Colts Neck High School

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 68th-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 103rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 80th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 109th in the magazine's September 2008 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.

Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 72nd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 61 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (89.4%) and language arts literacy (96.7%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

Campus

Colts Neck High School is the only school in the district that is fully climate-controlled and is one of the largest schools in New Jersey consisting of two floors. The school underwent a large expansion in 2002 that increased the size of the building by roughly one third. The school has two gyms, the larger one being used for all varsity teams seating 3,000. The auditorium holds a total of about 1,750 people which is used for assemblies and the schools' arts program. There is also a transportable courtroom used by the Law and Public Service program and the Mock Trial team. The musicals and plays are also a very big part of the school and there is usually a great turnout for each performance. The school has over 75 acres (30 ha) of land that is used for its sports teams. The fields include soccer, track, football stadium and practice fields, lacrosse, and baseball fields. Other features include a large eight-mat wrestling room, five tennis courts, a large gymnastics room, four team rooms and film rooms, and a weight room.

Magnet programs

There are two magnet programs that students attending the Freehold Regional High School District can apply for.

Naval JROTC Leadership & Character Development Academy

The Colts Neck High School NJROTC is a four-year course of study, which encompasses three main subject areas: Leadership, Naval Science, and Physical Training. The Leadership curriculum develops skills in study, time management, and personal leadership, as well as self-discipline and self-reliance. The roles and capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces, particularly sea power, shipboard life, national security and naval history are reviewed. Cadets learn military customs, courtesies, drills, ceremonies and respect for the flag, and develop a sense of patriotism through community and school service. The leadership value of fitness is reinforced with weekly physical training. This is an opportunity for students to develop leadership qualities in a nurturing and exciting environment. The cadets are also able to take part in unique and adventurous opportunities such as orienteering, drill, visiting naval bases, and many other activities.

Law and Public Service Learning Center

The Center for Law and Public Service, located at Colts Neck High School, is a four-year program for students with demonstrated interests and abilities in history, politics, government, law, volunteerism and leadership. Targeted skills for development include problem solving, critical thinking and reading, written and oral communication, research, and organization. The values of citizenship, justice, and service serve as the foundation for academic study. Students study history as it relates to the development of the US and the evolution of world societies and governments, as well as political thought, ethical philosophy, and leadership theory. Special attention is given to NJ history and civic affairs. Courses include: Honors Speech, Debate and Dramatic Arts Workshop, Honors World Literature and Writer's Workshop, Honors Comparative Civilizations, Honors American Literature and Research Workshop, AP Civitas, Honors U.S. History I, AP U.S. History, Honors Legal and Fiscal Theory, Honors Senior Seminar, and Honors Business and Contract Law. Some of the students who were accepted into this prestigious program have gone to colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Cornell.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:

Athletics

The Colts Neck High School Cougars compete in the Shore Conference, an athletic conference made up of private and private and public high schools centered at the Northern Jersey Shore. All schools in this conference are located within Monmouth County and Ocean County, and the league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,087 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. Since the school opened in 2001, it has won numerous state, sectional, county, conference, and division titles and has become another powerhouse.

Girls' soccer

In 2015, the girls' soccer team made history with a record of 24-0-1, winning the first Shore Conference title and the first state title for girls' soccer, defeating nationally top ranked Northern Highlands Regional High School by a score of 1-0 in the tournament final to win the Group III state championship.

Girls' basketball

The girls' basketball program set a single season record for wins in 2009 and won the Group IV state championship, defeating Columbia High School in the tournament final. was Tournament of Champions finalists (falling 56-44 to St. John Vianney High School, who won their sixth Tournament of Champions), Group IV State Champions, Central Jersey Group IV Champions and Class A North Champions. In 2008 they won the Shore Conference Tournament with a 55-47 win over Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School in triple overtime, the first public high school to win the conference title since 1989.

Cross country / track & field

The cross country running and track program (in particular distance running) has been one of the school's most successful teams. The girls' cross country team has been nationally ranked 2nd during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. The team also qualified for Nike Team Nationals in 2006 and finished 4th with Ashley Higginson, Briana Jackucewicz, Allison Donaghy, Kristen O'Dowd, Erin Donaghy, Allie Flott, Morgan Clark, and Allison Linnell (Linnell did not attend Colts Neck High School). This 2006 girls' team had wins at the 2006 Shore Conference, Monmouth County, Central Jersey Group IV, NJ Group IV, and NJ Meet of Champions. The cross country program also has produced three Foot Locker champions (Briana Jackucewicz, Craig Forys, and Ashley Higginson).

The indoor and outdoor track and field program is also extremely successful ranking number one nationally in 2007. The indoor track program to date has won five national titles boys' distance medley telay 2005, girls' 4 x 1-mile (1.61 km) Relay 2006 & 2007, boys' 2 mile 2007, girls' 2 mile 2007. The track program also has produced numerous state champions and holds numerous state records, the most notable being the boys' 4 x 800 relay set in 2005 with a time of 7:39.54, the fastest time in the nation that year. Craig Forys set the New Jersey high school state two-mile (3.2 km) record and was the Nike Indoor National Champion in the two-mile (3.22 km) and the one-mile (1.61 km) for the 2006-07 school year.

Boys' lacrosse

The boys lacrosse program at Colts Neck High school has been extremely successful over the years, producing excellent college prospects. Recently in the 2015-2016 season, the cougars became the "A Public School North" champions. They slowly began their season, but quickly picked up their pace and brought home the trophy.

Other high schools in the district

Attendance at each of the district's high schools is based on where the student lives in relation to the district's high schools. In order to balance enrollment, district lines are redrawn for all six schools to address issues with overcrowding and spending in regards to transportation. The other five schools in the district (with 2014-15 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) with their attendance zones for incoming students are: