Jackson Liberty High School

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 128th-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 218th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 215th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.

Schooldigger.com ranked the school as tied for 129th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 67 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 and design

The school first opened its doors to the public on August 24, 2006, for guided tours and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Classes began in September of the 2006-07 school year for 9th and 10th grades only. The school is now open for Grades 9 through 12, with an estimated capacity of 1,900 students. The school stands at two stories and 288,500 square feet (26,800 m²) on a 150-acre (0.61 km²) parcel of land, and features 85 classrooms, a 1,800-seat gymnasium, and about a dozen athletic fields.

Built in between 2005 and 2006, the school has two floors. The bottom floor holds a liberal arts (history, English, language) wing (commonly referred to as "C" wing) as well as a mathematics and science wing. (Commonly referred to as "B" wing) There is a cafeteria in both wings. The upstairs wing will hold additional mathematics and science wings. Additionally "D" wing is home to the arts (fine art, television production, CAD, graphic design) classes. A central atrium ("A" wing) connects "D", "C", and "B" wings into a central great hallway. The theater holds about 900 people and is equipped to handle presentations as well as performances. The two gymnasiums are next to each other and they have a weight room and an athletic trainer's office. The football field is surrounded by a regulation size track which could be used for meets. There is also a music wing behind the auditorium and a lecture hall in the atrium. Jackson Liberty High School is Wi-Fi ready and wireless LAN stations are set up throughout the school. Teachers are given swivel-head laptops which have a wireless card which connect them to projectors in each classroom. All multimedia functions from the classroom projectors. The student-run television channel, JLib Today, as well as a DVD and VCR hook up to the projector for large format display. The school auditorium is suited to seat 799 people and is equipped with state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems.

Athletics

The Jackson Liberty High School compete in the Shore Conference, an athletic conference made up of private and public high schools centered at the Northern Jersey Shore. All schools in this conference are located in Monmouth County and Ocean County. The league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 992 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as Central Jersey, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 822 to 1,068 students in that grade range.

Jackson Liberty has its student section, the Red Zone, in which students wearing a red zone shirt receive free admission to home football and basketball games. Liberty has a section at the football games for the red zone in the bleachers behind the left end zone. The red zone plays a part in pep rallies, and all around school spirit.

Football

In football the rivals of Jackson Liberty High School are Jackson Memorial High School, Lakewood High School and Monsignor Donovan High School.

Tim Osborn was the first football coach at Jackson Liberty High School, taking over the team when the program started. After 2-8 seasons and 4-6 seasons, Coach Osborn led the Lions to their first winning season in school history in 2012 at 6-4, and to their first playoff appearance, in a loss to Colonia High School. This season however, was Coach Osborn's final season leading the Liberty Lions. On April 13, 2013, Tim Osborn died of a heart attack while at the gym at age 53.

In May 2013, Jim Sharples was named as the Head Coach of the Lions. He was the Defensive Coordinator under Coach Osborn.

Music

Jackson Liberty has had a successful Marching Band and Jazz Band since the program's inception in 2007. In 2010 The Jackson Liberty Jazz Band competed throughout the State and acquired numerous Best Rhythm Section, Trumpet Section, Trombone Section, and Saxophone Section awards. They have also earned 10 best soloist awards. On April 24, 2010, the Jackson Liberty Jazz Band competed in the NJAJE Division II State Finals in Princeton, New Jersey. Liberty placed 3rd and also won two best soloist awards which were awarded to Tenor Sax player Gary Basko, and Bass Guitarist Zane Decker. In 2013 in 3 straight competitions the marching band beat Jackson Memorial in overall music for the first time ever.

AtLib Players

The students in the Drama Club at Jackson Liberty High School are called the AtLib Players. The Drama Club is directed by Mrs. Mathias, and Miss Hanlon (Now Mrs. Szoke). Past productions put on by the AtLib players include Guys and Dolls, A Christmas Carol, All Shook Up, The Crucible, The Father of the Bride, Little Shop of Horrors, The Miracle Worker, Anything Goes, Big: the musical, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle On 34th Street and Oklahoma!

JTV

The Jackson TV program is run by Mr. Ferone and Mr. Noble, out of Jackson Liberty. They teach the TV Tech Class, which makes music videos, short films, etc. They compete annually at the STN (Student Television Network) Competition. Competing locations that include Texas, Florida, California and more recently Atlanta, Georgia. JTV is 3 time National Champions in the Music Video category of STN. The students that are a part of JTV also help film sporting events, and other school functions, such as plays and concerts.

Administration

Core members of the schools administration are: