Perth Amboy High School

Perth Amboy High School (or PAHS) is a four-year comprehensive community public high school which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Perth Amboy in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Perth Amboy Public Schools. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1928.[3]

Perth Amboy High School
Address
300 Eagle Avenue

Perth Amboy
,
Middlesex County
,
New Jersey
08861

United States
Coordinates40.523323°N 74.269857°W / 40.523323; -74.269857
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1881
School districtPerth Amboy Public Schools
NCES School ID3412930[1]
PrincipalMichael Heidelberg
Keith Guarino (Freshman Academy)
Francisco Velez (Personalized Learning Program)
Faculty197.5 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment2,324 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio11.8:1[1]
Color(s)  Red and
  white[2]
Athletics conferenceGreater Middlesex Conference
Team namePanthers[2]
AccreditationMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools[3]
PublicationPawprints
Websitewww.paps.net/Domain/9

As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,324 students and 197.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1. There were 1,987 students (85.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 113 (4.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

The current Perth Amboy High School was built in 1971, to replace an earlier building that opened in 1881. The building was originally built to accommodate 1,600 students, resulting in overcrowding with nearly 50% students above the design capacity attending the school. Perth Amboy High School is the only public high school in the city other than the Perth Amboy campus of the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical High Schools. The school mascot is a panther.[2]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 322nd-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.[4] The school had been ranked 320th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 318th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[5] The magazine ranked the school 270th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[6] The school was ranked 274th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[7]

Demographics

PAHS is 91% Hispanic, 5.9% Black, 2.5% White, and 0.4% Asian.[1] Most of the students belong to working class families. 68% of the students participate in the free or reduced price lunch program. 71% of the school speaks Spanish in their homes while another 1% speaks another language that isn't English at home, mainly Portuguese, Polish, Vietnamese, or Cantonese. There are also limited English proficient (LEP) students, who compose 15% of the school. Limited English Proficient students cannot speak, read, or write in English and are placed in "bilingual" classes.

Perth Amboy High School

The average class size is 22 students, excluding special education. The school's ratio of students to computers is 12 to 1 meanwhile the state average is 4 to 1. The school day is longer than the state average. The instructional time is 7 hours whereas the state average is 5 hours and 52 minutes.

Student performance

On the Language Arts section of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), 58% scored proficient and 39% scored partial. On the Math section of the test, 45% scored proficient and 48% scored partial. The average SAT score is 849 out of 1600. However, these results are offset by the high number of bilingual students resulting in lower than average test scores in the school itself. The Advanced Placement Program (AP) participation is 11%. The average attendance rate is 90%. As of the 2004–05 school year, PAHS had a suspension rate of 44%. 91% of PAHS seniors graduated. 33% of the school graduated via the SRA process and 12% graduated through the Limited English Proficiency SRA process. Roughly 54% of the graduating seniors go on to two-year colleges, particularly Middlesex County College and another 29% of the graduating seniors go on to four year colleges.

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities include Gear Up and School Based Youth Services Program. Gear Up is sponsored by Kean University and the Perth Amboy Board of Education. The School Based Youth Services Program is designed to concern the social issues and health needs of students, and is sponsored by the Jewish Renaissance Foundation and the Perth Amboy Board of Education.

There are also many school clubs which students can propose or start themselves, and run if they find an advisor. The school also has a Concert and Marching Band, which plays many parades throughout the year and during football season.

Athletics

The Perth Amboy High School Panthers[2] compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which includes public and private high schools located in the Middlesex County area and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[8] With 1,720 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.[9] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V North for football for 2018–2020.[10]

Led by Brian Taylor, the 1968 boys basketball team won the Group IV state championship, defeating Neptune High School by a score of 72-70 in the tournament final at Atlantic City's Convention Hall.[11][12]

Feeder patterns

All Perth Amboy Public Schools elementary and middle schools feed into PAHS.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration include the principals, as well as four vice principals at the main campus and two at the Freshman Academy:[13]

  • Michael Heidelberg, Principal
  • Keith Guarino, Principal - Freshman Academy
  • Francisco Velez, Principal - Personalized Learning Program

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Perth Amboy High School include:

