Princeton High School (New Jersey)

Overview

Princeton High is located between Moore Street and Walnut Lane. The district middle school, John Witherspoon Middle School, is located across from the high school athletic fields on Walnut Lane.

The school offers 200 courses in many subjects and levels, including most of the courses in the Advanced Placement Program. More than 70% of students take at least one AP or accelerated course. Additionally, the High School Program at Princeton University permits qualified juniors and seniors to take free courses at Princeton University if they have exhausted all high school course alternatives within a discipline, receiving only high school credit for any university courses successfully completed.

The school contains over 250 classrooms, several equipped science labs, two gymnasiums, a performing arts center, a fitness center, a garden, athletic turf and tennis courts. Some of this came from significant reconstruction from 2003 to 2007 as part of an $86 million project to renovate the district's school buildings, also including a new mathematics wing and renovated library.

The school's principal is Gary R. Snyder, and its assistant principals are Jessica Baxter, Jared Warren and Lori Rotz.

Awards, recognition and rankings

Nationally, Princeton High School ranked in Newsweek's top high school list in 2004 (113), 2005 (212), 2006 (113), 2007 (208), 2008 (142), and 2009 (210). In The Washington Posts's "Most Challenging High Schools" list, PHS ranked in 2011 (370), 2012 (330), 2013 (322), and 2014 (467). In U.S. News & World Report, Princeton High School was ranked in 2009 (94), 2010 (113) and 2014 (216). In 2007, The Wall Street Journal, ranking the country's high schools based on a percentage of 2007 high school seniors sent to eight selective colleges (Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Pomona, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, and Williams), placed Princeton High School at #27. PHS was the second highest ranked publicly funded school, with a total of 31 students matriculating to those schools.

Statewide, New Jersey Monthly's "Top Public High Schools" has ranked Princeton High in 2006 (13), 2008 (6), 2010 (44), 2012 (59) and 2014 (67). Schooldigger ranked the school in 2011 (75), 2013 (50) and 2014 (44). The 2009 U.S News & World Report ranked Princeton High as the highest ranked open-admissions high school in New Jersey.

Schedule

School is held Monday through Friday from 7:51 a.m. - 2:51 p.m. for 180 days per year. The daily schedule consists of eight academic periods (45 minutes), except for Wednesdays which have 30 minute periods and a 12-minute homeroom period between the second and third periods, and a break (30 minutes) between the fifth and sixth periods. There are four minutes between each class period for the students to get to their next class.

Every Wednesday, (termed "short Wednesdays" or "one-forty-nine days") and on days when special events are planned, the school day is shortened and ends at 1:49 p.m. Students attend 35 minute class periods, and homeroom and break periods are not shortened. Short Wednesdays exist to permit the operation of the mandatory freshmen Peer Group program between 1:49 and 2:51. This period of time is also used for community service group meetings for sophomores, other extracurricular activities, and school-wide events such as pep rallies, the Fall Festival, and Spring Fling.

Lab days

The school days are assigned letter labels, cycling from A through G. This is done to accommodate double periods for science classes, which are scheduled so there is a gym class during the preceding or following period. For two out of these seven days (either A and E, B and F, or C and G depending on the class, so that D day is the same for everyone) the science class meets two periods in a row to give the class opportunity for a lab experiment. For example, if a student has lab on B and F days, he or she will not have gym, health or driver's education on those cycle days and will instead have a double science period. D Days are often used on the first few days of school, the first day of each marking period, midterms and finals, or other drastic changes in schedule.

Graduation requirements

In order to receive a diploma from Princeton High School, students must successfully complete a minimum of 120 credits from grade 9 to grade 12. Each year-long class counts for 5 credits; each semester class counts for 2.5. The exception is science classes that have one or two lab periods count for 5.7 and 6.4 credits, respectively. Additionally, each student must have completed 50 hours of community service, usually completed during a students sophomore year. Required courses include English I and English II (which must respectively be taken in the first two years) and two more years of English; three years of science, including biology and chemistry; one year of a foreign language, though three years is recommended; three years of mathematics; one year of gym for every year that the student is enrolled; two years of United States history, one year of world history; one year of visual/performing arts; one year of practical arts; and one half year of financial literacy.

In addition, students must show proficiency in the PARCC assessment. Previously, the school used the HSPA 11 - the class of 2015 is the last class to rely on this. Students must also pass the Biology State Assessment the year they are enrolled in a Biology course.

PHS has a policy of revoking credit for a student's course if a certain amount of absences in a class are reached. More than 18 absences from a year-long course or 9 absences for a semester course will lead to credit revocation. Tardiness counts as one-third of an absence for the purposes of revoking credit.

