Kearny High School (New Jersey)

Kearny High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Kearny in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, and operating as the lone secondary school of the Kearny School District.

Kearny High School
Location
Kearny High School
Kearny High School
Kearny High School
336 Devon Street
Kearny, NJ 07032

United States
Coordinates40.761818°N 74.148097°W / 40.761818; -74.148097
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1923
School districtKearny School District
NCES School ID3407890[1]
PrincipalJacalyn K. Richardson
Asst. principalsJustin Avitable
Paul Measso
Faculty131.1 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,710 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio13.0:1[1]
Color(s)     Red and
     Black[2]
Athletics conferenceHudson County Interscholastic League
Team nameKardinals[2]
WebsiteSchool website

As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,710 students and 131.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.0:1. There were 741 students (43.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 136 (8.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

History

Construction began on the present school facility began in 1921. Kearny High School opened for the fall semester in September 1923. The school's stadium was completed in 1925. In 1940, an addition costing $400,000 was added. In 1974, another addition was added that cost $5 million, providing a new Music and Art Department, new gymnasium, locker rooms, classrooms and parking. The school is divided into two different buildings that are connected to each other.

The Kearny Museum includes a full collection of Kearny High School yearbooks.[3]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 244th-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 224th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 230th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[5] The magazine ranked the school 235th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[6] The school was ranked 200th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[7]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 246th out of 367 public high schools statewide in its 2009-10 rankings 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).[8]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The Kearny High School Kardinals[2] compete in the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic Association, which is made up of high schools in Hudson County, operating under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[9] With 1,324 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North I, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,090 to 2,568 students in that grade range.[10] Prior to the 2010 reorganization, the school had competed in the Watchung Conference, which consisted of public and private high schools in Essex County, Hudson County and Union County in northern New Jersey.[11]

The boys' soccer team has won 16 NJSIAA group IV championships in 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1954–56, 1958, 1975 (co-champions with Hamilton High School), 1981, 1982 (co-champions with Freehold Township High School), 1984, 1987, 1999, 2002 and 2004 (co-champion with Rancocas Valley Regional High School). The team's nine state championships are tied for fourth-most among public high schools in the playoff era[12] In 2002, the boys' soccer team earned the North I, Group IV sectional title, edging Clifton High School 3-2 in the tournament final.[13]

In 1948, the Kearny High School varsity football team was awarded the New Jersey high school state championship.[14]

In 1973, coach Tom Krulik led the track team to win both the indoor and outdoor Big Ten Relays. The two-mile relay team set the New Jersey state record at 7:52 at the Highland Park Relays, earning an invitation to compete in the Nationals at the Penn Relays weeks later.

In 1978, Joe Weber, won the All-Groups Cross Country State Meet of Champions.[15] In 2004 and 2005 Joe Weber, Jr. won the Hudson County Cross Country Championship. By winning in 2004, Joe, Jr. allowed the father/son duo to become only the second father/son duo in state history to win the same county championship, with Joe, Sr. having won in 1977.[16]

The baseball team won the North I, Group IV state sectional championship in 2003 with a 5-3 win vs. Ridgewood High School in the tournament final.[17]

In 2007, the girls' soccer team, seeded #2, won the North I, Group IV state sectional championship with a 3-0 win over fourth-seeded Montclair High School in the tournament final, the team's second consecutive title.[18][19]

The girls' soccer team won the first-ever Hudson County Tournament, defeating Bayonne High School 6-0.[20]

In 2009, the boys' indoor track and field team won the county championship as the team continues its return to its previous status when many nationally ranked relays and individuals competed for the school. In cross country the school has produced many county, conference and state champions.

The girls' cross country team won consecutive county championships in 2007 and 2008, in addition to four consecutive state sectional titles and a Meet of Champions title in 1986, when Liz Duarte took the Group IV title.[21]

The Kardinals wrestling team has won three consecutive Conference championships from 2001-2004 again in 2006, and then again in 2008 in the Watchung Conference. Dave Cordoba won the 1999 state championship at 130 lbs, and holds the school record for career victories.[22]

In May 2016, the Kearny girls' crew Lightweight Four placed 3rd out of 15 boats at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America's National Championship Regatta, taking home the bronze medal.[23] In May 2017 the Kearny girls'crew Lightweight Four placed 1st in the Garden State Championships, the Girls J8 placed 2nd qualifying them for nationals along with the Women's V4.[24] In June 2017, the Girls J8 placed 1st in the National Schools Regatta, while the LWT 4 placed 2nd.

