Trenton Central High School
Trenton Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Trenton, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Trenton Public Schools.
Trenton Central High School | |
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Location | |
Trenton Central High School Trenton Central High School Trenton Central High School | |
United States | |
Coordinates | 40.218986°N 74.744269°W |
Information | |
Type | Public high school |
School district | Trenton Public Schools |
NCES School ID | 3416290[1] |
Principal | Hope Grant |
Faculty | 146.7 FTEs[1] |
Grades | 9-12 |
Enrollment | 1,818 (as of 2018–19)[1] |
Student to teacher ratio | 12.4:1[1] |
Color(s) | Black and red[2] |
Athletics conference | Colonial Valley Conference |
Team name | Tornadoes[2] |
Website | School website |
As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,818 students and 146.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1. There were 1,243 students (68.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 80 (4.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Trenton Central High School was the focus of a research study aimed at preventing obesity in students, in which student evaluations of the results played a major role in interpretation of the outcomes.[3]
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 333rd-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]
Schooldigger.com ranked the school 372nd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 14 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (22.9%) and language arts literacy (60.2%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[5]
History
In the late 1920s the Trenton Board of Education acquired one of the last undeveloped tracts in the city: the 36-acre (150,000 m2) Chambers Farm, then used as a nursery. The new high school would be the city's third, replacing the then existing high school at Chestnut and Hamilton Avenues built in 1900, which in turn replaced the first high school on Mercer Street built in 1874.
Trenton Central High School (TCHS) opened on January 4, 1932, and was dedicated on January 18 at ceremonies attended by 5,000 people. Hailed as "an ornament to the city" and "one of the show places of Trenton," TCHS was one of the largest and most expensive high schools built in the country. The Chambers Street façade stretches for almost 1,000 feet (300 m), nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. The cost of the building, including land and furniture, totaled $3.3 million. Most firms involved in the construction were based in Trenton, including John A. Roebling's Sons who provided "Jersey" wire lath to fireproof the ceilings and walls.
Academics
Trenton Central High School is divided into Small Learning Communities (SLCs) that span across three separate sites throughout the city of Trenton. The Chambers Campus, located on Chambers Street, houses five communities: Applied Science and Engineering, Media Technology, Performing Arts, Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism, and Business, Computer, Technology Design. The North Campus is located on N. Clinton Avenue and is home to the Medical Arts community. The West Campus sits on West State Street in the building that was formerly the home of the Arthur J. Holland Middle School. Three communities reside there: Law and Justice, Renaissance, and Business and Finance.
Athletics
The Trenton Central High School Tornadoes[2] compete in the Colonial Valley Conference, which consists of public and private high schools located in Mercer County, Monmouth County and Middlesex County, operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[6] With 2,349 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as Central Jersey, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,082 to 2,349 students in that grade range.[7] The football team competes in the Capitol Division of the 95-team West Jersey Football League superconference[8] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Central Jersey Group V for football for 2017-18.[9]
The boys' basketball team has won seven Group IV state titles: in 1927 vs. Passaic High School, in 1928 vs. New Brunswick High School, in both 1932 and 1933 vs. South Side High School, in 1934 vs. Union Hill High School, in 1935 vs. New Brunswick High School and in 1961 vs. Camden High School.[10] In 1961, Tal Brody led the undefeated boys' basketball team to a 24–0 record and a New Jersey state championship in his senior year, as he was voted a New Jersey basketball All Star and selected to the first team Newark Star-Ledger All-State Team. Brody, though later drafted # 12 in the NBA draft, passed up an NBA career to play in Israel.[11][12][13] The boys' basketball team won the Central, Group IV sectional championship in 2003 with a 54–40 win over Old Bridge High School.[14]
The boys' cross country team won the all groups state championship in 1941, 1942 and 1945.[15]
The boys' soccer team was awarded the Group IV state championship in 1946 and 1949, and won the Group IV state championship in 1961 (vs. Bloomfield High School), 1963 (vs. Teaneck High School) and 1964 (vs. East Side High School).[16]
The Boys Baseball team won 3 consecutive group four state titles in 1964,1965,1966 led by three time all city and two-time Allstate pitcher Scott Gordon. The boys' track team won the Group IV indoor relay state championship in 1977-1979, 1981 (as co-champion with Plainfield High School), 1986, 1986 (as co-champion with Edgewood Regional High School), 2007, 2008 (as co-champion with Hillsborough High School) and 2012; the program's seven state titles are tied for fourth-most in the state. The girls' team 2000-2002.[17]
The girls' basketball team won the Group IV state championships in 2002 vs. Morristown High School, in 2007 vs. Eastside High School (Paterson, New Jersey) and in 2008 vs. John F. Kennedy High School (Paterson, New Jersey).[10] The team won the 2007 Central Jersey Group IV state sectional title with a 51–24 win against Howell High School.[18] The team moved on to win the 2007 Group IV state championship, defeating Eastside High School 52-44 for the title.[19]
Extracurricular activities
The Tornadoes 381 FIRST robotics team, from the Applied Engineering & Science Academy, is sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb, Sarnoff Corporation and Princeton University. The Team 381 Tornadoes were the 2004 Philadelphia Regional Winner in the FIRST Robotics Competition.[20] In 2008, the Tornados became the Trenton Regional Winners.