Extracurricular activities

Princeton High School offers over 100 extracurricular activities, including clubs, publications, competitive teams, and other organizations. Chartered organizations include Anime Club, Amnesty International, Asian American Club, Dance Club, Democrats Club, Do Something, French Club, Chess Club, Chinese Club, Computer and Robotics Club, Crew Club, Environmental Club, Fashion Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Filmmaking Club, Futsal Club, Gender Sexuality Alliance, Japanese Club, Junior Statesmen of America, Just Wing It (improv group), Korean Club, Latinos Unidos, Math Team, Mock Trial, Model United Nations, Muslim Society and Friends, Numina (art gallery), Odyssey of the Mind, Operation Smile, Photography Club, Pokémon Club, Prayer Group, Republican Club, SADD, Save the Elephants, Science Olympiad, Speech and Debate, Spork (food magazine), The Ivy (arts magazine), The Prince (yearbook), The Tower (newspaper), Tiger News (weekly broadcast), and UNICEF. Students can create their own clubs with prior approval. As of December 2014, contract negotiations have led to cancellation of uncompensated activities, including most clubs. This issue was resolved the following school year.

Athletics

The Princeton High School Little Tigers participate in the Colonial Valley Conference, which includes high schools from Mercer, Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,159 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. Princeton High fields interscholastic teams in baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, spring track and field, swimming, tennis, volleyball, winter track and wrestling.

The boys' basketball team won the Group III state championship in 1931 (vs. James Caldwell High School) and the Group II title in 1937 (vs. Bogota High School) and 1938 (vs. Atlantic Highlands High School).

The field hockey team won the Central Jersey sectional championships in 1971 and 1973, won the Central Jersey Group II title in 1975, 1978 and 1982, and won the Central Jersey Group III title in 1984; the team was the Group II state champions in 1975 (vs. Montville High School) and won the Group III championship in 1984 (vs. Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest).

The boys' tennis team won the Group III state championship in 1972 (vs. Millburn High School), 1984 (vs. Ramapo High School), 1986 (vs. Tenafly High School), 1987 (vs. Tenafly) and 2002 (vs. Tenafly), the Group I / II title in 1976 (vs. Ocean City High School), and won the Group II title in 1977 (vs. West Orange High School), 1979 and 1980. The team was the public school state champion in 1984. The team's nine state championships are tied for 10th for all schools in the state.

The girls' lacrosse team won the overall state championship in 1985, defeating Moorestown High School in the tournament final.

The boys' soccer team won the Group III state championship in 1995 (vs. Arthur L. Johnson High School), 2009 (vs. Millburn High School) and 2012 (as co-champion with Ramapo High School). In 2009, the boys' soccer team won the Group III state championship, capping off an undefeated season with a 2-1 win over Millburn High School in the final game of the state tournament.

The golf team went five for five in its 2007 tournaments, including the Group III state championships, the Mercer County Tournament, Sectional Championships, the Bunker Hill Tournament, and the Cherry Valley Tournament. The team over had a record of 47-2 during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The 2008 team repeated as Group III champion.

The varsity girls' swim team won the 2007 NJSIAA Central - B state sectional championship with an 87-83 win over Ocean Township High School. They again beat Ocean Township High School in 2008 for the second year in a row, claiming their 6th consecutive NJSIAA Central - B sectional championship.

The 2009 boys' swimming team won the Central Jersey Group B Sectional title with a 99-71 win against Ocean Township High School. In 2011, the boys swimming team won the Central Jersey Group B Sectional title with a 102-68 win against Freehold Borough High School. Following that, the team advanced to the NJSIAA Public B finals, ultimately losing to Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, 80-90. In 2012, the boys swimming team again won the Central Jersey Group B Sectional title. After that, Princeton once again faced-off against their rivals last year Scotch Plains-Fanwood. This time Princeton boys swimming team won 109-61, giving them the NJSIAA Public B state champion title.

In 2008, the varsity cheerleading squad competed in the Colonial Valley Conference Competition, and won Best Dance, first place in Medium Division and Overall Grand Champions. They competed against 13 other teams in order to win the Grand Champion Award. In 2010, the squad competed again, and won first place in Small Division.

The Princeton High School Choir

PHS Choir is technically an elective and not an "extracurricular" activity, as it is a regularly scheduled course for which credits and grades are given.

