James J. Ferris High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Jersey City in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operated as part of the Jersey City Public Schools. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1940 and is accredited until July 2025.[3]
| James J. Ferris High School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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35 Colgate Street , , 07302 United States | |
| Coordinates | 40°43′15″N 74°03′14″W / 40.720845°N 74.053948°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| School district | Jersey City Public Schools |
| NCES School ID | 340783002774[1] |
| Principal | Deneen Alford |
| Faculty | 94.1 FTEs[1] |
| Enrollment | 1,345 (as of 2023–24)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 14.3:1[1] |
| Color(s) | Green gold and white[2] |
| Athletics conference | Hudson County Interscholastic League (general) North Jersey Super Football Conference (football) |
| Mascot | Bulldog |
| Team name | Bulldogs[2] |
| Accreditation | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[3] |
| Website | jfhs |
The school is named for James J. Ferris, a civil engineer and politician in Jersey City best known for supervising the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad Harsimus Stem Embankment and the concrete foundation of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,345 students and 94.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.3:1. There were 782 students (58.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 51 (3.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Ferris offers specialized learning centers focusing on Finance, Hospitality & Tourism, Management / Office Procedures, Marketing and International Studies. The magnet offers courses in Accounting, Economics, Banking, Financial Planning, Intro to Finance, Computers Business Applications 1&2. During their senior year, students have an opportunity to take a paid internship co-op program[4] at Merrill Lynch, Hyatt, Pershing, Bank of Tokyo, or the Board of Education.[citation needed]
The school uses two buildings, the main building and the Junior Academy building. The school has 2 gyms one in each building and a swimming pool, a weight room. Ferris has a soccer field next to school which is used for activities and soccer games on grass texture.
Awards, recognition and rankings
editThe school was the 299th-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.[5] The school had been ranked 270th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 320th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[6] The magazine ranked the school 280th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[7] The school was ranked 284th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[8] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 341st out of 367 public high schools statewide in its 2009-10 rankings 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).[9]
Ferris high school also has a program for young girls to become involved with technology and pursue the careers associated with the field.
Athletics
editThe James J. Ferris High School Bulldogs[2] compete in the Hudson County Interscholastic League, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Hudson County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[10] With 1,009 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range.[11] The football team competes in the Ivy Red division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.[12][13] The football team is one of the 12 programs assigned to the two Ivy divisions starting in 2020, which are intended to allow weaker programs ineligible for playoff participation to compete primarily against each other.[14] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 893 to 1,315 students.[15]
The boys' track team won the Group III state indoor relay championships in 1973.[16]
In 1985, Coach Charles Wilkinson led the boys basketball team to face on Elizabeth High School in the state Group IV semifinal, falling by a score of 45-44 to end their season.[17]
The 2021 boys' baseball team won the Hudson County Interscholastic Association League and won the Hudson County Tournament championship with a 5-4 win against Hudson Catholic Regional High School in the finals, ending the program's 69-year wait after most recently winning the title in 1952.[18]
The Ferris Bulldogs football team are led by head coach Rich Glover Jr., the son of a former football player Rich Glover that has played as a defensive tackle for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.
The James J. Ferris High School Bulldogs offers fall sports, winter sports, and spring sports such as
(Fall) - Football Boys Soccer Girls Soccer Cross Country Girls Tennis Girls Volleyball
(Winter) - Boys Basketball Girls Basketball Boys Swimming Girls Swimming Fencing Indoor Track Bowling
(Spring) - Baseball Softball Boys Volleyball Girls Tennis
Administration
editThe school's prinicpal is Deneen Alford-Burke. The school's core administrative team includes the three vice principals.[19]
Notable alumni
edit- Robert Ashby (1926–2021, class of 1944), U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer and pilot with the all-African American 332nd Fighter Group – Tuskegee Airmen, who was the first Black pilot for Frontier Airlines[20]
- June Kirby (1928-2022), actress and model[21][22]
- Warren Loving (born 1960) running back who played in the NFL in 1987 for the Buffalo Bills[23]
- Tony Nicodemo (born 1935), college basketball player who set several records while playing for Saint Michael's College of Vermont[24]
- Ralph Peduto (1942–2014), film, theater and television actor[25]
- Ray Radziszewski (born 1935), former professional basketball player who played in one game in 1958 for the Philadelphia Warriors[26]
- Michael Angelo Saltarelli (1932-2009), prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Wilmington from 1995 to 2008[27]
- Fearon Wright (born 1978), American football linebacker, who played in the National Football League for the Minnesota Vikings[28]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e School data for James J Ferris High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
- ^ a b c James J. Ferris High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
- ^ a b James J. Ferris High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 20, 2024.
