Queen of Peace High School (New Jersey)
Queen of Peace High School was a Roman Catholic, coeducational parochial high school, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in North Arlington in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, co-sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. The school closed in June 2017, after 86 years of operation, in the wake of declining enrollment and financial challenges.
Queen of Peace High School | |
---|---|
Address | |
![]() ![]() Queen of Peace High School ![]() ![]() Queen of Peace High School ![]() ![]() Queen of Peace High School | |
191 Rutherford Place , , 07031 | |
Coordinates | 40.786628°N 74.131809°W |
Information | |
Type | Private |
Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic (Sisters of St. Joseph and Lasallians) |
Established | 1930 |
Status | Closed |
Closed | June 30, 2017 |
Dean | Christopher Brock |
Principal | John Tonero |
Vice principal | Don De Pascale |
Asst. principal | Charles Syby |
Pastor | Fr. Michael Donovan |
Chaplain | Rev. Scott Attanasio |
Faculty | 26.0 FTEs[1] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Gender | Coeducational |
Enrollment | 356 (as of 2013-14)[1] |
Student to teacher ratio | 13.7:1[1] |
Color(s) | Green and Gold[2] |
Athletics conference | North Jersey Interscholastic Conference |
Team name | Golden Griffins[2] |
Accreditation | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[3] |
Yearbook | Peace Pact |
Tuition | $8,250 |
Admissions Director | Joseph Torchia |
Athletic Director | Ed Abromaitis |
Website | www |
The school had been honored two times by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, the highest award an American school can receive.[4][5] It was overseen by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.[6] The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1969.[3]
As of the 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 356 students and 26.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.7:1. The school's enrollment was 49.2% White, 18.3% Asian, 17.7% Hispanic, 6.2% Black, 3.9% Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander and 4.8% two or more races.[1]
History
In 1999, William "Sonny" Connors, grandfather to Derek Jeter and longtime head of school maintenance, died.[7] In honor of Sonny's service to Queen of Peace, the Jeter family, through Jeter's Turn2 Foundation, started the Connors/Jeter Scholarship Fund. This fund was started to help exceptional, well-rounded students from Queen of Peace and to memorialize Derek's grandfather, William "Sonny" Connors, with two students meeting the criteria of academic and community accomplishments being chosen each year as recipients.[8]
On January 4, 2007, several Queen of Peace students traveled to Rome in order to sing in a private audience to Pope Benedict XVI.
In February 2013, the school attracted national attention when it asked the girls of the school to take a pledge not to curse for 30 days as the school wanted "ladies to act like ladies", though male students at the school were asked not to swear "in the presence of ladies" and were not required to take an oath.[9]
Circa 2016 the school administration announced that it needed $1 million raised for it to remain open. Ultimately about $1,035,000 was raised and the school stayed open for another school year.[10] The necessary money was generated in approximately one month.[11]
Despite the 2016 fundraising campaign, in May 2017, the Archdiocese of Newark announced the closing of the school as of June 30, 2017, in the wake of sharply dropping enrollment and financial challenges, though the affiliated K-8 grammar school will remain open.[12]
Awards, recognition and rankings
During both the 1992-93 and 1997-98 school years, Queen of Peace High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education.[13][14]
Athletics
The Queen of Peace High School Golden Griffins[2] competed in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, made up of private and public high schools located in Bergen County, Passaic County and Hudson County.[15] Prior to the league realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Queen of Peace had been a member of the American Division of the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL).[16][17]
St. Mary High School filed a complaint against Queen of Peace High School with the NJSIAA in 2007, claiming that a new wrestling program run by former Gaels coach Scot Weaver at Queen of Peace would induce St. Mary's wrestlers to transfer schools.[18]
In 1980, the boy's soccer team won the NJSIAA Boys Non-Public “A” state championship.[19]
The 1989 Golden Griffins were the last football team to win the Bergen County Scholastic League championship. As BCSL American Division Champions, the Griffins went on to play Bergen Catholic in the NJSIAA Parochial School state playoffs.
In 1990, the Golden Griffin football team battled Don Bosco Preparatory High School in the NJSIAA Parochial final, ultimately losing 21 - 20.
