Belleville 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

that serves 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 (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

from Belleville, in Essex County, in the

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 so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Operating as the lone secondary school of the Belleville School District, the school has been accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeas ...

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1964.Belleville High School

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed January 15, 2020. As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,591 students and 121.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 13.2:1. There were 774 students (48.6% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the provision of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. The practice was once common in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with the ...

and 217 (13.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Belleville High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed December 15, 2024.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 294th-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 New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 160th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 214th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 241st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 311th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 12 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).

Athletics

The Belleville High School BuccaneersBelleville 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 November 4, 2015. compete in the

Super Essex Conference The Super Essex Conference (SEC) is a high school athletic conference located in Essex County, New Jersey. The conference was formed in 2009 by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association and was a result of a larger realignment that ...

, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Essex County and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the

(NJSIAA). Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in Division A of the

Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League The Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, abbreviated NNJIL, was a former athletic conference located in Bergen County, Passaic County and Essex County, New Jersey. The NNJIL was separated into three divisions, according to the classificatio ...

, which included high schools located in

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Passaic County Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,

and Essex County. With 1,057 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 Freedom White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, 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 IV North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 893 to 1,315 students. The school colors are blue, white and gold. The baseball team won the North II Group IV state sectional championship in 1965.Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024

, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.

Administration

The school's principal is Caleb Rhodes. His core administrative team includes four assistant principals.

Notable alumni

* Chico Borja (1959–2021), soccer player and coach * Ramiro Borja (born 1961), retired professional soccer player * Lonnie Bunch (born 1952, class of 1970), educator, historian and museum curator who became the Fourteenth Secretary of the Smithsonian in 2019 and was founding director of the Smithsonian's

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), colloquially known as the Blacksonian, is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 an ...

Kacy Catanzaro Kacy Esther Catanzaro (born January 14, 1990) is an American professional wrestler and a former gymnast and obstacle racer. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Katana Chance. Alongside Kayden Carter, ...

(born 1990),

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

and obstacle racer * Jack Cullen (born 1939), pitcher who played for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

* Robert Curvin (1934–2015, class of 1952), advocate for

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, activist and historian, who had a key role in the

1967 Newark riots The 1967 Newark riots were an episode of violent, armed conflict in the streets of Newark, New Jersey. Taking place over a four-day period (between July 12 and July 17, 1967), the Newark riots resulted in at least 26 deaths and hundreds more s ...

Phil Cuzzi Philip Cuzzi (born August 29, 1955) is an American professional baseball umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). He worked as a reserve umpire in the National League (NL) from 1991 to 1993 and returned to the NL in 1999. Since 2000, he has worked ...

(born 1955, class of 1973),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

The Delicates The Delicates, were an American three-girl singing group, made up of members Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti, and Peggy Santiglia. The group was formed in 1958 while all three members were attending Elementary School No. Eight, in Belleville, Ne ...

, singing group consisting of Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti, and Peggy Santiglia from the Class of 1962 * Tommy DeVito (1936–2020), lead guitarist for The Four Seasons who dropped out of school following eighth grade to pursue his music career, but was named an honorary graduate of Belleville High School in 2007 *

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

(born 1937, class of 1955), singer * David Grant (born 1965; class of 1983), defensive end for six NFL seasons for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for portraying tough, volatile characters, in a variety of genres, and for his collaborations with his best friend, Robert De Niro in the films ' ...

(born 1943),

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning actor * Joel A. Pisano (1949–2021),

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. gover ...

from 2000 to 2001 *

Ron San Fillipo Ronald San Fillipo (January 23, 1942 – November 12, 2024) was an American athletic director and athletics coach. He was the head football and baseball coach for Kean College of New Jersey—since renamed Kean University—in the early 1970s and ...

(1942–2024, class of 1960), athletic director and athletics coach *

Peggy Santiglia Margaret "Peggy" Santiglia (born May 4, 1944) is an American pop singer of the "girl group era". She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit " My Boyfriend's Back" with The Angels, which she recorded at the age of 18. Biography Santigli ...

(born 1944), singer-songwriter of the "girl group era", best known for her 1963 pop hit " My Boyfriend's Back" with The Angels, which she recorded at the age of 19 *

Gerard Way Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the Rock music, rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, ''Hesitan ...

(born 1977, class of 1995), frontman of

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

and writer of ''

The Umbrella Academy ''The Umbrella Academy'' is an Absurdist fiction, absurdist Superhero fiction, superhero comic book series created by writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá. It follows a dysfunctional family of adopted superhero siblings with bizarre powers a ...

''Uschak, Roman J
"Rock band with Belleville roots, My Chemical Romance, breaks up"
''Belleville Times'', April 18, 2013. Accessed July 15, 2013. "Lead singer and co-founder Gerard Way graduated from Belleville High School in 1995.... Way's younger brother, Mike, the bassist for My Chemical Romance, also grew up in Belleville and is a 1998 BHS graduate." *

Mikey Way Michael James Way (born September 10, 1980) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He also serves as the multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist of rock duo Electric Century. ...

(born 1980, class of 1998), bass guitarist of

Leonard R. Willette 2nd Lt. Leonard Robert Willette (1921 – September 22, 1944) was a World War II Tuskegee Airman fighter pilot. He was killed in action while flying over Germany escorting a group of American bombers. Early life Willette was born in Belleville, ...

(1921–1944, class of 1939),

Tuskegee Airman The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Arm ...

pilot killed in action in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

flying over Germany while protecting a group of American bombers * Tony Zuzzio (1916–2002), lineman who played for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

during the

1942 NFL season The 1942 NFL season was the 23rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, many players left for service in World War II, thus depleting the rosters of all the teams. The ten teams of the NFL each played a 11 game sche ...

Tony Zuzzio

Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro Football Reference (PFR) is an online statistics database for professional American football maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for players, teams, and games, as well as records and NFL draft history. PFR was ...

. Accessed June 10, 2018.

References

External links

Belleville High SchoolBelleville School District
*
Data for Belleville High School

{{Authority control Belleville, New Jersey Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Public high schools in Essex County, New Jersey