Marching Unit

The Kearny High School Marching Unit has enjoyed several years of great success in the past. Most notably, they were Tournament of Bands Class III Atlantic Coast champions in 1985, and their percussion section won High Percussion honors for three years straight, from '83 to '85. In addition the Kearny High School Marching Unit under the direction of Patrick Ragnoni was group 3A USSBA Champions two years in a row in 1999 and 2000.[25]

International Festival

Kearny High School is well-regarded for its International Festival. Each year in late May or June, the student body of Kearny High School has the opportunity to collectively display and celebrate its rich cultural diversity. On the day of the festival, students go down to the school's football field to visit the multiplicity of tents and tables that are set-up; with some selling food, desserts, and jewelry. Additionally, many students perform dances and play music native to their cultures for the entire student body to celebrate in. Kearny High School's student populated is largely represented by Irish-Americans, Peruvian-Americans, Portuguese-Americans, Brazilian-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, and Dominican-Americans, among many other groups. In 2010, the school celebrated its 13th Annual International Festival, of which featured over 85 different cultural tables.[26]

Religion in classroom controversy

In the autumn of 2006, a controversy was generated by the discovery that David Paszkiewicz, a history teacher at Kearny High of 14 years, taught Christian doctrine to his students during an American history class. When confronted by Kearny High School junior Matthew LaClair in a meeting with Paszkiewicz and the administration, Paszkiewicz denied the charge. After this, LaClair produced recorded tapes in which Paszkiewicz was recorded saying that God "did everything in his power to make sure that you could go to heaven, so much so that he took your sins on his own body, suffered your pains for you, and he's saying, 'Please, accept me, believe.' If you reject that, you belong in hell."[27]

The teacher is said to have also taught that there were dinosaurs aboard Noah's Ark and that there is no scientific basis for evolution or the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.[27]

The controversy raised questions over the legal right of students to record what teachers tell them during class, with some advocating the practice to ensure teacher accountability, and others arguing that it infringes on the teacher's personal liberty.[27]

LaClair's supporters reported that "he has been the target of harassment and a death threat from fellow students and 'retaliation' by school officials who have treated him, not the teacher, as the problem. The retaliation, they say, includes the district's policy banning students from recording what is said in class without a teacher's permission and officials' refusal to punish students who have harassed Matthew."[28]

Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) said Kearny High School had "violated the spirit and the letter of freedom of religion and the First Amendment", and that the ACLU would support the LaClairs if they were to file suit. The People for the American Way Foundation expressed similar support.[28]

On November 16, 2006, The Jersey Journal reported that the School District had taken "corrective action" against Paszkiewicz, the precise nature of which was not specified. The administrators stated that further action might be warranted, based on Paszkiewicz's continuing conduct.[29]

This matter is the subject of an hour-long documentary film In God We Teach, which includes statements from a variety of people involved (in particular both the teacher and student) as well as others outside the school.[30][31]

Sexual conduct allegation

During the 2006-07 school year Celeste Adamski, a 27-year-old English teacher was suspended with pay on suspicion of sexual activity with one or more of her students.[32] In mid-October she pleaded guilty to an allegation concerning her behavior with a male student as part of a plea agreement in which she gave up her teaching certificate and was barred from teaching or holding a public job.[33]

Administration

The school's principal is Jacalyn Richardson. Her administration team includes two assistant principals.[34]

