Manchester Regional High School
Manchester Regional High School is a comprehensive, four-year public high school and regional school district serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Haledon, North Haledon and Prospect Park, three communities in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States.[4][5]
Manchester Regional High School District | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Address | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
70 Church Street , Passaic County, New Jersey, 07508 United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 40.941064°N 74.18245°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
District information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grades | 9-12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Superintendent | Dr. Miguel Hernandez | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Business administrator | John A. Serapiglia Jr. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schools | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
District Factor Group | B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Manchester Regional High School | |
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Location | |
United States | |
Information | |
Type | Public |
Established | 1960 |
NCES School ID | 3412600[2] |
Principal | Dr. Richard Ney |
Asst. principals | Colleen Brogan Christopher Wacha |
Faculty | 62.3 FTEs[2] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 833 (as of 2018–19)[2] |
Student to teacher ratio | 13.4:1[2] |
Campus | Suburban |
Color(s) | Red Black White[3] |
Athletics conference | North Jersey Interscholastic Conference |
Team name | Falcons[3] |
Newspaper | The Falcon Flyer |
Website | www |
The district participates in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, having been approved in July 2003 to participate in the program.[6] Seats in the program for non-resident students are specified by the district and are allocated by lottery, with tuition paid for participating students by the New Jersey Department of Education.[7]
As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 833 students and 62.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.4:1. There were 447 students (53.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 76 (9.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]
The school's mean SAT scores for 2012-13 school year were 444 in the mathematics section, 429 in verbal and 419 on the essay for a composite score of 1292 vs. statewide averages of 521 math, 495 verbal and 496 essay, with a composite score of 1512; Among students taking the SAT, 14.2% met the 1550 composite score benchmark indicative of college success and completion, while 8.5% of peer schools and 43.9% of students statewide met this standard.[8]
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "B", the second-lowest of eight groups. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[9]
In a 2013 change by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education, the district's funding formula was changed so that costs would be allocated with half based on enrollment and half based on valuation. The formula benefited North Haledon most, with Prospect Park's share of funding for the Manchester having more than doubled in a decade as of the 2014-15 school year and property taxes for the regional district rising nearly $700 on the average home in the previous two years. Haledon and Prospect Park have argued that property valuation should be the basis for assessing district taxes, while North Haledon, with the largest property valuation, had argued that funding should be based exclusively on enrollment.[10]
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was awarded a Bronze Medal in U.S. News & World Report's 2009-2010 "Best American High Schools" issue, distinguishing it from the pack by being one of only two Passaic County, NJ, high schools mentioned.[11] Only 1,750 high schools out of 21,786 public high schools were recognized.[12][13]
The school was the 269th-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.[14] The school had been ranked 272nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 260th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[15] The magazine ranked the school 227th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[16] The school was ranked 218th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[17] Schooldigger.com ranked the school as tied for 156th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 117 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 (HSPA).[18]
Athletics
The Manchester Regional Falcons[3] participate in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which is comprised of small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[19][20][21] With 651 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.[22] Prior to realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Manchester was a member of the smaller Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League (BPSL).[23] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2018–2020.[24]
Popular culture
MRHS was featured as the school in the independent film 12 and Holding.[25]
Administration
Core members of the district's administration are:[26][27][28]
- Dr. Miguel Hernandez, Superintendent
- John A. Serapiglia Jr., Business Administrator / Board Secretary
- John Coviello, Principal
- Colleen Brogan, Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Student Services
- Christopher Wacha, Assistant Principal / Director of Language Arts and Literacy & Media Center
Board of education
The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2013) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the day-to-day operation of the district.[29][30][31] Seats on the board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent districts, with four seats assigned to North Haledon, three to Haledon and two to Prospect Park.[32]
Notable alumni
- Angela Atwood (1949–1974), founding member of the Symbionese Liberation Army.[33]
- Bruce Baumgartner (born 1960), four-time Olympic medal winner in wrestling, two gold, one silver and one bronze.[34][35]
- Bruce Huther (born 1954), former linebacker in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears.[36][37]
References
- Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
- School data for Passaic County-Manchester Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
- Manchester Regional High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
- Zaremba, Justin. "Costs add up in funding formula fight", The Gazette, March 17, 2010. Accessed August 21, 2012. "With no end in sight to the legal fight between Haledon, Prospect Park and North Haledon over the funding formula to the Manchester Regional High School District, costs for the boroughs continue to skyrocket."
