Franklin High School (New Jersey)

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 203rd-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 263rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 201st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 150th out of 316 schools in 2008.

History

The original Franklin High School, now Franklin Middle School, was opened in 1961. Prior to that, the district sent its high school students to Princeton High School, Bound Brook High School, Highland Park High School, and New Brunswick High School among others. The original Franklin High School was designed to accommodate 1,600 students. By the mid 1990s, the student population had grown to over 2,000 making overcrowding a serious issue. In 2001, the residents of Franklin Township voted for the construction of a new High School. Construction began in 2002 and finished in September 2005. In that same month, the new Franklin High School opened its doors.

Among the persons in recent years who have served as Principal of Franklin High School are Orville Wilson, Dr. Howard Lucks, Dr. Neely Hackett, James Bevere, and Dr. Thomas DiGanci as Interim Principal from September 2014 to June 2016. Dr. DiGanci was the former principal of Watchung Hills Regional High School, where he was employed as principal for forty years before retiring in 2012. Ron Brundidge also served as an interim principal.

The current principal of Franklin High School is Ms. Cheryl A. Clark, who previously served as the principal of Irvington's University Elementary School in Irvington, NJ.

Courses

FHS offers a wide selection of courses to suit all types of students. Honors level courses in the core content areas and in the areas of the Fine and Performing Arts and of Technology. The school offers business and vocational programs offering training and practical application in real world situations. Students can earn certification in Cisco Systems, acquire television production and studio recording skills, and participate in a variety of internship and co-op experiences offered through local area businesses. Students may chose to attend Somerset County Vocational and Technical High School either part-time or full-time. There students learn the core curriculum along with various skills such as auto shop and culinary arts.

The school offers an open Advanced Placement Program (AP) college-level courses. Any student can register for an AP course as along as he has completed the prerequisites. For example, it is not uncommon for sophomores to take AP United States History. The AP courses FHS has (as of the 13-14 school year) include:

Certain students who have completed the majority of courses in a department have a chance to take college courses in local colleges. In many cases, these courses will earn the student college credit that can be transferred to their college at the school's discretion. In the past, seniors have taken courses in Princeton University, Rutgers University, and Raritan Valley Community College.

Curriculum

Franklin High School students need to earn a total of 120 credits to be eligible for graduation. The vast majority of the year-long courses give 5 credits each while a half-year course offers 2.5 credits. The exceptions to this rule are the science classes with labs. An extra credit is given for each lab day in the 5-day cycle. Honors science classes with one lab and AP sciences classes with two labs give the students 6 and 7 credits, respectively. The credit spread for incoming classes is as follows:

Academic excellence

Franklin High School students have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program, Advance Placement Scholar Awards, Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars Program.

Athletics

The Franklin High School Warriors compete in the Skyland Conference, which includes public and parochial high schools covering Hunterdon County, Somerset County and Warren County in west central New Jersey and operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,618 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North II, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,114 to 4,800 students in that grade range.

The boys bowling team won the overall state championship in 1975 and 1977.

The girls field hockey team won the North I Group I state sectional championship in 1977, 1980 and 1981.

Central Jersey Group III state sectional title in 1984, 1987, 1989 and 1990.

The boys track team won the Group III indoor relay championships in 1989, 1990 and 2006. The girls track team won the relay title in 1991, 1992

The boys basketball team won the Group III state title in 2003 vs. Cranford High School.

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities provide an excellent medium for FHS students to explore their interests, learn, and help the community. Most "clubs" meet after school when additional buses are available for after school transportation. Some clubs such as Brass Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, and Model United Nations meet at night, in which cases the students are responsible for their own transportation. Recently, the Model United Nations club has won a major conference in 2012 at Rutgers Model United Nations (RUMUN). They are also ranked in the top 10 in the country. Clubs offered at Franklin High School include:
_{Note: Some information may be inaccurate due to clubs forming or disbanding.}

Performing arts

Stage productions such as Beauty and The Beast (2009), Sweeney Todd (2010), Hello, Dolly! (2011), Phantom of the Opera, (2012) Aida (2013), In The Heights (2014) "Jekyll and Hyde"(2015) and Mary Poppins (2016) have been performed by the students of Franklin High School.

Administration

Members of the school administration are:

Notable alumni