St. Mary of the Assumption High School is a small

Catholic high school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

on Broad Street in

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

, in Union County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. The old high school building consists of a three-story brick building with a basement serving as additional classroom space for a total of four floors of education space. The school is affiliated with its parent parish, St. Mary's Church, and operates under the auspices of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jerse ...

. The school has been accredited by the

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

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1992.Saint Mary of the Assumption High School
,

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed November 7, 2017. As of the 2017–18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 184 students and 16.1 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 11.4:1. The school's student body was 50.5% (93) Black, 21.2% (39) Asian, 19.6% (36) two or more races, 6.5% (12) White and 1.1% (2) Hispanic.School data for St Mary Of The Assumption HS

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 September 1, 2020.

History

The school opened in 1930. In June 2019 the school received notice that it was closing that summer, something the principal believed as a surprise. The archdiocese stated that this was because the school had a lot of debt. In response the community established a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

to work to resolve the issue.

Athletics

The St. Mary of the Assumption High School HilltoppersSaint Mary of the Assumption 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

Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference The Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (UCIAC) is a New Jersey high school sports association operating under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). The league consists of 26 public an ...

, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Union County and operates under the supervision of the

(NJSIAA). Prior to the 2010 NJSIAA's realignment, the school had participated in the Mountain Valley Conference, which consisted of public and private high schools covering

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and Union counties in northern New Jersey. With 121 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools). School colors are blue and white. Sports offered include baseball (men), basketball (men and women), bowling (men and women). The boys basketball team won the Non-Public Group A state championship in 1943 (against runner-up St. Peter's Preparatory School in the playoff final), and won the Non-Public B title in 1951 (vs. St. Mary's High School of South Amboy), 1952 (vs.

St. Rose High School St. Rose High School is a co-educational four-year Catholic school, Catholic high school in Belmar, New Jersey, Belmar, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The school operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trento ...

), 1953 (vs. St. Mary's High School of Perth Amboy), 1954 (vs. St. Joseph's High School of Camden), 1955 (vs. Gloucester Catholic) and 1960 (vs. St. Joseph's of Camden). The program's eight state titles are tied for seventh-most in the state. The 1954 team defeated St. Joseph's of Camden by a score of 54–37 in the Catholic Class B final at the Elizabeth Armory. The 1955 team won the program's fifth consecutive title and won its 20th game of the season with a 54–37 win against Gloucester Catholic in Class B. The baseball team won the Non-Public Group B state championship in 1963 (defeating St. Mary's High School of South Amboy in the tournament final), 1965 (vs.

Gloucester Catholic High School Gloucester Catholic High School is a co-educational six-year Roman Catholic high school located in Gloucester City, in Camden County, New Jersey. The school is managed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden. The school serves students in seve ...

) and 1983 (vs. Gloucester Catholic). The 1983 team finished the season with a 15–9 record after winning the Group B state title with a 5–1 victory against Gloucester Catholic in the championship game.

Notable alumni

Chris Bollwage James Christian (Chris) Bollwage is the mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey, the state's fourth-largest city. A lifelong resident of Elizabeth, he was elected into his first term in 1992, and reelected in November 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 a ...

(born 1955; class of 1972), mayor of

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

. *

Hubie Brown Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American retired basketball coach and player and a current television analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naism ...

(born 1933; class of 1951), two-time

NBA Coach of the Year The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led ...

(1978, 2004) and member of the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

. * Gage Daye (born 1989), basketball coach and former player. * Thomas G. Dunn (1921–1998), politician who was the longtime Mayor of Elizabeth, and served in both houses of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

. *

Chuck Feeney Charles Francis Feeney (born April 23, 1931) is an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune as a co-founder of the Hong Kong based Duty Free Shoppers Group. He is the founder of The Atlantic Philanthropies, one of the ...

(born 1931, class of 1949), businessman,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

and the founder of

The Atlantic Philanthropies The Atlantic Philanthropies (AP) was a private foundation created in 1982 by Irish-American businessman Chuck Feeney. The Atlantic Philanthropies focused its giving on health, social, and politically left-leaning public policy causes in Australia ...

, one of the largest private foundations in the world; his 2016 donation of $250,000 was the largest in school history. *

Robert Sparks Robert Earl Sparks (born September 11, 1947) is an American former handball player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and was a resident of Clark, New Jersey when he ...

(born 1947, class of 1965), former

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

player who competed in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

and in the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

. * Kevin M. Tucker (1940–2012), Commissioner of the

Philadelphia Police Department The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD or Philly PD) is the law enforcement agency, police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police a ...

from 1986 to 1988.Warner, Bob
"Former Police Commissioner Kevin M. Tucker dies at 71"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', June 20, 2012. Accessed July 6, 2012. "He was one of six children born to Irish immigrants William and Catherine Tucker. The family moved to Rahway, N.J., and Mr. Tucker attended St. Mary High School in Elizabeth."

References

External links

St. Mary of the Assumption High School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary of the Assumption High School 1930 establishments in New Jersey Education in Elizabeth, New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1930 Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Private high schools in Union County, New Jersey Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark Catholic secondary schools in New Jersey