The school includes a military program called United States Army ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps).
Administration
The school's principal is Hope Grant. Her core administration team includes five vice principals.[21]
Notable faculty
Notable alumni
- George Antheil (1900–1959), composer (dropped out in senior year, 1918)[23]
- Henry W. Antheil Jr. (1912-1940), American diplomat killed in the shootdown of the Kaleva airplane by Soviet aircraft in the wake of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States.[24]
- Bo Belinsky (1936–2001), MLB pitcher, threw no-hitter for Los Angeles Angels[25]
- Elvin Bethea (born 1946), Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end who played his entire NFL career with the Houston Oilers[26]
- Mike Bloom (1915-1993), professional basketball player for the Baltimore Bullets, Boston Celtics, Minneapolis Lakers and Chicago Stags.[27]
- Tal Brody (born 1943), basketball player, University of Illinois, selected # 12 in 1965 NBA draft, Euroleague basketball shooting guard for Maccabi Tel Aviv[28]
- George Case (1915–1989), major league baseball player[29][30]
- Richard Crooks (1900–1972), tenor, singer for the New York Metropolitan Opera[29]
- Mathias J. DeVito (c. 1930-2019), businessperson and lawyer who served as the president and chief executive officer of The Rouse Company.[31]
- David N. Dinkins (born 1927), former Mayor of New York City[32]
- Al Downing (born 1941), major league baseball player who was the 1964 American League strikeout leader.[29]
- John Easton (1933-2001), baseball player who played briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies.[33]
- Greg Grant (born 1966), retired NBA basketball player.[34]
- Mel Groomes (1927-1997), football player and baseball coach who played for the Detroit Lions.[35]
- Harry Heher (1889-1972, class of 1907), Justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court.[36]
- Jay-Z (born 1969), hip-hop artist and businessman (did not graduate).[37]
- Mike Kearns (1929–2009), NBA player for the Philadelphia Warriors[38]
- Ernie Kovacs (1919–1962), groundbreaking American comedian, film actor and television personality[39]
- Frederick Kroesen (1923–2020), United States Army four-star general[40]
- Joseph P. Merlino (1922-1998), politician who served as President of the New Jersey Senate from 1978 to 1981.[41]
- Charles Muscatine (born 1920), academic and expert in medieval literature.[42]
- Keith Newell (born 1988), football offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League.[43]
- Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, politician who represents the 15th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly.[44]
- Sido L. Ridolfi (1913-2004), politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1954 to 1972.[45][46]
- Almondo Sewell (born 1987), football player who has played for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.[47]
- Ntozake Shange (1948–2018, class of 1966), playwright and poet best known for her Obie Award-winning play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf.[48][49]
- Victor W. Sidel (1931-2018, class of 1949), physician who was one of the co-founders of Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1961.[50]
- Alton Sutnick (born 1928), medical researcher and educator.[51]
- Alphonso Taylor (born 1969), defensive tackle who played in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.[52]
- Dantouma Toure (born 2004), soccer player who plays as a winger for New York Red Bulls II in the USL Championship via the New York Red Bulls Academy.[53]
- Wendy Vereen (born 1966), former track and field sprinter who specialized in the 100 and 200-meter dashes.[54]
References
- School data for Trenton Central High School - Main Campus, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
- Trenton Central High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 25, 2015.
- The Trenton Central High School Obesity Prevention Project: Encouraging Democracy Through Inclusion. Accessed November 13, 2006.
- Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
- School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2010-11 HSPA results, Schooldigger.com. Accessed June 14, 2012.
- League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 15, 2020.
- General Public School Classifications 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of December 15, 2015. Accessed December 12, 2016.
- Divisions, West Jersey Football League. Accessed September 25, 2017.
- NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2017-2018 Archived 2017-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, finalized August 2, 2017. Accessed September 25, 2017.
- NJSIAA Group Basketball Past Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 25, 2015.
- Staff. "Tal Brody returns to basketball home, A Trenton High star who became a star in Israel leads students on a U.S. exhibition tour.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 13, 2006. Accessed June 3, 2016.