Notable alumni
- Kathleen Donovan (born 1952), Bergen County Executive.[20]
- Frank Iero (born 1981), rhythm guitarist for iconic punk band My Chemical Romance.
- R. Bremner (born 1952), published poet [21] https://www.claresongbirdspub.com/shop/featured-authors/r-bremner/[22]
Notable faculty
- Ryan Grant (born 1982), assistant coach for the school's football team in 2006 who would later play for the Green Bay Packers.[23]
References
- School data for Queen Of Peace High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed August 15, 2017.
- Queen of Peace High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 6, 2015.
- Queen of Peace High School Archived 2012-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools. Accessed September 6, 2011.
- "CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
- "Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
- Bergen County Catholic High Schools, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Accessed July 20, 2016.
- Curry, Jack. "BASEBALL; Grandfather Led Jeter To Value Hard Work", The New York Times, February 24, 1999. Accessed February 4, 2013.
- TURN 2 Endowed Scholarship Programs, Major League Baseball. Accessed February 4, 2013. "The Derek Jeter/Sonny Connors Scholars is available to students entering Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, N.J., who demonstrate financial need. The scholarship is available to two students who show leadership qualities, academic and individual excellence, and who participate in community service projects."
- Brody, Leslie. "Girls at North Arlington school swear not to swear as part of lesson in civility", The Record (Bergen County), February 2, 2013. Accessed February 3, 2013. "Girls at Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington taking a pledge not to curse for 30 days. Some wonder why boys didn't take the oath."
- Milo, Paul (2016-07-06). "Queen of Peace High hits fundraising goal; will remain open". Nj.com. NJ Advance Media. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
[...]overshooting its goal by about $35,000.
- "A troubling decade for Catholic high schools in Hudson County". Nj.com. 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
Both schools managed to meet their fundraising goals in about a month.
- Grant, Meghan. "It's official: Queen of Peace High School to close in June", The Record (Bergen County), May 8, 2017. Accessed May 9, 2017. "The class of 2017 will be the last to graduate from the 86-year-old Queen of Peace High School. The school, which raised $1 million in just over a month last year to stay open, will be closing its doors at the end of June, the Archdiocese of Newark announced Monday.Archdiocese officials said the Catholic high school in North Arlington would cease operations as of June 30, due to low projected enrollment and 'financial shortfalls.' The K-8 Queen of Peace Grammar School will remain open."
- Glovin, David. "Schools basking in Glow of Top Award", The Record (Bergen County), May 28, 1998. Accessed May 30, 2007. "Forgive Queen of Peace High School for skirting the Bible's teachings....And is also a waste of money. For the second time in five years, this small parochial school in North Arlington at the southern tip of Bergen County has won recognition from the U.S. Department of Education...."
- Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
- League & Conference Affiliations 2016-2017 Archived 2012-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 10, 2017.
- 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 October 7, 2014.
- School Info Archived March 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Bergen County Scholastic League American Division. Accessed March 9, 2008.
- Schutta, Gregory. "St. Mary seeks ruling to prevent transfers -- Gaels don't want wrestlers to follow coach to Queen of Peace", The Record (Bergen County), May 31, 2007. Accessed December 15, 2014. "St. Mary is taking Queen of Peace in front of the NJSIAA next week in a preemptive strike, hoping to stem an anticipated wave of transfers of its wrestlers to the fledgling program being built by former Gaels coach Scot Weaver at the North Arlington school."
- "HISTORY OF NJSIAA BOYS SOCCER" (PDF). Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - Stile, Charles. "Donovan wasn't a match", The Record (Bergen County), July 21, 2009. Accessed March 29, 2011. "Donovan's roots are in the South Bergen soil, first as a graduate of Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington and later as a lawyer in her hometown of Lyndhurst."
- https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Words-R-Bremner/dp/1724991140/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RP231IH2C1YK&keywords=hungry+words+bremner&qid=1556305358&s=gateway&sprefix=hungry+words+bremner%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-1-spell
- http://presapress.com/r-bremner
- Bishop, Greg. "From Hard Knocks to Crunch Time: Packers' Grant Began Career as Giant", The New York Times, January 17, 2008. Accessed September 6, 2011. "The new assistant football coach reported for work at Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, N.J., before the 2006 season.... So when coaches told players the name of the new assistant — Ryan Grant — they were met with blank stares."