Hawthorne High School
Address
Map
160 Parmelee Avenue

Hawthorne
,
(Passaic County)
,
New Jersey
07506

United States
Coordinates40°57′13″N 74°09′33″W / 40.9535°N 74.1591°W / 40.9535; -74.1591
Information
TypePublic high school
Opened1933
School districtHawthorne Public Schools
NCES School ID340699004806[1]
PrincipalKevin Pfister
Faculty55.7 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment602 (as of 2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio10.8:1[1]
Color(s)   Royal blue & white[2]
Athletics conferenceNorth Jersey Interscholastic Conference
Team nameBears[2]
PublicationEmpyrean (literary magazine)[3]
NewspaperThe Clarion[3]
YearbookUrsidae[3]
Websitehhs.hawthorne.k12.nj.us

Hawthorne High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in 9th through twelfth grades from Hawthorne, in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.The school operates as the lone secondary school of the Hawthorne Public Schools.

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 602 students and 55.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1. There were 150 students (24.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 27 (4.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "DE". District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts.[4]

History

Plans for a building that would be used in part by a high school were presented in 1925, with an estimated cost of $360,000 (equivalent to $6.3 million in 2023)[5]

By 1931, Hawthorne was incurring the cost of sending 400 students to Paterson Central High School and residents were considering that a high school in Hawthorne could serve students at a cost lower than the tuition being paid to the Paterson Public Schools and the cost of transporting students to and from Paterson.[6]

The high school building opened in September 1933, with Lemuel Johnson serving as the school's first principal.[7]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 218th-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 234th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 171st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[9] The magazine ranked the school 148th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[10] The school was ranked 157th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[11]

The school set the Guinness World Record in 2013 for most people popping bubble wrap and was the first to hold the record before it was surpassed the following year.[12]

Curriculum

Starting in the 2013–14 school year, Hawthorne High School switched to a modified rotating drop schedule, making more opportunities for new classes. The school will offer 19 honor classes along with 12 Advanced Placement classes and 25 new electives.[13] For the 2017–18 school year, the high school added a second lunch to their drop schedule.[14] The 2018–19 school year saw the addition of AP Computer Science.

Athletics

The Hawthorne High School Bears[2] participate in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which is comprised of small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[15][16][17] Prior to realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Hawthorne was a member of the smaller Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League (BPSL).[18] With 513 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.[19] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I North for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 184 to 471 students.[20]

The boys' cross country team won the Group II state championship in 1973.[21]

The football team won the North I Group II state sectional championship in 1974 (awarded by the NJSIAA), 1975 and 1978.[22] A 14–12 win against Rutherford High School gave the 1975 team their first North I Group II sectional playoff championship and a 10-0-1 record for the season.[23][24] The 1978 team won the North I Group II sectional title with a 19–14 win in the championship game against Lenape Valley Regional High School.[25]

The field hockey team won the North I Group II state sectional championship in 1976.[26]

The wrestling team won the North I Group I state sectional title in 1994[27]

The girls' volleyball team won the Group II state championship in 2001 with a 31–0 record, defeating Union Catholic Regional High School in the tournament final.[28] They also captured the Passaic County championship in that same season.[29]

Interscholastic sports offered include:[2]

Fall

Winter:

Spring:

Marching band

As of 2019 the band director for the Hawthorne High School Marching band is Keith Williams. There are approximately 60 students in grades 8 through 12 involved with the marching band. The 2019 season's theme was "Beautiful Nightmare”.

Administration

The school's interim principal is Kevin Pfister. His administration team includes two assistant principals.[30]