- Staff. "NBA Takes Back Seat to Nationalism for Maccabi's Brody", Los Angeles Daily News, October 4, 1990. Accessed February 7, 2017. "When Tal Brody was just 10 years old he spent much of his time bouncing a basketball around the Trenton, N.J., Community Center. Now, some years later, he is known as Mr. Basketball in Israel. In between? He was a member of Trenton Central High's undefeated state champions, and an all-star."
- Hoffman, Gil. "Tal Brody, basketball superstar, wants to lead Likud to victory", New Jersey Jewish News, August 30, 2007. Accessed February 7, 2017. "When they played a game at Princeton University, Brody received a surprise visit from his Trenton Central High School basketball coach Fred Price (Brody's team when he was a senior in 1961 had a 24-0 record, winning the NJ high school championship)."
- 2003 Boys Basketball – Central, Group IV, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 30, 2007.
- 2016 NJSIAA Group Cross Country Championships Program, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed February 7, 2017.
- 2015 NJSIAA Soccer Championship Program, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed February 7, 2017.
- History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed February 7, 2017.
- 2007 Girls Basketball – Central, Group IV, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 24, 2007.
- 2007 Girls Basketball – Public Group Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, May 9, 2007.
- Tornadoes 381 Archived 2006-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed November 13, 2006.
- Leadership Team, Trenton Central High School. Accessed January 26, 2020.
- Tarr, Mary Ann. "'Mooch' soccer has big plans for Trenton", The Times (Trenton), June 27, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007. "Fink is a health, physical education and driver's ed teacher at Trenton High School's campus on North Clinton Avenue.
- Livingston, Guy. "George Antheil's Childhood in Trenton", Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, September 2001. Accessed May 6, 2008. "In the winter of 1918, George flunked out of Trenton Central High School in the midst of his Senior year."
- Johnson, Eric A.; and Hermann, Anna. "The Last Flight From Tallinn", Foreign Service Journal, May 2007. Accessed August 1, 2019. "Henry Antheil Jr. was born in 1912 in Trenton, N.J., one of four children to Henry William Antheil, owner of a shoe store, and his wife Wilhemine Huse, both Lutheran immigrants from Germany.... We do know that Henry enrolled at Rutgers University in the fall of 1931, after graduating from Trenton Central High School, where he studied German and served as vice president of the public speaking club."
- Horvitz, Peter S.; and Horvitz, Joachim. "The Big Book of Jewish Baseball: An Illustrated Encyclopedia & Anecdotal History", p. 27. SP Books, 2001. ISBN 1-56171-973-0. Accessed January 22, 2011.
- Elvin Bethea Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, database Football. Accessed November 26, 2007.
- "Mike Bloom: Unheralded Trenton Basketball Player", Trenton Jewish Historical Society, July 27, 2016. Accessed August 1, 2019. "He led Trenton Central High School to three state championships (1932-1934)."
- Staff. "Tal Brody returns to basketball home, A Trenton High star who became a star in Israel leads students on a U.S. exhibition tour.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 13, 2006. Accessed January 25, 2011.
- Modica, Glenn R. "Trenton High past and present", Trenton Downtowner, April 2005. Accessed May 6, 2008. "TCHS has had no shortage of famous alumni who could fill the niches, including composer and pianist George Antheil, tenor Richard Crooks and baseball players George Case and Al Downing."
- Porter, David L. Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: A-F, p. 230. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. ISBN 9780313311741. Accessed August 1, 2019. "Case, George Washington, Jr.... His older half brother, William Clifford, encouraged him to participate in basketball and baseball at Trenton Central High School and Peddie School, where he graduated in 1936."
- Kelly, Jacques. "Mathias J. DeVito, former Rouse Co. leader, dies", The Baltimore Sun, July 29, 2019. Accessed August 1, 2019. "He was a 1948 graduate of Trenton Central High School and earned an English degree at the University of Maryland, College Park."
- Cheers, D. Michael. "Mayor of 'The Big Apple': 'nice guy' image helps David N. Dinkins in building multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition – New York City", Ebony (magazine), February 1990. Accessed September 4, 2008. "Known affectionately as 'Dink' while growing up, Dinkins was class president (1943) at Trenton High School and graduated in the top 10 of his class, where he studied Latin and advanced math."
- John David Easton '55, Princeton Alumni Weekly. Accessed August 1, 2019. "John Easton died of melanoma July 28, 2001, at the Medical Center in Princeton. Born in Trenton, he was a longtime Hopewell Township resident. John came to Princeton from Trenton Central HS, where he was an outstanding athlete and active in student government."
- Fisher, Rich. "Grant and Bannon remember historic run", The Trentonian, January 16, 2014. Accessed April 6, 2016. "Grant enjoyed a successful career at TCHS and then went to play at Morris Brown College in Atlanta."
