High School Middle Township High School is a four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Middle Township Public Schools. In ...

in the title game) and won the Group III title in 1990 (vs.

Pennsauken High School Pennsauken High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Pennsauken Township, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Pennsauken Pu ...

) and 2001 (vs. Toms River South High School). In 1985, the team finished the season 29-0 after defeating Middle Township in the Group II championship game, played at the

Brendan Byrne Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on N ...

. The 2001 girls' basketball team won the North I, Group III state sectional championship with a 36-32 win versus

Northern Highlands Regional High School Northern Highlands Regional High School (NHRHS) is a regional public high school and school district in Allendale, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The school serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Allendale, Ho-Ho-K ...

. The team moved on to win the 2001 Group II state championship, defeating West Morris Mendham High School in the semifinals and

Toms River High School South Toms River High School South is a comprehensive four-year public high school, and was the first high school established in Toms River (formerly Dover Township) in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelf ...

in the finals to take the title. The team won the 2003 North I, Group III title with a 34-28 win against

Pascack Valley High School Pascack Valley High School (PVHS) is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located in Hillsdale in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of two secondary schools in th ...

in the tournament final. The 2006 team won the North I, Group III title in a low-scoring match, topping

by a final score of 27-18. In 1995, Sparta's boys' soccer team won the state sectional championship and had a final season record of 21-2. The team finished first in the S.C.I.L with an undefeated record of 18-0. The ice hockey team won the McMullen Cup in 2010-2012. The softball team won the Group III state championship in 2011 vs. Middletown High School South. In 2005, the softball team won the North I, Group III state title with a 2-1 win against

Nutley High School Nutley High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Township of Nutley, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Nutley Public Sch ...

. The girls' outdoor track and field team won the Group II state championship in 2018.

Academic excellence off the field

The boys' soccer team has earned the

National Soccer Coaches Association of America The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 3 ...

'
High School Boys Team Academic Award
for seven consecutive seasons (2003–04 through 2010–11) and nine of ten dating back to 2001–02. To qualify for the award, the team must have a minimum

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

of 3.25 for the entire academic year. The team GPA is determined by adding every player's GPA, then dividing by the number of players. Sparta is one of only two boys' soccer teams in all of

to be recognized in each of the past seven years ( Woodbury High School is the other).

Graduation rate

According to the ''

New Jersey Herald The ''New Jersey Herald'' is a newspaper published six days (Sunday-Friday) every week. Its headquarters are in Newton, New Jersey. It is the only daily newspaper published in Sussex County, New Jersey and one of the oldest in the state. It has a ...

'', the graduation rate for Sparta High School was 94.7%. This rate exceeds the national high school graduation rate of approximately 70%. Sparta High School currently has the highest graduation rate in Sussex County.

Clubs and student activities

Sparta High School has many clubs, academically-related teams and student activities to choose from. The school hosts an Academic Team, Debate Team and countless clubs for whatever interests a student may have. Some progressive groups such as the Gay Straight Alliance are also school sanctioned clubs. The creation of a new club require a teacher sponsor for the cause (tasked with supervising) and approval from the Administration. Sparta High School has the following clubs and activities: Academic Bowl, Art Club, Beginnings (Literary Magazine), Chemistry Olympics, Nightingales (Women's Choir), Blue Nights (Men's Choir), Freshman Select Choir, Shacappella (

A cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group), Sparta Sirens (Female a cappella group), Debate Team, DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), Drama Club,

FBLA The Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA, is an American career and technical student organization headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Established in 1940, FBLA is a non-profit organization of high school ("FBLA"), Middle Level ("FBLA ...

(Future Business Leaders of America), GSA/Spectrum (Gay Straight Alliance),

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...

, History Club, Jazz Bands: Blues Inc! Blues Sanction, Key Club, Marching Band/Color Guard, Mock Trial,

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 ...

, ''Olympian'' (Yearbook), PDP (Peer Development Program), Science League, Science Olympiad, Strings Club, Student Council, ''The Oracle'' (Newspaper), Theater Productions, and a World Language National Honor Society.

Notable alumni

* Greg Baty (born 1964), former NFL player. *

Mike Budnik Michael Allan Budnik, Jr. (born August 8, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist and former professional in-line skater. He competed in the first ten X-Games. Budnik has been a resident of Sparta Township, New Jersey.mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

fighter. *

Tom Caltabiano Tom Caltabiano is a writer and stand-up comedian. He directed and co-starred in the documentary ''95 Miles to Go'' with longtime friend Ray Romano. He was a writer/producer on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' and took over 30,000 behind-the-scenes pho ...

(1979), writer/producer of the sitcom ''

Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch and ...

''. *

Chris Jent Christopher Matthew Jent (born January 11, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was formerly the head coach of the Bakersfi ...

(born 1970), former NBA player. * Dan Miller (born 1981),

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

fighter and

Cage Fury Fighting Championships Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion primarily operating in the Northeastern United States. Founded by Felix and Amy Martinez, they promoted their first shows in Atlantic City, New Jersey, l ...

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

Champion.McCullough, Andy
"Ex-Sparta High wrestlers Jim and Dan Miller make UFC a family affair"
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

'', March 26, 2010. Accessed January 30, 2011. * Jim Miller (born 1983),

fighter and

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

Champion. * Kevin Rogers (born 1951, class of 1969),

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player.Hunter, George LeRoy
"Local athletes inducted into Sussex County Sports Hall of Fame"
''Sparta Independent'', November 11, 2013. Accessed December 28, 2021. "Kevin Rogers is a 1969 graduate of Sparta High School. He attended Massanutten Military Academy 1969 to 1970 where he was named Massanutten's most valuable athlete."

References

External links

Sparta High School web pagesSparta Township Public School District
*
School Data for the Sparta Township Public School District

District loses schools chief to Sparta
{{Authority control Sparta, New Jersey 1959 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1959 Public high schools in Sussex County, New Jersey