Harrison High School (New Jersey)

Harrison High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in Harrison, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Harrison Public Schools. Students from East Newark attend Harrison High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the East Newark School District,[4] though the East Newark district has sought to switch to sending students to Kearny High School, citing potential cost savings.[5]

Harrison High School
Location
Harrison High School
Harrison High School
Harrison High School
800 Hamilton Street
Harrison, NJ 07029

United States
Coordinates40.74913°N 74.148349°W / 40.74913; -74.148349
Information
TypePublic high school
School districtHarrison Public Schools
NCES School ID3406870[1]
PrincipalMatthew D. Weber
Asst. principalsSteve Lipski[2]
Kim McDonough-Huaranga
Faculty54.0 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment692 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio12.8:1[1]
Color(s)     Columbia Blue
     Navy Blue and
     white[3]
Athletics conferenceNorth Jersey Interscholastic Conference
Team nameBlue Tide[3]
YearbookHarrisonian
WebsiteOfficial website

As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 692 students and 54.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.8:1. There were 477 students (68.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 107 (15.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

History

In 2000, the then Harrison High School building (now Washington Middle School) was used as the location of an open casting call by HBO for the series The Sopranos, which brought 15,000-plus TV star hopefuls to the town, doubling the town's population and bringing traffic to a standstill.[6]

In September 2013, Harrison High School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, one of 286 in the country to receive the award that year.[7][8]

Awards, recognition and rankings

In September 2013, Harrison High School was recognized by the United States Department of Education as an Exemplary Improving School, as part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.[9][10]

The school was the 289th-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.[11] The school had been ranked 205th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 213th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[12] The magazine ranked the school 216th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[13] The school was ranked 227th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[14]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 285th 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).[15]

Athletics

The Harrison High School Blue Tide[3] compete as a member of the Meadowlands Division of the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[16] With 528 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North II, Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 508 to 770 students in that grade range.[17] Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had participated in the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL).[18]

Interscholastic sports played at Harrison High School include:[3]

  • Boys' Sports - Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming, Cross Country, and Baseball,
  • Girls' Sports - Volleyball, Tennis, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, Cross Country, and Softball
  • Co-Ed - Football, Cheerleading, and Bowling

The boys soccer team holds the United States high school record with 25 state championships.[19] It won the 2006 North II, Group I state sectional championship with a 2-1 win against Glen Ridge High School,[20] then won the Group I state championship with a 2-0 win over Waldwick High School in the semifinals and a 6-0 win against Metuchen High School in the finals.[21] The 2007 team repeated as North II, Group I state sectional championship with a 3-1 win over Jonathan Dayton High School in the tournament final.[22] The 2007 team won the Group I state championship with a 2-1 win over Arthur P. Schalick High School, the team's 23rd state championship. The 2008 team won the Group I state championship with a 2-1 win over South River High School.[23][24]

The boys' volleyball team won the West Jersey Volleyball League, Hudson County, and NJSIAA North II state sectional championships in 2015 and repeated the feat again in 2016.

The boys' bowling team won the overall state championship in 1959.[25]

The boys' basketball team won the Group I state championship in 1960 (vs. Dunellen High School); the girls' basketball team won the Group III state championship in 1991 (vs. Manasquan High School).[26]

The football team won the North I Group II state sectional championship in 1986.[27]

The new Harrison High School

The new Harrison High School opened its doors in September 2007 for the 2007-08 academic year. The new school, located on the former site of Clayton Container, initiated construction in January 2005 and lasted over two years, with the bulk of its electrical work completed in the summer of 2007. A new athletic complex constructed adjacent to the school building was completed in September 2006, which includes a football/soccer field, baseball diamond, softball diamond, track around the fields, and three tennis courts. Spaces for the high school include thirty general classrooms, four special education classrooms, two classrooms for small group instruction, two gymnasiums (one big, one small), a dance/aerobics studio, instrumental/vocal music room, cafeteria, auditorium, media center, science labs, three computer rooms, and faculty spaces. The building has three floors. The first floor consists of the main office, the nurse's office, the gymnasiums, and the main places. The classrooms are located on the second and third floors. There is a period scheduling of classes (84 minutes per period, with eight periods per day and lunch straddling the 3rd period to 5th period). The building formerly known as Harrison High School opened as the new Washington Middle School in September 2007 for students in grades 6-8.[28]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

References
  1. School data for Harrison High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  2. McDonald, Terrence T. "Harrison names former Jersey City Councilman as assistant principal of high school", The Jersey Journal, July 12, 2012."Former Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski is giving up his role as head of the city Economic Development Corporation and accepting an assistant principal position at Harrison High School."
  3. Harrison High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 27, 2016.
  4. Duger, Rose. "East Newark Harrison merging dispatch service", The Jersey Journal, December 30, 2010. Accessed March 25, 2011. "Kearny handles all health-related functions through its Board of Health, while East Newark high school children attend Harrison High School and the borough contracts with Harrison to provide street cleaning, snow removal, ambulance and library services."
  5. Leir, Ron. "Getting serious about separating", The Observer Online, December 18, 2013. Accessed September 8, 2014. "East Newark school officials, who've been doing a lot of talking about a permanent 'recess' for borough students who attend Harrison High, have taken a big step to try to make that happen.... That action could mean that after completing eighth grade at East Newark Public School, borough kids would go to Kearny High School, instead of Harrison High, where they've gone, essentially, since the neighboring communities have existed."
  6. Mallozzi, Vincent M. "A Big Crowd That Aspires To Be a Mob", The New York Times, July 23, 2000. Accessed September 11, 2013. "I was one of thousands who showed up at Harrison High School today for a much-publicized casting call for those interested in auditioning for parts in the hit HBO series The Sopranos, which happens to be my favorite.... By that time, Lt. Charles Trucillo of the Harrison Police Department estimated, 4,000 or 5,000 people were already in line."
  7. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Announces 286 National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2013, United States Department of Education, September 24, 2013. Accessed October 16, 2013.
  8. 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools, All Public and Private, United States Department of Education. Accessed August 2, 2014.
  9. Rundquist, Jeanette. "15 N.J. schools named as national 'Blue Ribbon' winners", The Star-Ledger, September 24, 2013. Accessed September 24, 2013. "Five Catholic schools, six county vocational-technical schools and a Yeshiva are among the list of honored schools in New Jersey. Also named as 2013 Blue Ribbon Schools were Dover, Harrison and Wildwood high schools."
  10. 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, pp. 15-17. United States Department of Education, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed September 24, 2013.
  11. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  12. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 1, 2012.
  13. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 25, 2011.
  14. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  15. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed December 29, 2011.
  16. League & Conference Affiliations 2016-2017 Archived 2012-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 10, 2017.
  17. General Public School Classifications 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of July 8, 2014. Accessed September 8, 2014.
  18. 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.
  19. NSCAA Boys High School Records, National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  20. 2006 Boys Soccer Tournament - North II, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 1, 2007
  21. 2006 Boys Soccer Tournament - Public Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 25, 2007.
  22. 2007 Boys Soccer - North II, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 13, 2007.
  23. 2007 Boys Soccer - Public Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 24, 2007.
  24. Schutta, Gregory. "Harrison flexes its muscles", The Record (Bergen County), November 18, 2007. Accessed May 27, 2016. "Harrison has won a record 23 State boys soccer championships. But Saturday's 2-1 victory over Schalick in the Group 1 final may have been the sweetest of all."
  25. History of NJSIAA Boys Bowling Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 19, 2016.
  26. Public Past State Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 16, 2016.
  27. Goldberg, Jeff. NJSIAA Football Playoff Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 19, 2015.
  28. Schools Construction Corporation: Harrison District Information Archived 2006-03-20 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation. Accessed May 7, 2006.
  29. Dave D'Errico Interview Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Goal Seattle.com. Accessed October 11, 2007. "My high school, Harrison High, had and still has an amazing tradition. We have won the most state championships in NJ history despite having a total of 700 plus kids."
  30. "Harrison has advantages", Jersey Journal, March 3, 2005. Accessed August 1, 2007. "And, Harrison's melting pot is further evident in the school system, which includes Lincoln No. 3 for kindergarten through grade 5, Washington No. 1 for grades 6 through 8, and Harrison High School, the alma mater of television personality/model Daisy Fuentes."
  31. Durso, Joseph. "WALTON TO CALL PLAYS AS JETS' COACH", The New York Times, February 11, 1983. Accessed October 30, 2017. "Gardi, the new assistant head coach, was born in Newark 43 years ago and started playing football at Harrison High School in New Jersey, where he was an all-state tackle."
  32. Archer, Todd. "Ray Lucas May Have A New Uniform, But The QB Will Always Be New Jersey", The Palm Beach Post, April 30, 2001. "Harrison is where Lucas grew up dreaming of playing in the NFL. He was the starting quarterback at Harrison High School beginning midway through his freshman year."
  33. via Associated Press. "Dreamer fighting for shot with Patriots", Bangor Daily News, August 20, 1996. Accessed May 27, 2016. "Lucas lettered in basketball and football at Harrison, N.J., High School — 14 miles from Parcell's birthplace of Englewood — before setting a school record at Rutgers with 43 career touchdown passes."
  34. Fred J. Shields, National Soccer Hall of Fame, backed up by the Internet Archive as of April 5, 2009. Accessed October 30, 2017. "Starting in 1917 he played for the Harrison High School team and then went on to play four years of varsity soccer at Panzer College in East Orange, N.J."
  35. Staff. "Going out in style with Blue Ribbon", The Observer Online, April 23, 2014. Accessed October 30, 2017. "His dad, Fred Shields, a 1936 soccer Olympian, was a physical education instructor and his mother, Amelia Nowak, was in the business department. Fred taught 40 years at HHS; Amelia, 28 years, after spending a decade at Hillside High. They met while teaching in Harrison."
  36. "NYRB II Sign Harrison, New Jersey's Omar Sowe", New York Red Bulls, August 16, 2019. Accessed August 27, 2019. "New York Red Bulls II have signed midfielder and Harrison, N.J. product Omar Sowe to a USL Championship contract, pending league and federation approval, the club announced today."
  37. George J. Tintle, National Soccer Hall of Fame, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 18, 2009. Accessed October 30, 2017. "Following his retirement he coached Harrison High School for seven undefeated seasons and was a member of the 1952 New Jersey Olympic Selection Committee."
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