Rutgers Preparatory School

History

Rutgers Preparatory School is the oldest independent preparatory school in the state of New Jersey. Founded as the Queen's College Grammar School, it was established on November 10, 1766 under the same charter that founded Queen's College (now Rutgers University).

Instruction began on August 15, 1768 under its first master, Caleb Cooper. Cooper, a graduate of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), was hired by the college's trustees to begin instruction at the Queen's College Grammar School, chartered along with the college in 1766. In 1825, the trustees renamed the college and grammar school after Colonel Henry Rutgers whose donation allowed the college to reopen after years of financial difficulties. The Rutgers College Grammar School established its location at the corner of College Avenue and Somerset Street in New Brunswick in a building designed and constructed by local architect and builder Nicholas Wyckoff in 1830. From 1829 until 1963, the school operated at this location presently known as Alexander Johnston Hall, the second-oldest surviving building on the Rutgers University campus. From 1809 to 1830, Rutgers Prep shared Old Queens, the oldest building at Rutgers University (1809), with the young Queens College (after 1825, Rutgers College) and the New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Before then, instruction was carried on in various taverns and boarding houses in the New Brunswick area.

The school's original mission was to train young men for the ministry, and its curriculum had focused on theology and classical studies. Over the course of the 19th century, however, more secular options were added. During the Progressive Era, Rutgers Preparatory School was among the first schools in the nation to institute a curriculum involving the laboratory sciences, extracurricular activities, student publications, and community service. After experimenting with the admission of women as early as the 1890s, Rutgers Prep became fully coeducational in 1951. That same year, it eliminated the American football team and ended its boarding program to become a day school to which students commuted rather than lived. In 1956, faced with the prospect of Rutgers becoming the state university, the university's Board of Trustees decided to divest itself of the preparatory school, which became fully independent in 1957, relocating to its current location on the Wells Estate (purchased from the Colgate-Palmolive Company) in nearby Somerset.

The school expanded rapidly on its new campus, adding an Upper School building (in partnership with the Colgate-Palmolive Company), playing fields, and a field house. In the 1960s, its curriculum and athletic offerings expanded dramatically, and the school made efforts to attract a more racially and economically diverse student body and faculty. These efforts continued throughout the 1970s.

In November 1983, an electrical fire destroyed a large part of the Upper School building. Classes were held in trailers while a new, larger, and more modern Upper School was built. The new building, which is still in use, opened in 1985.

Academics

Rutgers Preparatory School offers three levels of education: a Lower School serving pre-kindergarten to grade five, a Middle School offering grades six to eight and an Upper School offering traditional secondary level education from grades nine to twelve. Students are required to complete twenty course credits in order to graduate, accumulating a minimum of five credits per year, and are to take courses based in a traditional liberal arts curriculum that spans across several academic departments (English, History, Mathematics, Science, World Languages, Art, Computers, Music, and Drama).

The school offers a wide variety of AP (Advanced Placement) courses, which are the high school equivalent of a college-level course. Additionally, the School offers five language courses: Spanish, French, Latin, Japanese, and Arabic. Rutgers Preparatory School has also partnered with the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers University, and by participating in its Waksman Student Scholars Program (WSSP), Upper School students are able to participate in, and contribute to, an authentic research project in molecular biology and bioinformatics.

Each student in the Upper School is required to perform a minimum of ten hours of community service during each academic year as a condition for advancing to the next grade level and for graduation. This community-service obligation may be fulfilled either through volunteer work with a non-profit organization, through a charity, or through a service that in some way benefits the school community (tutoring, etc.). In addition, at least five of these hours must be completed outside the school campus.

Matriculation

The school has a 100% college admissions rate. A majority of the students are given offers of admission to selective public and private universities in the Northeast and throughout the country.

Institutional awards and recognition

Rutgers Preparatory School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and was recognized in 1992 as a Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education.

The School received its most recent accreditation from the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS) in 2012.

The School's delegation was awarded first place in the 2010 Euro Challenge, an international high school economics competition.

In 2014, Rutgers Preparatory School received the Franklin Township Organization Environmental Stewardship Award, in recognition of contributions to the environment of Franklin Township, including participation in the "Rutgers Green Purchasing" and "River-Friendly School Certification" programs, recent construction of a new LEED certified building, new energy management installations, and development of an effective composting and recycling program.

Rutgers Preparatory School is the only school in New Jersey to be a member of the Council of International Schools. It is also the only high school in the world to be granted Non-governmental Organization (NGO) status by the United Nations.

Campus

The 41-acre (170,000 m²) campus is located in Somerset, New Jersey directly on the Delaware and Raritan Canal and the Raritan River. The historic 18th century Elm Farm building, which was the home of the Wells family in the late eighteenth century, now houses administrative offices and several classrooms. The campus includes three full-size athletic fields, a FieldTurf synthetic turf field, a softball field, and a full size baseball field. The "Field House" currently features two full size gyms, male and female locker rooms with showers, a wrestling room, a fitness center, and the offices of the athletic administration and trainer. In addition to the Early Childhood Education Center, and Lower, Middle, and Upper School buildings, an art studio was constructed in 1992 and a new music building was constructed in 2008.

In 2009, the school broke ground on a multimillion-dollar, multi-phased endeavor that includes an expansion of the system of roads and parking on the campus, a widening of Easton Avenue, the addition of new athletic fields and tennis courts, and the construction of an entirely new complex. The first phase of the new complex, which was completed for the 2011-2012 school year, houses the dining commons and several new classrooms on the first floor. The second floor of this new building was completed in Fall 2012, and includes several more upper school classrooms as well as a state-of-the-art all-division room and other multi-use spaces. This new facility is LEED certified.

Music

Students in Lower School partake in music class twice a week for 30 minutes. Once in Middle School, all students still take a daily music class, and are offered the choice of choir, band, and/or orchestra. Once in the Upper School, students may elect to partake in music, either in vocal or instrumental ensembles. The school also offers a music theory and composition class.

"Jazz Band" (Grades 8-12) and "Madrigal Singers" (Grades 9-12) are auditioned musical ensembles offered as out-of-school activities for more advanced students. Winter and spring music concerts take place annually at various locations.

Since the late 1990s, the Rutgers Preparatory School Madrigal Singers have been attending the New Jersey American Choral Directors Association High School Choral Festival, and have regularly received ratings of "Superior." In 2000 and 2008, the Madrigal Singers performed at Carnegie Hall. In 2013 and 2014 flute players from the School's Music Department performed at Carnegie Hall with Sir James Galway.

Athletics

The Rutgers Prep Argonauts compete as a member school in the Skyland Conference, which is composed of public and private high schools covering Hunterdon County, Somerset County and Warren County and operates under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). The athletic program fields 44 high school and middle school teams, including 15 varsity athletic teams. Boys’ teams include soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, lacrosse, wrestling, and cross country. Girls' teams consist of: soccer, basketball, softball, volleyball, cross country, tennis and lacrosse. Additionally, the school has two co-ed teams: golf and swimming. Rutgers Prep is a member of the NJSIAA Non-Public B, NJISAA Prep B, and Skyland Conferences.

NJSIAA Sectional Championships

Somerset County Championships

Patriot Conference Championships

In recent years, student-athletes have been awarded individual honors including:

Student publications

Notable alumni