- Passaic County-Manchester Regional High School 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 30, 2016. "Manchester Regional High School (MRHS) serves 903 students from the Passaic County boroughs of Haledon, North Haledon and Prospect Park. It is also one of only two Interdistrict Public Choice Schools in the county providing a quality college preparatory curriculum to students outside the district who want to avail themselves of this program. One hundred four students from Essex, Bergen and Passaic Counties are enrolled at the school."
- Interdistrict Public School Choice Program: Approved Choice Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 19, 2008.
- Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 2, 2017.
- Manchester Regional High School 2013 School Performance Report, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 20, 2014, 2014.
- NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 20, 2014.
- Park, Minjae. "Prospect Park residents appeal to lawmakers for more school aid for Manchester Regional", The Record, March 18, 2015. Accessed March 22, 2015. "At the court's order, the state commissioner of education created a new funding formula based one-third on enrollment and two-thirds on property values. North Haledon appealed and an administrative law judge in 2011 ordered the commissioner to create a new formula, recommending it be based two-thirds on enrollment and one-third on property values. Instead, Cerf in 2003 divided the burden 50-50 between enrollment and tax base, satisfying none of the boroughs."
- "America's Best High Schools - New Jersey" Archived September 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, US News & World Report, posted December 9, 2009. Accessed February 20, 2010.
- "U.S. News Ranks America's Best High Schools for Third Consecutive Year" Archived September 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, US News & World Report, posted December 9, 2009. Accessed February 20, 2010.
- "Best High Schools 2010: Manchester Regional High School" Archived September 19, 2010[Date mismatch], at the Wayback Machine, US News & World Report, posted December 9, 2009. Accessed February 20, 2010.
- Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
- Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 2, 2012.
- Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed May 21, 2011.
- "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
- New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed January 19, 2012.
- Mattura, Greg. "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship", The Record, January 9, 2017. Accessed August 30, 2020. "The small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference may debut its own boys basketball tournament this season, one season after introducing its girls hoops championship. The NJIC is comprised of schools from Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties and the event offered to the 36 boys teams would serve as an alternative to likely competing against larger programs in a county tournament."
- Member Schools, North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. Accessed August 30, 2020.
- League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
- NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
- New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed November 20, 2014.
- NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2018–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, finalized August 2019. Accessed October 20, 2020.
- 12 and Holding, Internet Movie Database. Accessed May 6, 2010.
- Staff, Manchester Regional High School. Accessed April 5, 2020.
- New Jersey School Directory for Passaic County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 27, 2016.
- Passaic County 2018-19 Public School Directory, Passaic County, New Jersey. Accessed April 5, 2020.
- New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
- Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Passaic County Manchester Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed March 1, 2020. "The Board of Education ('Board') of the Manchester Regional High School District ('District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Manchester Regional High School District is a Type II district located in the County of Passaic, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in grades 9-12. The School District serves the high school needs of the Boroughs of Haledon, North Haledon and Prospect Park."
- Board Members, Manchester Regional High School. Accessed April 5, 2020.
- DeVencentis, Philip. "Write-in winners official for Manchester Regional, Wayne school board elections", The Record, November 25, 2019. Accessed April 5, 2020. "The Manchester Regional school board is composed of two trustees from Prospect Park, three from Haledon and four from North Haledon."
- Andelman, David A. "Priest Explains Eulogy Of Slain S.L.A. Woman", The New York Times, May 27, 1974. Accessed August 21, 2012. "Father Citro attended St. John's High School in Prospect Park, N. J., while Mrs. Atwood -- Angela De Angelis before her marriage -- attended the Manchester Regional High School."
- McDermott, Barry. "A Guy You Do Not Toy With; Bruce Baumgartner is determined to win the one title he has missed ", Sports Illustrated, October 20, 1986. Accessed August 21, 2012. "To the kids who wrestled against Baumgartner when he was at Manchester Regional High School it must seem inconceivable that he would have bothered to stick with wrestling. Only seven years ago he was not good enough to win his state prep title, finishing third as a senior."
- Bruce Baumgartner profile, The Washington Post. Accessed April 26, 2007.
- Roberts, Jeff. "Super Bowl: Memories, super or not, live forever", The Record, January 29, 2014. Accessed May 30, 2016. "The Haledon native and Manchester product was only a rookie when he earned a trip to Super Bowl XII."
- Bruce Huther Stats, Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed March 14, 2018.