Wikipedia

John F. Kennedy Memorial High School (New Jersey)

John F. Kennedy Memorial High School (J.F.K.) is one of three four-year comprehensive public high schools that serve students in ninth through twelfth grades from Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Woodbridge Township School District. The other two high schools in the district are Colonia High School and Woodbridge High School. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1968;[4] The school's accreditation status was extended for seven years in Fall 2018.[5]

John F. Kennedy Memorial High School
Address
Map
200 Washington Avenue

Iselin
,
Middlesex County
,
New Jersey
08830

United States
Coordinates40°34′23″N 74°18′22″W / 40.57311°N 74.306177°W / 40.57311; -74.306177
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1964
School districtWoodbridge Township School District
NCES School ID341812003670[1]
PrincipalJames Parry
Faculty114.0 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,371 (as of 2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio12.0:1[1]
Color(s)  Dartmouth green and
  white[2]
Athletics conferenceGreater Middlesex Conference (general)
Big Central Football Conference (football)
Team nameMustangs[2]
RivalColonia High School
AccreditationMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools[4]
PublicationPegasus (literary magazine)[3]
NewspaperThe Torch[3]
YearbookCamelot[3]
Websitewww.woodbridge.k12.nj.us/o/jfk

J.F.K., like the other two high schools in the district, uses block scheduling, instead of having eight periods a day.

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,371 students and 114.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. There were 377 students (27.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 145 (10.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

History

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Originally intended to be named Iselin High School, the school was constructed in time for the 1964–65 school year to alleviate overcrowding in the district's two existing high schools that had 5,600 students in double sessions during the 1962–63 school year.[6] After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the Board of Education voted to change the name of the school from Iselin High School to John F. Kennedy Memorial High School at their meeting on November 26, 1963. The school opened in September 1964.[7]

Awards, recognition and rankings

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The school was the 129th-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.[8] The school had been ranked 132nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 146th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[9] The magazine ranked the school 171st in 2008 out of 316 schools.[10] The school was ranked 142nd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[11] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 63rd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 5 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (91.2%) and language arts literacy (96.4%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[12] In 2023-2024, it ranked 146 out of all high schools in NJ and 1 in the Woodbridge Township School District.[13] It has a graduation rate of 94% with a diverse student body (46.8% Asian, 26.5% Hispanic, 17.9% White, 7.7% African-American).[13]

Athletics

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The John F. Kennedy Memorial High School Mustangs[2] compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County area, operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[14] With 1,008 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.[15] The football team competes in Division 5D of the Big Central Football Conference, which includes 60 public and private high schools in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Warren counties, which are broken down into 10 divisions by size and location.[16] 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.[17]

Together with Woodbridge High School, the school has participated in a cooperative ice hockey program with Colonia High School as the host school / lead agency, under an agreement scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[18]

The 1978 football team finished the season with an 8-3 record after winning the Central Jersey Group III state sectional title by defeating North Hunterdon High School by a score of 23-6 in a game in which the team's kicker tied a state record for successful field goals.[19][20]

The softball team won the Group III state championship in 1988, defeating runner-up Ramsey High School in the tournament finals.[21]

The 2009 boys' baseball team finished the season with a 24-4 record after defeating Shawnee High School by a score of 5-2 in the tournament final to win the Group III state championship, which is the only group state title in the program's history.[22][23]

The boys' soccer team won the 2005 Central Jersey Group II state sectional championship with a victory over Roselle Park High School, the first soccer state title in the school's history, and earning Ed Bobal honors from the Home News Tribune as its coach of the year.[24]

The softball team won the 2007 North II Group III state sectional championship with a 2–1 win over South Plainfield High School.[25] The team repeated as the 2008 North II Group III state sectional champions with a 5–0 win in the tournament final over crosstown rival Colonia High School.[26]

Administration

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The school's principal is James Parry. His administration team includes two vice principals.[27]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e School data for John F. Kennedy Memorial High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c John F. Kennedy Memorial High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Student Activities, John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. Accessed April 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b John F. Kennedy Memorial High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 6, 2022.
  5. ^ MSA-CESS Fall 2018 Accreditation Actions[permanent dead link‍], Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools, Fall 2018. Accessed April 25, 2021.
  6. ^ Staff. "Middlesex; More Crowding Expected", The New York Times, September 3, 1963. Accessed July 6, 2012.
  7. ^ via Associated Press. "List Of Memorials To JFK Still Grows", Eugene Register-Guard, February 6, 1964. Accessed July 5, 2012. "Iselin, N.J. - New high school to open next September will be called John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial High School."
  8. ^ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  9. ^ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 28, 2012.
  10. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed September 7, 2011.
  11. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  12. ^ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011[permanent dead link‍], Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 27, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Iselin, NJ". US News. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  14. ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  15. ^ NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  16. ^ Kinney, Mike. "Big Central revises 2020 football schedule for its shortened inaugural season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 12, 2020. Accessed April 18, 2021. "The newly formed Big Central Football Conference has released a revised 2020 schedule for its inaugural season.... the BCFC is comprised of schools from Middlesex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties."
  17. ^ NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  18. ^ NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  19. ^ NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
  20. ^ "Union, Mahwah, Overpowering", Daily Record, December 3, 1978. Accessed April 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Central Jersey Group III - John F. Kennedy Iselin (8-3) scored all its points in the first half to earn a 23-6 victory over North Hunterdon (8-3) and the Central Jersey Group III crown yesterday.... Earlier in the quarter, John Rizzolo tied a state record with his eighth field goal of the season, a 37-yarder."
  21. ^ Softball Championship History 1972–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated July 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024.
  22. ^ Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  23. ^ Layton, Shawn. "JFK plays its way to a state baseball title", Brick Township News, June 24, 2009. Accessed December 19, 2020. "The John F. Kennedy High School baseball team wrapped up the 2009 season in style by winning its first state championship in school history. Led by a historic tournament run by senior hurler Brian Schroeder, the Mustangs ended their quest with a 5-2 victory over Shawnee in the NJSIAA Group III final.... He went 12-0 this season with six saves to help the Mustangs go 24-4 on the year."
  24. ^ Staff. "Coach of the Year; Bobal getting better as years go by" Archived November 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Home News Tribune, December 10, 2005. Accessed September 7, 2011. "Ed Bobal's 25th year as the head boys soccer coach at J.F. Kennedy High School in Iselin may have been his finest. The Mustangs ended the 2005 campaign with a 17-3 record which tied the all-time school mark for victories and winning percentage. They also captured the first sectional title in school history scoring a 1-0 shootout victory over Roselle Park for the Central Jersey Group II championship."
  25. ^ 2007 Softball - North II, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed June 8, 2008.
  26. ^ 2008 Softball Tournament - North II, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 31, 2008.
  27. ^ Principal's Page, John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. Accessed February 6, 2024.
  28. ^ "WWE Sign Ex-Impact Star Robbie E, ROH Manager Stokely Hathaway and Cal Bloom". Bleacher Report.
  29. ^ Senator Vitale's Legislative web page Archived April 27, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 24, 2017.
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