Notable alumni

See also: Category:Hawthorne High School (New Jersey) alumni

References

  1. ^ a b c d e School data for Hawthorne High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Hawthorne High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c 2017-18 Student Handbook, Hawthorne High School. Accessed March 21, 2022.
  4. ^ NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 19, 2014.
  5. ^ "Proposed Hawthorne High School", The News, March 21, 1925. Accessed January 17, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "The central building will have thirty-one modern equipped rooms and will be erected at a cost of $360,000.... Many voters in the borough are under the impression that the building will be used only as a high school, but this is not so, according to the board of education."
  6. ^ "Hawthorne's High School Problem.", The Morning Call, October 20, 1931. Accessed January 17, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "The people of Hawthorne will tonight decide whether or not the borough shall undertake the erection of a high school of its own or whether it shall, for the time, continue to send its high school pupils to Central high school, in Paterson. That Hawthorne, with its more than 400 high school pupils has a large enough number to operate a high school of its own, and with proper management can do so at no greater cost than it now pays to Paterson in the way of tuition and for the transportation of the children to and from the borough, is the belief of many of the residents and has been attested to by those familiar with the subject."
  7. ^ "High School Opens Next Week; Building Is Almost Completed Interior of Edifice About Ready - Furniture Being i Installed Students Register Sept. 8, Start Classes Sept. 11.", The Morning Call, August 1, 1933. Accessed January 17, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "With the opening of the fall school term next week, both pupils and parents are becoming anxious, concerning the date of opening of the schools of the borough, particularly the new high school, which to the casual observer seems far from completion. This, however, is not the case."
  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 21, 2012.
  10. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed September 25, 2011.
  11. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  12. ^ "Mass Participation Monday: Everybody is popping bubble wrap". Guinness World Records. June 30, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  13. ^ "Program of Studies - Hawthorne High School". hhs.hawthorneschools.org. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  14. ^ "Student Handbook - Hawthorne High School". hhs.hawthorneschools.org. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  15. ^ Mattura, Greg. "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship", The Record, January 9, 2017. Accessed August 30, 2020. "The small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference may debut its own boys basketball tournament this season, one season after introducing its girls hoops championship. The NJIC is comprised of schools from Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties and the event offered to the 36 boys teams would serve as an alternative to likely competing against larger programs in a county tournament."
  16. ^ Member Schools, North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. Accessed August 30, 2020.
  17. ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  18. ^ League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed November 19, 2014.
  19. ^ NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  20. ^ Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  21. ^ NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
  22. ^ NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
  23. ^ "Playoff emotions run high", The Record, December 8, 1975. Accessed January 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Hawthorne coach Dennis Penha was a weeping winner in Saturday's Group 2 sectional playoff against Rutherford. The normally self-contained coach extended himself as did his team in its 14-12 victory."
  24. ^ Kurland, Bob. "Hawthorne wins, 14-12", The Record, December 7, 1975. Accessed January 7, 2021. "It didn't really matter because Hawthorne defeated Rutherford, 14-12, yesterday to win its second straight Group 2 North Jersey Section 1 football championship."
  25. ^ Ross, Sherry. "Lenape Valley Keeps Class", Daily Record, December 3, 1978. Accessed December 3, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "The occasion was a midfield celebration of Hawthorne's North Jersey Section I, Group 2 football championship a 19-14 win over defending champion Lenape Valley."
  26. ^ History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  27. ^ NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2021.
  28. ^ NJSIAA Girls Volleyball Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  29. ^ Sullivan, Matt. "Just Perfect!", The Record, December 7, 2001. Accessed October 23, 2019. "Hawthorne (31-0) Repeated as Group 2 State and Passaic County champs."
  30. ^ Administration, Hawthorne High School. Accessed December 25, 2022.
  31. ^ Koetting, Rebecca. "Local acts way to 'NYPD Blue' fame", The Shopper News. Accessed May 6, 2012. "Pete Davida, an ex con and murder suspect on next Tuesday night's episode of NYPD Blue, might look familiar to residents. The part is being played by Fulvio Cecere, of the Hawthorne High School Class of 1978."
  32. ^ Resnick, Rick. "WPC taps DeMaio for football job", Herald News,July 14, 1988. Accessed July 24, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "WBC taps DeMaio forfootball.iob By Rick Resnlck Staff Writer WAYNE William Paterson College is set to fill its football coaching gap by' hiring Hawthornes Tom DeMaio, Jr. as head coach on an interim basis, according to WPC athletie director Arthur Eason. The 27-year-old DeMaio will be following the lead of his father, Tom DeMaio, who is the head football coach at Hawthorne High School..... Playjng for his father at Hawthorne, DeMaio quarterbacked the Bears to a state title."
  33. ^ Jennings, Rob. "Treasure trove of Jersey lore", Asbury Park Press, December 28, 2006, accessed April 24, 2007. "Deborah Harry was perhaps the biggest pop sensation of the late 1970s, scoring huge hits with 'Call Me' and 'Heart of Glass' and becoming a worldwide sex symbol. Before all that, she was fencing at Hawthorne High School. Harry and her band, Blondie, made their mark in New York City but Harry's roots are in the Jersey suburbs. She graduated from Hawthorne in 1963."
  34. ^ a b Rohan, Virginia. "North Jersey-bred ... and so talented", The Record, June 18, 2007. Accessed November 18, 2015. "Debbie Harry: Class of 1963, Hawthorne High School....Ivan Sergei: Class of 1989, Hawthorne High School"
  35. ^ Cooper, Darren. "Results for North Jersey's Greatest Quarterback: Heroes Region second round", The Record, July 1, 2020. Accessed September 5, 2020. "Mike Terrizzi, Hawthorne (1971): He was the starting quarterback on the last two undefeated teams in school history."
  36. ^ "First Hawthorne High School Graduation Planned on Friday; Principal Johnston Calls Class 'One That Will Succeed and Parents Should Be Proud of'-Interesting Program Is Arranged", The News, June 26, 1935. Accessed January 17, 2024, via Newspapers.com.

External links

Public and private high schools of Passaic County, New Jersey
North Jersey Interscholastic Conference (NJSIAA)
Authority control databases: Geographic
Categories