Immaculate Conception High School is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

al college preparatory

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., ...

located in Montclair, 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 ...

. The school operates under the supervision 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 in the United States. The mother church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Hea ...

. 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 1957.Immaculate Conception High School

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 5, 2022. Immaculate Conception High School was established in 1925 as a parish school under the guidance of its founder, Rev. Edward M. Farrel. The

Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth The Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth are a Roman Catholic apostolic congregation of pontifical right, based in the Convent Station area of Morris Township, New Jersey, USA. The religious order was established in 1859 in Newark, New Jersey ...

began their connection to the school with the appointment of Mother Mary Alexandrine as the school's first principal. Facing financial challenges and a drop in enrollment, the school Newark archdiocese announced that the school would close at the end of the 2024–25 school year. Per its

mission statement A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation ...

, Immaculate Conception High School "strives, within the context of family to develop the whole person: morally, intellectually, emotionally, and physically, recognizing the work and uniqueness of each individual". As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 246 students and 25 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 9.8:1. The school's student body was 63.4% (156) Black, 32.5% (80) Hispanic and 4.1% (10) White.School data for Immaculate Conception 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 November 1, 2023.

History

By 2014, the school had debts of $900,000. That year

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore reports that ...

reported that the school "is fighting to stay open." Fundraisers that year generated about $500,000 helped to ensure the school's survival. The necessary money was generated in approximately one month.

Athletics

The Immaculate Conception High School LionsImmaculate Conception Montclair

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

(NJSIAA). Prior to the 2010 realignment of the NJSIAA, the school had previously participated in the Colonial Hills Conference; which included schools in Essex,

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, Man ...

and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

counties in west

Central Jersey Central Jersey, or Central New Jersey, is the middle region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation Central Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. While New Jersey is often divided into North Jersey and South Jersey, many resi ...

. With 170 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). The football team competes in the United Blue 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 boys basketball team won the Non-Public Group C state championship in 1978, defeating Sacred Heart High School by a score of 53–51 in the tournament finals. The boys track team won the spring / outdoor track title in Non-Public B in 1980–1984, 1986–1988, 1998 and 2005. The program's 10 state titles are tied for eighth-most in the state.NJSIAA Boys Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The 1983 softball team finished the season with a 16–10 record after winning the Non-Public group B state championship in 1983, with a 9–6 victory against runner-up

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, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is managed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden. The school ...

in the finals. The girls team won the NJSIAA spring / outdoor track state championship in Non-Public B in 1991.NJSIAA Girls Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The football team won the Non-Public B South state sectional championship in 1994 and the Non-Public Group I title in 1998. The 1994 team finished the season 11–0 after winning the Non-Public B South title against four-time defending champion St. Joseph High School by s score of 20–6 in the tournament final. Dominique Booker won the 55 meter dash at the 2009 Meet of Champions with a time of 6.92 seconds, setting a meet record that was also the fastest time in the nation for the event that year. At the 2011 Meet of Champions, Mirabel Nkenke won a silver medal with a time of 56.21 in the 400 meter dash, setting a school record for the event.

Notable alumni

Tom Ammiano Tom Ammiano (born December 15, 1941) is an American politician and LGBT rights activist from San Francisco, California. Ammiano, a member of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, served as a member of the California State Assembly from 2008 t ...

(born 1941), politician and LGBT rights activist who served as a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

and on the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California. Government and polit ...

Rich Kenah Richard "Rich" Kenah (born August 4, 1970 in Montclair, New Jersey) is a former US middle-distance runner who won bronze medals over 800 metres at the 1997 World Indoor Championships and at the World Championships in Athens. After placing secon ...

(born 1970), middle-distance runner who represented the United States at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Jose L. Linares Jose L. Linares (born November 30, 1953) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the former Chief Judge of that same Court from 2017 to 2019. In May 2019, he resigned as Chie ...

(born 1953), former Chief United States district judge 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 ...

Naturi Naughton Naturi Cora Maria Naughton-Lewis (born May 20, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Naughton is best known as one-third of the R&B group 3LW and for her acting roles in the films '' Fame'' and '' Notorious'', playing rapper Lil ...

(born 1984), actress and singer-songwriter who was one-third of the R&B trio 3LW * Clifford Omoruyi (born 2001),

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

* Sophie Rain (born 2004), internet content creator * Ron Simpson, former professional basketball player * Ben Sirmans (born 1970),

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

coach and former

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

who is the running backs coach for the

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 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

* Zakai Zeigler (born 2002),

player for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

Zakai Zeigler

Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Missi ...

. Accessed February 17, 2025. "Spent the majority of the 2020-21 school year, including basketball season, at Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair, N.J., averaging 20.0 points and 4.6 assists per game as a senior."

References

External links

Immaculate Conception High School website

Data for Immaculate Conception High School

{{Authority control 1925 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1925 Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Montclair, New Jersey Private high schools in Essex County, New Jersey Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark Catholic secondary schools in New Jersey