Notable alumni
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References
  1. School data for Kearny High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  2. Kearny High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 6, 2015.
  3. Kearny Museum Archived 2015-09-08 at the Wayback Machine, Kearny Public Library. Accessed July 5, 2011. "A staff of volunteers organizes the local displays, which includes a collection of photographs, articles of clothing, war memorabilia, and a collection of Kearny High School yearbooks."
  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 August 22, 2012.
  6. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 28, 2011.
  7. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank". New Jersey Monthly. September 2008. posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  8. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed December 29, 2011.
  9. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2019-2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed April 29, 2020.
  10. General Public School Classifications 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of July 8, 2014. Accessed October 22, 2014.
  11. Home Page, Watchung Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 7, 2011. Accessed December 16, 2014.
  12. 2015 NJSIAA Soccer Championships Program, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 6, 2015.
  13. 2002 Boys' Soccer - North I, Group IV. New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Accessed July 16, 2007.
  14. "Kearny High School Football Team: 1948". Kearny High School Alumni. Accessed January 1, 2013.
  15. NJSIAA Boys Cross-Country Meet Of Champions Winners (1972-2018), New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 10, 2019.
  16. "Legends Of The Fall: A look at every boys M of C winner and where they are now", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 20, 2015, updated August 24, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2019. "Weber, 8th as a junior, didn't win a major race all season, but shocked everyone except himself and his coach (Jim Cifelli) when he crossed first in the first M of C 5-K ever run at Holmdel Park in 15:49.5.... Weber's son, Joe Jr., won the Hudson County XC title for Kearny in 2004 and '05, making the Weber duo possibly the only father-son combination in state history to both win county XC titles."
  17. "2003 Baseball Tournament - North I, Group IV". New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 16, 2007.
  18. 2007 Girls' Soccer - North I, Group IV. New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 15, 2007.
  19. Bernstein, Jason. "Back-2-back: straight sectional title". The Jersey Journal. November 9, 2007. Accessed November 15, 2007. "In her final game on Kearny's home field, Pace tallied two goals and an assist in the Kardinals' 3-0 victory over Montclair in the final of the NJSIAA North I, Group IV girls' soccer tournament. With the victory, Kearny High (19-3-1) repeated as sectional champion."
  20. Bernstein, Jason. "Kardinals cruise to Hudson title" Archived 2011-07-12 at the Wayback Machine. Hudson County Varsity. November 1, 2009. Accessed July 5, 2011. "Yesterday was no exception as four different players found the net as Kearny stormed past Bayonne 6-0 to win the Hudson County Tournament in a performance that head coach Vine Almeida said was their best of the season."
  21. 2016 NJSIAA Group Cross Country Championships Program, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 19, 2017.
  22. Hague, Jim. "Wrestling: Dugan's comeback remarkable; St. Peter's Dudziak made his mark". The Star-Ledger. March 27, 2004. Accessed September 29, 2008.
  23. Hague, Jim. "Kearny girls' crew: Keeping a winning tradition", The Observer Online, June 7, 2016. Accessed December 7, 2016. "Veteran Kearny High School girls' crew coach Dave Paszkiewicz knew that his lightweight four boat was good enough to qualify for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America's National Championship Regatta.... The third place finish at the SRAA's National Championships was the highest placing for a Kearny boat since finishing second in 2009. Kearny last won a national title in 2004."
  24. Hague, Jim. "State Champs! Kearny lightweight four wins Garden State Scholastic title", The Observer Online, May 10, 2017. Accessed December 7, 2018.
  25. Staff. "High School Bands Compete In City After Winning, One Student Said The Sacrifices Were Worth It.". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 6, 2000. Accessed July 5, 2011. "The Kearny High School Kards Marching Band of Kearny, NJ, won the Group 3-A Open competition yesterday."
  26. Duger, Rose. "Kearny High School holds international festival". Kearny Weekly. June 17, 2010. Accessed July 5, 2011.
  27. Kelley, Tina. "Talk in Class Turns to God, Setting Off Public Debate on Rights". The New York Times. December 18, 2006.
  28. McGeehan, Patrick. "Student, 16, Finds Allies in His Fight Over Religion". The New York Times, February 20, 2007. Accessed August 22, 2012.
  29. Thorbourne, Ken (November 16, 2006). "Kearny school says action was taken against teacher who preached religion". Jews on First!
  30. Ashley Strain (April 9, 2011). "'In God We Teach' documentary revisits Kearny student and teacher clash over separation of church and state". NJ.com. Retrieved May 25, 2012. The story is told from the perspectives of both Paszkiewicz and LaClair
  31. In God We Teach. Accessed May 25, 2012.
  32. Appezzato, John. "Kearny teacher suspended after sex allegations". NJ.com. June 15, 2007.
  33. Fink, Jason. "Kearny sex teach gets 2 years probation", The Jersey Journal, November 30, 2007. Accessed May 1, 2013. "The former Kearny High School teacher who pled guilty to having sex with one of her 17-year-old students was sentenced to two years probation today. Celeste Adamski, 27, will also have to perform 50 hours of community service and pay $155 in fines, said Hudson County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Debra Simon. Adamski's teaching license will be revoked and she will be ineligible for public employment, Simon added."
  34. Staff Directory, Kearny High School. Accessed May 30, 2020.