- ^ James J. Ferris High School 2013 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 7, 2016. "Additionally, Ferris High School has developed partnerships with corporations on the Jersey City Waterfront where students are afforded the opportunity to serve internships in preparing them for life beyond high school."
- ^ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
- ^ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 20, 2012.
- ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 24, 2011.
- ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
- ^ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010[permanent dead link], Schooldigger.com. Accessed December 29, 2011.
- ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
- ^ NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
- ^ Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."
- ^ Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions."
- ^ Cooper, Darren. "Super Football Conference creating 'Ivy Division' for struggling programs", The Record, May 1, 2019. Accessed March 24, 2021. "Seeking to restore participation and enthusiasm to high school football programs that have struggled to compete consistently, the Super Football Conference announced plans to start a 12-team 'Ivy Division' in the 2020 season. Teams that compete in the 'Ivy Division' will play exclusively against each other and won't participate in the NJISAA football playoffs.... Twelve schools from Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Morris counties have applied to compete in the Ivy Division: Bergen Tech, Cliffside Park, Dickinson, Fair Lawn, Ferris, Memorial, Dover, Dwight-Morrow, Fort Lee, Glen Ridge, Marist and Tenafly."
- ^ NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
- ^ History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships Archived July 5, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
- ^ "Elizabeth advances in Group 4", The Record, March 14, 1985. Accessed February 17, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Mike Goodson's free throw with 27 seconds remaining proved to be the deciding point as Elizabeth edged Ferris of Jersey City, 45-44, last night in a NJSIAA Group 4 semifinal boys basketball game at Rutgers University. The Minutemen play Camden Saturday for the Group 4 championship."
- ^ Bevensee, Rich. "Ferris ends 69-year wait, rallies past Hudson Catholic in Hudson County Tourney final", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 27, 2021. Accessed February 17, 2022. "Ponce’s third hit of the game drove home the winning run from third base and propelled second-seeded Ferris to a wild 5-4 walk-off victory over fourth-seeded Hudson Catholic in the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League championship game on Thursday evening at Don Ahearn Veterans Memorial Stadium in Bayonne.... By twice coming from behind in the final two innings, Ferris nailed down the program’s first Hudson County championship since 1952."
- ^ Our School, James J. Ferris High School. Accessed December 20, 2024.
- ^ "One of three surviving Tuskegee Airmen in Arizona dies at 95", KPNX, March 9, 2021. Accessed February 6, 2022. "At 17 years old, Ashby enlisted in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet program and was called to active duty in August 1944 after graduating from Ferris High School in Jersey City, N.J."
- ^ Adams, Vincent. "Modeling, Teaching, Acting, Keep June of Bay Ridge Busy", New York Daily News, November 23, 1948. Accessed March 19, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "One of the busiest girls in Brooklyn is lovely June Kirby of Bay Ridge, who scarcely has time to say 'good morning' before plunging into her daily routine.... In the class book at Ferris High School in Jersey City June is listed as the prettiest member of her class and the girl with the most glamorous hair."
- ^ Samuel Claesson (March 31, 2023). Top Models. Sequoia Press. p. 18. ISBN 9798889921806.
- ^ Warren Loving Stats, Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed January 3, 2018. "Born: November 12, 1960 (Age: 57-052d) in Jersey City, NJ... High School: James J. Ferris (NJ)"
- ^ Hague, Jim. "Scoreboard: Remembering the man they called 'Tiger'", The Hudson Reporter, January 18, 2005. Accessed January 3, 2018. "He was one of the greatest high school basketball players to ever come out of Ferris High School, becoming the school's all-time leading scorer in an era when scoring in basketball was as rare as the Hope Diamond. In the 1950s, during Nicodemo's heyday, he was the first Hudson County hoopster to employ the use of a jump shot."
- ^ Staff. "Ralph Peduto", Santa Cruz Sentinel via Legacy.com, May 31, 2014. Accessed January 3, 2018. "As a child Ralph was part of a rich and textured life in Jersey City. He attended both Ferris High School and Dickinson High School where in 2000 he was inducted into Dickinson's Hall of Fame for achievement in performing arts."
- ^ Clayton, Skip. Philadelphia's Big Five: Celebrating the City of Brotherly Love s Basketball Tradition, p. 105. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2016. ISBN 9781613218532, Accessed January 3, 2018. "Radziszewski went to Ferris High School in Jersey City, New Jersey."
- ^ Staff. "Bishop Saltarelli, retired head of Wilmington Diocese, dead at 77", Catholic Standard, October 9, 2009. Accessed January 3, 2018. "The future bishop attended Holy Rosary Elementary School and Ferris High School, both in Jersey City."
- ^ Fearon Wright, Pro Football Archives. Accessed November 1, 2020. "High School: James J. Ferris (Jersey City, NJ)"