Founded in 1944, the Choir is nationally and internationally known as one of the top high school choirs in the world. It is composed of 60 to 80 students in grades 10 through 12 every year, with auditions conducted at the end of each academic year for entry in the following year. The Choir tours internationally (and occasionally nationally) once every two years. Past tours of special significance include the 1977/78 invitation from the American composer Gian Carlo Menotti to participate in Spoleto, a world-renowned summer festival where they premiered Menotti's opera, "The Egg" and an invitation to perform at the 850th anniversary of the city of Moscow. More recent destinations include Austria, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Latvia, Estonia, and soon to be Southern Spain. A national tour with the entire Choir to Washington D.C. in the spring of 2009 included a performance at the Washington National Cathedral. The Choir toured Barcelona, Spain, in February 2011, appearing on national Spanish television as well as gaining special permission to perform in the Cathedral of Montserrat. Since December 1944, the Choir has performed its annual winter concert in the Princeton University Chapel, often filled to capacity with over 1,200 attendees, including numerous Choir alumni. The Chamber Choir, composed of members of the main choir, has performed at the White House on numerous occasions.

The Choir has been under five directors: Harvey Woodruff from 1944 to 1948, Thomas Hilbish from 1948 to 1965, William Trego from 1965 to 1993, Charles "Sunny" Sundquist from 1993 to 2008, Vincent Metallo from 2008 to present.

Debate

Princeton High School has a rich history of success both in the National Forensics League and the Catholic Forensics league. The school debate team competes in the three largest forms of High School Debate: Public Forum, Lincoln Douglas, and Congressional Debate. The team of Sinan Ozbay and Pragya Malik were nationally ranked as the best Public Forum duo for the majority of their senior year (2015), with their most notable accolade being the Champions of the Harvard Round Robin Debate.

A cappella

PHS has four student-run a cappella groups. There are two "choir affiliated" groups (members must be part of the main choir): The Cat's Meow and Around 8, with two "choir unaffiliated" groups: Testostertones and Cloud Nine. All four perform at various events in and out of school such as Back To School Night, Fall Festival, Friday Night Live (FNL), Winter Arch Sing WWP-South's Acappellooza, Spring Fling, and Final Arch Sing, among others. All sing songs arranged by current and former members and produce an album yearly. The a cappella groups hold auditions at the end of each school year and admit a small number of new members.

The Cat's Meow is all girls, established in the early 1980s and features five "classic" songs along with 15-20 new arrangements on their CD. Around Eight was formed 1992, originally a mainly madrigal-oriented group, but became more pop-oriented with complex beatboxing. The name came from the original eight members being slightly late or early to their 8 pm rehearsals. Cloud 9 is all female, formed to give girls not in the choir a chance to showcase their abilities. The Testostertones is the only all boys group, and is the most recent group formed.

PHS Studio Band

The band program is technically an elective and not an "extracurricular" activity, as it is a regularly scheduled course for which credits and grades are given. The band, an elite high school performance group, was the inspiration for the 2014 film Whiplash.

Program

Princeton High School has several levels of bands to accommodate all levels of playing from beginning to professional skill. Tiger I & II, Nassau I & II, Jazz Ensemble, and Studio Band are the 6 bands by order of pure playing ability. Students are assigned to their respective band level according to skill, being an upperclassman holds no extra sway.

The Princeton High School Studio Band, currently directed by Joe Bongiovi, selects its members by audition only. All Studio Band members are expected to excel in sight-reading, master finger positions, and be familiar with all techniques that apply to their instrument (e.g., trombone F-attachment). They are also expected to attend all rehearsals both during and after school. During the band's preparation for competition, ensemble rehearsal can be over 12–20 hours in 1 week.

The Studio Band is known to play a wide variety of genres arranged for Big Band. About one Friday evening each month throughout the school year the Studio Band hosts dances known as Big Band Dances.

History

The original director and founder of the Studio Band was Dr. Anthony Biancosino. Biancosino was the director of the Studio Band for 26 years. During those years the Studio Band had many successes, including playing at the inaugural balls of both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. The film Whiplash is based on writer/director Damien Chazelle's experiences in the band program under Dr. Biancosino.

When Biancosino died in December 2003, his brother, Joseph Downey, took over as director of the Studio band. Under his direction the Studio Band continued to play and compete. In 2007 the Studio Band took first place at the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival. Prior to performing, Downey dedicated the set to Dr. Biancosino. Incidentally, his brother Joe stepped in to direct the band at the 1982 Berkee Festival, when they won the competition for the first time, while Dr. Biancosino was at the bedside of his ailing daughter. The set in 2007 consisted of three pieces: Whiplash, Of Another Time, and Cherokee; the same set the Studio Band had played when they won previously at Berklee twenty-five years earlier. Joe Bongiovi later took over the band director's position, with the help of band director Scott Grimaldi. Under the direction of Joe Bongiovi in 2009, PHS Studio Band won first place overall, best woodwind section, and best brass section at the Disney Jazz Festival. Later in the year, they also won first place overall and best saxophone section at the NJAJE State Finals. The set consisted of Heat of the Day, Mumuki, and What is This Thing Called Love. At the Berklee Jazz Festival of 2010, the PHS studio band took first place in Division 2 for large ensembles. The set was It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing), The First Circle, and Besame Mucho. The band played well once again at the Berklee Jazz Festival of 2011, winning first in Division 2 for large ensembles, second in Division 1 for small combos, and second in miscellaneous BandSlam groups (this time Wake'N'Ska).