  35. Canessa, Kevin. "Kearny native competing for Top Chef", The Observer, December 15, 2015. Accessed December 10, 2019. "Karen Akunowicz remembers making an apron in the seventh-grade at Lincoln School in home economics class back in 1991.... When she left Kearny after graduating Kearny High School in 1996 for the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, it was her plan to be a social worker."
  36. Fitzgerald's Legislative Manual, Volume 78, p. 257. Accessed December 10, 2019. "John F. Cali, Dem., Kearny - Assemblyman Cali was born in Newark on May 9, 1928. He attended Kearny High School and also graduated from the Casey Jones School of Aeronautics, and took additional training in business management."
  37. Cappetta, Gary Michael. Bodyslams!: Memoirs of a Wrestling Pitchman, p. xvii. ECW Press, 2006. ISBN 9781550227093. Accessed October 2, 2015. "As a child, my family lived every summer in the shore community of Seaside Park. The month I graduated from Kearny High School in Northern New Jersey, my family moved to Ocean County, where my father established a lucrative amusement business on the local boardwalk."
  38. Sam Dente Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine, The Baseball Cube. Accessed December 30, 2007.
  39. Jennifer Dore, Sports Reference. Accessed December 8, 2016.
  40. Rutgers University Hall of Fame: Jennifer Dore-Terhaar, Rutgers University. Accessed December 10, 2019. "After a successful career at Kearney High School, Dore-Terhaar came to Rutgers and was a three-year varsity letterwinner and key contributor to the Scarlet Knights' nationally-ranked women's crew team."
  41. Kilpatrick, David. "Santiago Formoso In Conversation (Part III); The third and final installment of an interview with former Cosmos left back, Santiago Formoso.", New York Cosmos, June 29, 2017. Accessed December 10, 2019. "Santiago Formoso spent two seasons with the Cosmos, beginning with the 1977 postseason world tour, scoring twice in 46 league appearances from his left back position. The speedy, stylish and notoriously sleepy-headed left back was a product of the local soccer scene, graduating from Kearny High School in 1973 before playing at the University of Pennsylvania and beginning his professional career with the Hartford Bicentennials in 1976."
  42. "National ranking suits Fairleigh booters just fine", Herald News, October 10, 1975. Accessed June 22, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "'Last year was a beautiful season for FDU athletics in general and our soccer program in particular,' said Glasgow, a 1949 graduate of Kearny High School."
  43. Jandoli, Ron. "The Century's Best -- Boys Soccer Top 10 Players of each decade", The Star-Ledger, November 7, 1999, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 10, 2003. Accessed December 10, 2019. "Gene Grabowski, Kearny (1953)"
  44. Ed Halicki profile, The Baseball Cube. Accessed June 18, 2007.
  45. Koppett, Leonard "Jersey Pitcher Recalled From Minors in May; Halicki's No-Hitter Beats Mets", The New York Times, August 25, 1975. Accessed March 28, 2011. "A native of New Jersey, where he was a star at Kearny High School, Halicki is a self-confessed Met fan who turned pro in 1972 while attending Monmouth College."
  46. Yannis, Alex. "Cosmos Spirit Infuses 2 At Tournament Debut", The New York Times, June 2, 1989. Accessed August 22, 2012. "Harkes, who went to Kearny High School, has been the most industrious player for the Americans in their three World Cup qualifying games (1-1-1) thus far."
  47. Di Ionno, Mark. "The saddest stroke of all", The Star-Ledger, July 23, 2008, updated April 2, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2019. "'We're not abandoning the program,' said Klepacki, who like Jen Dore, took up crew on the Passaic River while at Kearny High School."
  48. Strauss, Elaine. 'New Tune for the Old Organ", U.S. 1 Newspaper, December 19, 2001. Accessed December 10, 2019. "Lippincott started with piano and switched to organ at 13. Kearny High School was unique in possessing a three-manual pipe organ."
  49. Leir, Ron. "KHS alum wins drama Pulitzer", The Observer, April 25, 2018. Accessed December 10, 2019. "Martyna Majok, a 2003 Kearny High School alumna, was recognized for her play Cost of Living, that premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival on June 29, 2016, and had an Off-Broadway run at New York City Center by Manhattan Thetre Club during 2017."
  50. "Obituaries: May 20, 2020", The Observer, May 20, 2020. Accessed May 30, 2020. "Born and raised in Kearny, on Wilkinson Terrace, Paul graduated from Kearny High School in 1947."
  51. NJSIAA Hall of Fame - John Millar, Soccer Coach - Kearny HS, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 10, 2019. "His teams were ranked in the Top 20 Polls for each of his 32 years as Head Coach and he coached more than 40 First Team All-State players, 14 All-Americans including his son Michael, and three national team players (Steve McLean, John Harkes and Tony Meola)."
  52. Curry, Jack. "The Goalie With No Nerves; Meola's Calm Helps Keep U.S. in World Cup Play", The New York Times, January 3, 1990. Accessed August 22, 2012. "Just 18 months removed from Kearny High School, Meola has startling confidence to go with his considerable talent."
  53. Billy Sheppell, NJSports.com. Accessed December 10, 2019. "The Sheppell boys were inspired by Archie Stark, the star of local clubs in Kearny and Newark. As a teenager, Billy followed in the footsteps of his three older brothers and became the star of the Kearny High soccer team, graduating in 1944."
  54. Walker, Ian. "Football: Town that built US soccer from immigrant legacy", The Independent, July 31, 2003. Accessed May 20, 2007. "Many of these immigrants, particularly the Scots, settled in the New Jersey town of Kearny. Starting with the Glaswegian immigrant Archie Stark, who is the highest-scoring player in the history of American soccer, through to John Harkes, Tab Ramos and Tony Meola, key players in the national team of the Nineties, this small town (population 35,000) has been home to many of the America's best players. It was also, until recently, home to Tim Howard, United's new keeper."
  55. Bob Stanley player profile, The Baseball Cube. Accessed May 20, 2007.
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  58. Ray Yagiello Archived 2011-05-28 at the Wayback Machine, databaseFootball.com. Accessed July 5, 2011.
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