- Mel Groomes, Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed August 1, 2019. "High School: Trenton Central (NJ)"
- via Associated Press. "Harry Heher, Ex‐Jersey Justice And Democratic Chairman, Dies", The New York Times, October 19, 1972. Accessed Aigist 1, 2019. "Mr. Heher achieved his post on the state's high court without attending law school. He graduated from Trenton High School in 1907, and, as was the practice then, read law with a Trenton lawyer instead of attending law school."
- Holt, Bob. "Security for Jay-Z and Beyonce's baby, Blue Ivy Carter, upset hospital visitors", NewJerseyNewsroom.com, January 9, 2012. Accessed July 26, 2012. "She and Jay-Z, who went to Trenton Central High School in his youth, rented out Lenox Hill's whole fourth floor at a cost of $1.3 million."
- "Michael Joseph Kearns '51". Princeton Alumni Review. March 17, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- Laurie, Maxine N.; and Mappen, Marc; Encyclopedia of New Jersey: Rutgers University Press; 2004/2005. "Kovacs, Ernest Edward", p. 444.
- Piehler, Kurt; and Marley, Lynn. Kroesen, Frederick, Rutgers University Oral History Archives, March 16, 1998. Accessed May 4, 2020. "When I was ten-years-old, we moved to Eggerts Road in, what is now, Lawrenceville.... I was in Trenton Central High School, as a senior, and she came as a sophomore that year. We only had three grades in Trenton High, in those days."
- Pace, Eric. "Joseph Merlino, 76, Trenton Political Figure", The New York Times, October 9, 1998. Accessed August 1, 2019. "But the burly, cigar-loving Mr. Merlino was modest about his skills. 'I was the best D student to graduate from Trenton High School,' he claimed in a widely quoted interview two decades ago."
- Fleming, John. "Gentlemen of the Old School". Gladly Lerne, Gladly Teche. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- Johnson, Greg. "Trenton Central grad Keith Newell returns to Sun National Bank Center with Philadelphia Soul", The Trentonian, June 9, 2016. Accessed August 1, 2019. "The nostalgia washes over Keith Newell as he paces the turf on the floor of Sun National Bank Center, completing a two-hour walkthrough with the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul.... Newell graduated Trenton Central High School here in 2007, back when it was still called Sovereign Bank Arena."
- Johnson, Brent. "Meet N.J.'s newest Assembly member", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 15, 2018. Accessed February 15, 2018. "Reynolds-Jackson is a graduate of Trenton Central High School and has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Trenton State College -- now the College of New Jersey -- and a master's degree in administration from Central Michigan University."
- Sido L. Ridolfi '36, Princeton Alumni Weekly, October 6, 2004, backed up by the Internet Archive as of August 3, 2010. Accessed August 1, 2019. "A graduate of Trenton [N.J.] Senior High School, he majored in politics at Princeton and played on the freshman and varsity basketball teams."
- Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1956", p. 381. Accessed August 1, 2019. "Sido L. Ridolfi (Dem., Trenton, N. J.) Senator Ridolfi was born in Trenton, September 28, 1913. He is a graduate of Trenton Senior High School, Princeton University, and Harvard Law School."
- 56 - Almondo Sewell Archived 2015-09-19 at the Wayback Machine, Akron Zips football. Accessed November 24, 2014.
- "Ntozake Shange", The Spotlight, October 2013. Accessed April 6, 2016. "By age 13, her family returned to New Jersey where she graduated from Trenton Central High School."
- Aubrey, Dan. "In Memoriam: Ntozake Shange", Princeton Info, October 31, 2018. Accessed May 7, 2020. "She graduated from Trenton Central High School in 1966 and received degrees from Barnard College and the University of Southern California."
- Smith, Lanny; and Capps, Linnea. "An interview with Dr. Vic Sidel", Social Medicine, Volume 7, Number 3, October 2013. Accessed February 1, 2018. "Graduates went on to Trenton Central High School, which had a class size of 3000. My main recollection of high school was graduation.... In my speech I talked about a $10,000 home, which in 1949 was an impossible dream."
- Alton Sutnick Collection, Drexel University College of Medicine. Accessed November 25, 2015. "Marching band letters from Trenton High School and University of Pennsylvania"
- Alphonso Taylor, JustSportsStats.com. Accessed August 1, 2019. "High School: Central (Trenton, NJ)"
- Dantouma Toure, TopDrawerSoccer.com. Accessed July 20, 2020. "High School: Trenton Central; Region: New Jersey; City: Trenton; State: New Jersey"
- Miller, Wiliam J. "Lindo Of Jefferson Nears Mark For 600", The New York Times, March 9, 1986. Accessed April 6, 2016. "Wendy Vereen of Trenton Central in New Jersey holds the national indoor record at 38.79 seconds."