References
  1. School data for Perth Amboy High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  2. Perth Amboy High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. Perth Amboy High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed April 29, 2020.
  4. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  5. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012.
  6. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed April 7, 2011.
  7. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  8. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  9. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  10. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2018–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, finalized August 2019. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  11. NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  12. Price, Toby. "Sports Angles", Asbury PArk press, April 1, 1968. Accessed February 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "A subdued and understandably disappoint Coach Larry Hennessy spote in hushed tones in the dressing room high above the Atlantic City Convention Hall stage minutes after his Neptune Scarlet Fliers had lost a heartbreaking 72-70 decision to Perth Amboy in the NJSIAA Group IV basketball finals Saturday."
  13. Home page, Perth Amboy High School. Accessed January 12, 2021.
  14. "Frank Anthony Buckiewicz", The Oregonian. Accessed November 8, 2018. "He attended St. Stephen's and Perth Amboy Catholic School then graduated with the Class of 1947 from Perth Amboy High School."
  15. Alan Cheuse Archived July 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Middle Tennessee State University. Accessed September 7, 2012. "NPR commentator and critic Alan Cheuse was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on January 23, 1940. His early years were spent at Perth Amboy High School in 1957, and he graduated from Rutgers University in 1961."
  16. Mayor Wilda Diaz, City of Perth Amboy. Accessed October 10, 2011.
  17. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 203, Part 2, p. 1002. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1989. Accessed August 4, 2019. "Bernard J. Dwyer, Dem., Edison - Mr. Dwyer was born on Jan. 24, 1921, in Perth Amboy. He was graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1938, and has taken courses in insurance at Rutgers University, Newark."
  18. "Chad Kinch, 35, Ex-Basketball Star", The New York Times. Published April 8, 1994. Accessed September 7, 2012. "Chad Kinch, a former basketball star at Perth Amboy High School in New Jersey and the Cleveland Cavaliers' No. 1 draft choice in 1980, died at home on Sunday. He was 35."
  19. Russell, Suzanne C. "Hall Of Fame Inductees Perth Amboy High School honors 5 grads as class acts", Home News Tribune, March 16, 2004. Accessed October 10, 2011. "Pictures of the inductees hang in the lobby of Perth Amboy High School on Eagle Avenue.... Being inducted with Hughes this year are Steve Mizerak, Class of 1962;..."
  20. Arthur J. Sills - Attorney General 1962-1970, New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. Accessed September 7, 2012. "Arthur J. Sills was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 19, 1917. His family moved to Perth Amboy in 1921, where he attended the public schools and was graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1934."
  21. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 206, Part 1, p. 245. J. A. Fitzgerald, 1994. Accessed July 14, 2020. "JoAnn H. Smith, Rep., Old Bridge... She was graduated at Perth Amboy High School in 1952, after which she attended McDowell School of Design, and Douglass College."
  22. Staff. "Brian Taylor, At 31, Back At Princeton", The New York Times, May 4, 1983. Accessed January 16, 2018. "Taylor arrived at Princeton already a star and local favorite. He was an all-America basketball guard and all-America quarterback at Perth Amboy High School in New Jersey, where he had once scored 84 points in a game."
  23. "The Ultimate New Jersey High School Yearbook: T-Z And Also...", The Star-Ledger, June 27, 1999. Accessed August 4, 2007.
  24. Tufaro, Greg. "Perth Amboy has chance to prove itself against New Brunswick on Friday night", Home News Tribune, October 7, 2009. Accessed September 7, 2012. "The once proud football program, which dominated opponents in the 1960s with the likes of Bruce Taylor, who went on to play for the San Francisco 49ers, and Jay Ziznewski, who went on to star at the University of Notre Dame, struggled in recent years as the city's demographics changed."
  25. David T. Wilentz Attorney General 1934-1944, New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. "David T. Wilentz was born in Dwinsk, Latvia on December 21, 1894. He attended local public schools and graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1912."
  26. Stout, David. "Robert Wilentz, 69, New Jersey Chief Justice, Dies; Court Aided Women and the Poor", The New York Times, July 24, 1996. Accessed January 16, 2018. "His energy, debating skill and intellect were no surprise to those who knew that he had been valedictorian at Perth Amboy High School, and that at Columbia Law School he was a Harlan Fiske Scholar and won the Robert Noxon Toppan Prize in Constitutional Law studies."
  27. "Obituary: Warren W. Wilentz", The Star-Ledger, March 19, 2010. Accessed September 3, 2019. "Mr. Wilentz was born on March 29, 1924, in Perth Amboy, N.J., the first son of David and Lena Wilentz."
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