Matawan Regional High School

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 139th-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 92nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 126th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 111th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 115th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 253rd out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 38 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

When the State of New Jersey mandated graded school systems replace district schools in 1894, Matawan Township and Matawan Borough constructed an eight-room brick school building at the corner of Broad Street and South Street, which was completed and occupied in 1895.

A 1913 graduate described the school as having four rooms on the first floor, and four rooms and a long, wide hall on the second floor. There was no indoor plumbing until a major addition was made to the building about 1910, so outdoor toilets were used for about fifteen years. Sanitary facilities were added in the basement. The Class of 1913 consisted of 34 eighth graders, most of whom were expected to go to work after they finished school.

By 1923, the school was so overcrowded that it was running double sessions to teach its students in 12 rooms, so the township voted to build a new high school next door.

The first Matawan High School was completed and occupied in 1924 on 8 acres (32,000 m²) at the corner of Broad Street and South Street. The  2 ¹⁄₂-story brick building of Georgian design was constructed at a cost of $175,000. It contained 13 classrooms, a study hall, a cafeteria, an auditorium seating 527, and a gymnasium with capacity for 300. The school had 388 students and 14 teachers in 1936; 76 seniors graduated with the Class of 1936. The school had recently taken in students from Laurence Harbor, New Jersey, effectively doubling the graduating class between 1933 and 1936. The school, which included some middle school students in 1957, had 540 high school students and their 28 teachers. After it was replaced in 1962, consideration was given to making the old high school an elementary school but it was eventually demolished.

Matawan Regional High School was built in 1962 to deal with sharp population growth due to the construction of 2,300 new housing units in the area. Population nearly doubled between the 1960 census figure of 12,456 and the 1965 estimate of 21,177. The school had 1,780 students and 102 teachers in the 1964/1965 school year. The 62 rooms included 33 classrooms, 2 gymnasiums, an auditorium, a cafeteria, 2 music rooms, 2 industrial arts shops, 8 science rooms, and 2 fine arts rooms.

The school underwent a $13.3 million renovation project completed in September 2004 which included a new facade, new chemistry and oceanography laboratory classrooms, a new art wing, including a kiln, computer labs, as well as a new greenhouse. The sports department received a renovated artificial turf football field and stadium lighting. Streetside saw a new electronic sign.

Sports

The Matawan High School Huskies 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 within Monmouth County and Ocean County, and the league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 794 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North Jersey, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 778 to 1,066 students in that grade range.

The Matawan High School baseball team (63-2) won the Central New Jersey championship three consecutive years from 1922 to 1924 under Coach Benjamin W. Davis. Matawan's African-American pitcher Henry Schanck was edged out by Keyport High School in a 16-inning match in 1924. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) added a sports field at the high school in 1936.

The Matawan Catfish swim team competed against the Laurence Harbor Eels at nearby Lake Lefferts in the spring of 1936.

In 1958, the Matawan High School Huskies football squad, led by Coach Barry Rizzo, won the Shore Conference Championship, losing only to Neptune. They defeated their rivals, the Keyport High School Red Raiders in a hard-fought Thanksgiving Day game, 6-2. Notable players on that Huskies team were the "Touchdown Twins", David Jones and Purvis Peeler.

The 1959 Huskies baseball team, coached by George Deitz, won the Shore Conference Championship and competed in the Group 1 state championships, losing in the first round. Their star pitcher, Carl Stephens, threw three no-hitters that season and was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing in their minor league system until an arm injury ended his career.

The boys' bowling team won the overall state championship in 1969.

The football team won the Central Jersey state sectional championships in Group IV in 1975; in Group III in 1988, 1991, 1992 and 2014; and in both 2009 and 2011 in Group II. In 2009, the football team won the Central Jersey Group II sectional title by a score of 28-12 against Manasquan High School in a game played at The College of New Jersey, marking the program's first sectional title since 1992. The team won the program's seventh sectional title in 2014 with a 27-7 win against Carteret High School in the Central Jersey Group III state sectional championship.

In 2009, the boys indoor and outdoor track and field teams took the Central Jersey Group II titles, marking the first time since 1996 since the boys team took the outdoor title, and the first time the indoor team had ever taken a state title. The indoor team won a second consecutive title in 2010, defeating second place Summit Senior High School by 56-42. In 2011, the outdoor track and field team won its third consecutive Central Jersey, Group II sectional title, edging Long Branch High School 80-77 for the victory.

Both the boys' and girls' track teams won their respective Group II titles in 2013 at the state indoor relay championships.

In 2014, the Matawan High School's boys track and field team won the B-North division championships and the Central Jersey Group II sectional champs, earning the team's sevenh sectional title, having most recently won in 2011.

Music

Music has deep roots at Matawan. In 1895, the New York Press ran a statewide competition to determine the most popular new school in the budding New Jersey school system. Matawan returned the most coupons, defeating its nearest competitor by 40,000 votes, thereby winning a Chickering and Sons piano.

Marching band

The Matawan Marching Huskies band won the national championships in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1977. They are led by band director Chris Hensel .

In the 2011 season, the Marching Huskies finished first in the Tournament of Bands (TOB) Group II Chapter X (Greater NYC Metro) Championships with a score of 93.0. The chapter title was the first for the band since 2006. They ended the season with a 3rd-place finish at the TOB Atlantic Coast Championships in Hershey, Pennsylvania with a score of 95.5, earning the Marching Huskies not only their highest-ever placement at the ACCs, but their highest score in school history.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:

Notable alumni