Atlantic City High School

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 262nd-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. The school had been ranked 214th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 247th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 255th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 270 in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 334th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 9 positions from the 2009 rank) 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).

History

Atlantic City's first high school building was built in 1895 at Illinois and Arctic Avenues, though the building's small size did not allow much room for growth. In 1901, the high school relocated to a building at Ohio and Pacific Avenues. After the high school relocated a third time, the building was reused as Central Jr. High School for many years. The third building, located at Albany and Atlantic Avenues, opened on September 17, 1923. Constructed at a cost of over $1.75 million, it included a 1,000-seat auditorium and a 6,000-pipe organ.

The fourth, and current Atlantic City High School was constructed on "Great Island," opening to students on November 14, 1994, at a cost of $83 million and had its formal dedication ceremony on November 23 before a gathered crowd of 4,000. The building was designed by Blumberg Associates Architecture.

Athletics

The Atlantic City High School Vikings compete in the Atlantic Division of the Cape-Atlantic League, an athletic conference consisting of both parochial and public high schools located in Atlantic County, Cape May County, Cumberland County, and Gloucester County, operating under the aegis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. With 1,377 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as South Jersey, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,084 to 1,845 students in that grade range.

In 1924, Atlantic City High School won the state swimming championship for a fourth time, setting three meet records in the process, with the Lawrenceville School coming in second and The Peddie School in third. The next year, at a meet held in Philadelphia, the swim team won the national interscholastic championship, breaking the streak of four championships won by Mercersburg Academy. The Atlantic City swim team were the guests of President Calvin Coolidge at the White House, in recognition of their championship.

In 1979, the Boys JV 8 Crew team won the National Rowing Championships in Delaware.

The girls basketball team won the Group IV state championships in 1981 vs. Eastside Paterson and repeated in 1982 vs. Plainfield High School.

The 1994 Boys Varsity 8 Crew had an undefeated season and won the Triple Crown (Philadelphia City Championships, Stotesbury Cup Regatta & National Rowing Championships). The V8 went on to place 2nd in the Princess Elizabeth Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames River in England.

The 1999 football team won the South Jersey Group IV state championship at Rutgers Stadium with a 31-29 win over Eastern High School of Voorhees, a victory that marked the program's first sectional title.

The boys basketball team won the 2005 NJSIAA Group IV state championship, defeating Trenton Central High School 71-70 in the semifinals, and Ridgewood High School 56-42 in the championship game at Rutgers University.

In 2007, Todd Busler was one of 50 recipients of the Maxwell Football Club's Tri-State High School Award given to players from schools located in South Jersey, the five county Philadelphia area and the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania.

The boys soccer team was 2008 inaugural Brigantine Cup champions.

In 2009, the girls' tennis team won the South Jersey Group IV title beating Millville Senior High School 3-2, the program's first group title.

In 2010, the girls' swim team won the CAL American Conference title and defeated Vineland High School to win the South Jersey Public A championship for the first time in the program's history, going 14-0 before falling to West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South in the state semifinals.

The school's gymnasium was home to the United States Basketball League (USBL) Atlantic City Seagulls from 1996-2001. The Seagulls won the USBL Championship in 1997, 1998 and 1999.

In 2012 the Viking's boys basketball team won the South Jersey Group IV title and the Group IV state championship with a 53-47 win against Elizabeth High School, marking the team's second state title, having won before in 2005. The Vikings again were Group IV state champions in basketball in 2013., defeating Linden High School in overtime by a score of 60-54 to become back-to-back champions.

Dress code

A student dress code was formulated for the 2007-08 school year.

Academics

Atlantic City High School offers many Advanced Placement (AP) courses, in addition to the standard college-prep and Honors classes. ACHS offers 20 AP courses which include: AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Psychology, AP United States History, AP United States Government and Politics, AP World History, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Environmental Science, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP French Language, AP Spanish Language, AP Latin, AP Music Theory, and AP Studio Art.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:

Notable alumni