The district participates in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, having been approved in July 2003 to participate in the program.[9] Seats in the program for non-resident students are specified by the district and are allocated by lottery, with tuition paid for participating students by the New Jersey Department of Education.[10]
As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 811 students and 61.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.2:1. There were 466 students (57.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 91 (11.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
The school's mean SAT scores for 2012-13 school year were 444 in the mathematics section, 429 in verbal and 419 on the essay for a composite score of 1292 vs. statewide averages of 521 math, 495 verbal and 496 essay, with a composite score of 1512; Among students taking the SAT, 14.2% met the 1550 composite score benchmark indicative of college success and completion, while 8.5% of peer schools and 43.9% of students statewide met this standard.[11]
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "B", the second-lowest of eight groups. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[12]
History
Prior to the establishment of the regional district, students from Haledon had attended Paterson Central High School, while those from North Haledon and Prospect Park were sent to Hawthorne High School.[13] Constructed at a cost of $2.75 million (equivalent to $27.2 million in 2022), the school opened in September 1960 with an initial enrollment of 700 students.[14][15]
In a 2013 change by the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education, the district's funding formula was changed so that costs would be allocated with half based on enrollment and half based on valuation. The formula benefited North Haledon most, with Prospect Park's share of funding for the Manchester having more than doubled in a decade as of the 2014-15 school year and property taxes for the regional district rising nearly $700 on the average home in the previous two years. Haledon and Prospect Park have argued that property valuation should be the basis for assessing district taxes, while North Haledon, with the largest property valuation, had argued that funding should be based exclusively on enrollment.[16]
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was awarded a Bronze Medal in U.S. News & World Report's 2009-2010 "Best American High Schools" issue, distinguishing it from the pack by being one of only two Passaic County, NJ, high schools mentioned.[17] Only 1,750 high schools out of 21,786 public high schools were recognized.[18][19]
The school was the 269th-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.[20] The school had been ranked 272nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 260th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[21] The magazine ranked the school 227th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[22] The school was ranked 218th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[23] Schooldigger.com ranked the school as tied for 156th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 117 positions from the 2009 rank) 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).[24]
Athletics
The Manchester Regional Falcons[3] 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).[25][26][27] With 651 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.[28] Prior to realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Manchester was a member of the smaller Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League (BPSL).[29] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 478 to 672 students.[30]
Popular culture
MRHS was featured as the school in the independent film 12 and Holding.[31]
Administration
Core members of the district's administration are:[32][33][34]
Gary Lubisco, superintendent
Lameka Augustin, business administrator and board secretary
John Coviello, principal
Board of education
The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2013) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[35][36][37] Seats on the board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent districts, with four seats assigned to Haledon, three to North Haledon and two to Prospect Park; prior to the 2023 board reorganization, North Haledon had four seats and Haledon had three, with the two municipalities switching a seat due to changes in the 2020 census that showed Haledon's population surpassing that of North Haledon.[38][39]
^Zaremba, Justin. "Costs add up in funding formula fight", The Gazette, March 17, 2010. Accessed August 21, 2012. "With no end in sight to the legal fight between Haledon, Prospect Park and North Haledon over the funding formula to the Manchester Regional High School District, costs for the boroughs continue to skyrocket."
^Passaic County-Manchester Regional High School 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 30, 2016. "Manchester Regional High School (MRHS) serves 903 students from the Passaic County boroughs of Haledon, North Haledon and Prospect Park. It is also one of only two Interdistrict Public Choice Schools in the county providing a quality college preparatory curriculum to students outside the district who want to avail themselves of this program. One hundred four students from Essex, Bergen and Passaic Counties are enrolled at the school."
^"Voters Approve Regional High", Paterson Evening News, January 24, 1957. Accessed May 10, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Until last year, North Haledon and Prospect Park sent their high school students to Hawthorne High School. Haledon sends its students now to Central High School in Paterson."
^"Cornerstone Set At Regional High", The Morning Call, September 9, 1960. Accessed May 10, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The cornerstone of the Manchester Regional High School was placed last night in ceremonies attended by officials of North Haledon, Haledon and Prospect Park, representatives of the New Jersey State Department of Education and more than 200 residents of the tri-borough district to be served by the $2,750,000 school."
^Park, Minjae. "Prospect Park residents appeal to lawmakers for more school aid for Manchester Regional", The Record, March 18, 2015. Accessed March 22, 2015. "At the court's order, the state commissioner of education created a new funding formula based one-third on enrollment and two-thirds on property values. North Haledon appealed and an administrative law judge in 2011 ordered the commissioner to create a new formula, recommending it be based two-thirds on enrollment and one-third on property values. Instead, Cerf in 2003 divided the burden 50-50 between enrollment and tax base, satisfying none of the boroughs."
^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."
^Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Passaic County Manchester Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed March 1, 2020. "The Board of Education ('Board') of the Manchester Regional High School District ('District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an educational institution. The Manchester Regional High School District is a Type II district located in the County of Passaic, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in grades 9-12. The School District serves the high school needs of the Boroughs of Haledon, North Haledon and Prospect Park."
^Board Members, Manchester Regional High School. Accessed April 5, 2020.
^DeVencentis, Philip. "Haledon, slightly bigger than its neighbor, gains seat on Manchester Regional board", The Record, November 22, 2022, updated November 27, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. "The makeup of the Manchester Regional Board of Education will be adjusted to reflect the populations of the three towns that send students to the high school, a change the borough tried to expedite last year. The shift means Haledon — with a population of 9,064 — will elect four people to the school board and that North Haledon and Prospect Park will elect three members and two members, respectively. North Haledon had a greater population for the past decade, so it now has four members and Haledon three."
^Andelman, David A. "Priest Explains Eulogy Of Slain S.L.A. Woman", The New York Times, May 27, 1974. Accessed August 21, 2012. "Father Citro attended St. John's High School in Prospect Park, N. J., while Mrs. Atwood -- Angela De Angelis before her marriage -- attended the Manchester Regional High School."
^"Seahawks Add Veteran Guard Alex Morales", Wagner Seahawks men's basketball, April 19, 2019. Accessed May 19, 2021. "Head men's basketball coach Bashir Mason has announced the signing of athletic junior college guard Alex Morales of Haledon, NJ, who will begin his academic and athletic career at Wagner College in the 2019-20 season.... Morales was a four-year letterwinner at Manchester Regional High School where, as a two-year team captain, was a three-time All-State and All-County performer."