Jazz Festival

The Princeton High School band program also hosts an annual Jazz Festival, nicknamed "Jazz Fest", at which local high school jazz bands are invited to perform for adjudication. Like many other similar high school jazz festivals, the host band traditionally plays last and is not scored for competition. Each year, the band program invites a guest artist to perform after the festival for its attendees.

Jazz Festival Guest Artists

Spectacle Theatre

Spectacle Theatre is Princeton High School's student-run drama club. Each year, students will act in and produce a fall play (generally in November) and a spring musical (generally in March). After the conclusion of the musical, seniors have the opportunity to direct single-act plays in a Student Directed Play production. Each production involves tech, make-up, lighting, and costume departments as well as a stage crew.

The program was the first high school to premiere "Brigadoon" and "Carousel". They have also performed operas at Princeton High School, the first of which was Cavalleria Rusticana, a one-act opera written by Pietro Mascagni.

Spectacle Theatre is currently directed by Pat Wray, the PHS drama teacher and former Broadway dancer and actress.

The Tower

The Tower is the school's newspaper, which was founded in 1911 as The Observer. In 1925, it was again renamed to The Blue & White, and received its present title in 1929 to commemorate the new high school building, which is presently the oldest building on campus. The first incarnation was published fortnightly in a smaller format, while the current edition is published monthly in a traditional newspaper size. It has been printed and typesetted by various local publishers, including the Town Topics and most recently the Princeton Packet. The newspaper is distributed for free in school, in addition to online publication.

The Tower has varied enormously in content and style throughout its publication. The nameplate has changed significantly, with the original pencil drawing of the tower with The New York Times-style lettering continually removed and reinserted in between redesigns, but the current masthead dates to the eighties. Features in The Tower include a monthly quotes section, "Cheers and Jeers" of various cultural and school-specific events, a two-page topical opinions/forum spread called Vanguard, and a monthly calendar of local events called "Pencil These In". Many of these topics have been resurrected from past issue of The Tower. General topics include opinion pieces, arts and entertainment, and sports news. Once a year a joke issue is published, which is a tradition first created in a 1920s issue called The Black & Blue - more recent examples being a mid-2000s issue alleging that a giant condom had been placed on top of the school and lolcats being featured in a 2009 issue.

The Tower has faced competition. From 1990 to 1994, a rival "underground" newspaper called The Free Press published after a split between several potential editors of The Tower. Currently, an Onion-style news site called The Dungeon has been publishing since 2013.

The Ivy

The Ivy is the school's visual and literary arts magazine. The title of the magazine comes from the ivy that grows on some of the older school buildings. Student-submitted work is reviewed anonymously and the staff creates the magazine based on these votes. The magazine is printed and distributed for free in school, in addition to online publication.

Spork

Spork is the school's food and dining magazine. It was created during the 2011–12 school year through funds generating via Kickstarter. The Spork staff writes and adapts recipes, reviews local Princeton restaurants, and publishes food-related features and articles. Spork is printed and distributed for free in school, in addition to online publication.

The Ideas Center

The Princeton High School Ideas Center provides most of the students in need at the school with peer tutors. Tutors work with their fellow students in one-on-one sessions or study groups. Tutoring is often done as a community service requirement, though this is not always the case.

Achievement gap

PHS has been considered a case study of the achievement gap in elite high schools. The gap between different groups in academic progress received greater attention in 2005, after the school failed the No Child Left Behind Act. The New York Times ran an article entitled "The Achievement Gap in Elite Schools," by Samuel G. Freedman on September 28, 2005, which essentially accused Princeton High School of neglecting its responsibility to educate minorities. While the cause may be due to socioeconomic status rather than racial segregation, many students in the overwhelmingly white-and-Asian-populated advanced classes can spend most of their high school career sharing only a few classes with their Hispanic or African American peers. According to Freedman's article, "In the early 1990s, an interracial body calling itself the Robeson Group—in homage to Paul Robeson, the most famous product of black Princeton—mobilized to recruit more black teachers and help elect the first black member to the school board."

In 2003, the school became part of the Minority Student Achievement Network, a network of 21 different schools across the country, that share Princeton High School's achievement gap problem. MSAN gathers high achieving minority students, to address and help fix the growing achievement gap, in their schools.

Notable alumni