Type Public Principal David J. Adam Phone +1 609-671-5510 Founded 1969 | Established 1969 Faculty 96.0 FTEs Color White Lowest grade Ninth grade | |
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School district Lawrence Township Public Schools Asst. principal Jessica Cincotta
Fay Lopez
Clifford Williams Address 2525 Princeton Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, USA District Lawrence Township Public Schools Athletics conference Colonial Valley Conference Profiles | ||
Lawrence High School (LHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Lawrence Township Public Schools. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1992.
Contents
- History
- Awards recognition and rankings
- Curriculum
- Athletics
- Extracurricular activities
- Red Scare marching band
- Administration
- Noted alumni and faculty
- References
As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,208 students and 96.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.6:1. There were 207 students (17.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 83 (6.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
The school colors are red and white. The school mascot is the Cardinal.
History
Lawrence High School was constructed in 1967.
Students from Robbinsville Township (known as Washington Township until 2007) had attended Lawrence High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship which ended with the final group of seniors who graduated in the 2006-07 school year. Cranbury Township had sent students to Lawrence High School until they began a relationship with Princeton High School.
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 114th-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 82nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 120th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 124th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 123rd in the magazine's September 2006 issue. Lawrence High School had been ranked in the top 75 high schools in previous years' rankings.
Curriculum
Lawrence High School offers numerous honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes including AP Environmental Science, AP United States History, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Music Theory, AP English Literature, AP Calculus (both AB and BC), AP European History, AP United States Government and Politics, AP English, AP Statistics, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Studio Art. The school also offers Cisco I and II, a certified networking course from Cisco Systems. LHS also offers many electives such as drafting, design and photography.
Athletics
The Lawrence High School Cardinals compete in the Colonial Valley Conference, which operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 893 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. The school's most successful teams include football, golf, wrestling, soccer, swimming, tennis, softball, cheerleading and cross-country.
The school operates as the lead agency for a joint ice hockey program with Ewing High School and Hightstown High School, under an agreement that expires at the end of the 2017-18 school year.
The boys' soccer team won the Group II state championship in 1967 (defeating Northern Highlands High School in the tournament final), 1969 (vs. Morris Knolls High School), 1970 (vs. Shore Regional High School), 1971 (vs. Point Pleasant Borough High School), 1973 and 1975 (vs. Garfield High School both years), 1980 (vs. Governor Livingston High School) and 1994 (vs. Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School), and won the Group II state title in 1968 (vs. Glen Rock High School); The nine state championships are tied for third-most of any public school program and the streak of five consecutive titles from 1967 to 1971 is the longest for any public school.
The football team was undefeated in 1973 with the help of running back Glenn Bethea, younger brother of NFL Hall of Famer, Elvin Bethea who played for the Houston Oilers. The 1974 football team, featuring future NFL quarterback Scott Brunner, was overshadowed by a defensive unit that had eight shutouts and only allowed six points all year, with a record of 8-0-1, as part of a three-year undefeated stretch from 1972 to 1974 in the pre-playoff era where the team won 21 games and had one tie.
The Lawrence boys swim team won the Colonial Valley Conference in 2005 and 2007 with a 16-1 record both seasons. They were also the Mercer County Tournament Champions in 2005 and 2007 and Central "B" Division State Champions in 2008. The Girls swim team followed this success in 2006 by winning the Central "A" Division State Title with a 91-79 win against West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South. Both the boys and Girls Team won the Patriot Division in the 2010-2011 season. In 2012 the boys won the Patriot Division again and was runner up in the Central New Jersey Group B State Finals.
The football team won the Colonial Valley Conference titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2006, the team made it to the state playoffs as the top seed, only to be knocked off by 8th-seeded Moorestown High School at home 19-14 in the first round of the tournament. In 2007, the team made it to state playoffs once again but were defeated by Middletown South at home in the first round, 16-6. The football team won the WJFL Patriot division title in 2013, made the state playoffs and defeated Allentown HS, and Carteret HS to advance to the Central Jersey Group III Championship where they were defeated by Hopewell Valley HS.
The Lawrence wrestling team was the CVC Valley Division champions most recently in the 2003-04 season. Lawrence wrestling produced the first (and until 2012, the only) state champion to come out of Mercer County, Mark Savino, who won a title in 2004.
The boys' track and field Team was the CVC Patriot Division champions in 2010, 2011 and Co-Champions in 2013. Lawrence Girls track and field team are the 2014 CVC Patriot Division Co- Champions. Lawrence had the Group II state champion and sectional champion in the long jump in 2012 as well as the shot put sectional champion.
In 2012, the softball team, led by Coach Tara Harrigan, won their first state sectional title in program history, winning the Central Jersey Group III title with a 3-2 win over Manasquan High School.
Extracurricular activities
Lawrence High features clubs such as the Lawrence High School Theater Company, LMTI, Anyone Club, International Alliance, Yearbook, Student Ambassadors, Teen Pep, Peer Leadership, The Lawrence High School Gay-Straight Alliance, a student newspaper, and Operation Smile. Lawrence High School also has a DECA chapter and is active in the New Jersey Science Olympiad. The school's Debate team won the county championship in 2008.
Lawrence High School's mock trial team, led by history teacher Mark Rowe and local attorney Steve Goodell, has won 11 Mercer County Competitions and six Central Jersey Championships. The team also finished third in the state three times and second in the state three times over the past 14 years.
Lawrence High School's performing arts department includes instrumental and choral groups, a jazz band, and a marching band, the Red Scare.
The theater program is run by director Lorie Baldwin, also the educator in charge of theater classes.
"Red Scare" marching band
The Lawrence High School "Red Scare" Marching Band is the school's marching band, which provides entertainment at school football games, local parades, competitions and in cities across the country. The "Red Scare" was established in September 2001 by Eric Haltmeier and Lee Neamand. The band has been directed by Haltmeier, Neamand, and Antonio Padron, and is currently under the direction of Maggie Kehoe.
The music program has been named in the Top 100 Communities in the Nation for Music Education for 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 by NAMM.
Administration
Members of the school's administration are: