Bayonne High School (BHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Bayonne, in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operated by the Bayonne Board of Education. The school has been accredited until July 2022 by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools.[3]
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As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,656 students and 213.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1. There were 1,334 students (50.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 180 (6.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1] In the 2018–19 school year, the school's reported racial/ethnic make-up was 44% White (including Arab), 35% Hispanic, 13% Black, 7% Asian, and 1% Multiracial.[4]
For the 1995-96 school year, Bayonne High School was named a "Star School" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve.[5]
The school was the 263rd-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.[6] The school had been ranked 317th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 242nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[7] The magazine ranked the school 248th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[8] The school was ranked 273rd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[9] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 219th 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).[10]
Advanced Placement courses are offered in AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP European History, AP Music Theory, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Studio Art, AP United States Government and Politics and AP United States History.[4] College credit can be earned through articulation agreements with New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, Saint Peter's University and Seton Hall University.[4]
The school was created in 1936, when the Sweeney Senior High School (officially Daniel P. Sweeney High School) and the Pulaski Vocational / Technical School were established. The technical school occupied what is now the vocational wing of BHS. The two schools were officially amalgamated in 1953. In 1973, the school was reorganized into six houses.[11]
After an incident in 1997 in which two students were stabbed, one fatally wounded, the school instituted wide-ranging measures to reduce violence, from discussion groups to metal detectors.[12] In 2000, it was reported to be known as a model of school safety.[13]
Bayonne High School is divided into six houses. The school is also home to an ice rink, and is the only public high school in the state to have an on-site ice rink for its hockey team.[14] Located in the ice rink building are a gymnasium, offices, bathrooms, indoor track, and workout/ meeting rooms. The campus also has three gymnasiums, a planetarium, an in-house biological conservatory, a 600-seat auditorium, four tennis courts, a football stadium, and one baseball field. It borders the Newark Bay. The high school is sized for approximately 3,000 students.
The Bayonne High School Bees[2] compete in the Hudson County Interscholastic League (HCIAA), which is comprised of public and private high schools in Hudson County and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[15] With 1,916 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.[16] The football team competes in the Liberty 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.[17][18] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V North for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 1,317 to 5,409 students.[19]
Sports offered include:[2]
- Boys: Baseball, Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Swimming, Soccer, Tennis, Wrestling, Hockey
- Girls: Softball, Volleyball, Basketball, Swimming (11 consecutive County Championship wins), Soccer, Tennis, Cheerleading (Over 6 national titles, two state titles)
- Co-ed: Fencing, Golf, Bowling, Stepping, Cross Country, Hockey, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field
The boys' cross country team won the Group IV state title in 1946 and 1952.[20]
The boys indoor track team won the public state championship in 1947.[21]
The boys tennis team was the overall state champion in 1951, defeating runner-up East Orange High School 3-0 in the tournament final to bring their season record to 11-0 and extend the program's winning streak to 60 matches.[22][23] The team had been in the HCIAA championship for 19 consecutive years, from 1993 to 2011. The team had won four consecutive titles from 1996 to 1999, and again from 2001 to 2004, and won their fifth consecutive county championship in 2011 with a 3-2 win over Secaucus High School in the tournament finals.[24][25]
The boys' basketball team won the Group IV state championship in 1951, against runner-up Thomas Jefferson High School in the finals of the playoffs.[26]
The baseball team won the Group IV state championship in 1973, defeating North Hunterdon High School in the tournament final.[27]
In 1990, the girls soccer team was Group IV co-champion with East Brunswick High School.[28]
The school's football team won the 2002 North I Group IV state championship, defeating Hackensack High School 25-23 in the championship game, for the school's first and only state championship to date in football.[29][30]
The ice hockey team won the 1999-2000 public school state championship, with a 6-3 win over Summit High School at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, before falling by a score of 4-2 to Hudson Catholic Regional High School for the overall championship.[31] The team won the McMullen Cup and The Monsignor Kelly Cup in 2017.[32]
The boys volleyball team has been ranked in the top 10 in the state and won four straight HCIAA championships from 2006 to 2009 over their county rival St. Peter's Preparatory School, a streak broken by St. Peter's in 2010 final.[33] In 2007 they reached the state final four before losing in the North Sectional to St. Peter's Prep.[34] In 2008 they lost in the elite eight of the state tournament to Vernon Township High School in three games, despite being ranked #1 in the North.[35] In 2009 they reached the state final four once again, only to be defeated by St. Peter's Prep again in the North final, 25-15, 25-23.[36]
The 2023 girls' basketball team won the Group IV state championship with a 40–39 win in the tournament finals against Cherokee High School.[37][38] In 2011, the team won their third consecutive Hudson County title with a 48-32 win over North Bergen High School.[39]
The school's acting principal is Keith Makowski. Core members of the school's administration include the six vice principals, one assigned to each "house" within the school.[48]
- Kenny Britt (born 1988), wide receiver for the New England Patriots and former star at Rutgers University[49]
- Dick Brodowski (1932–2019), MLB pitcher[50]
- Arthur F. Burns (1904–1987), chairman of the Federal Reserve[51]
- Walter Chandoha (1920–2019), animal photographer, known especially for his 90,000 photographs of cats[52]
- Teresa Demjanovich (1901–1927), Roman Catholic Sister of Charity[53]
- Barney Frank (born 1940, class of 1957), U.S. congressman from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013[54]
- Adrienne Goodson (born 1966), former professional basketball player[55]
- Danan Hughes (born 1970, class of 1988), wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs[56]
- Frank Langella (born 1938), actor[57][58]
- Joseph A. LeFante (1928–1997), represented New Jersey's 14th congressional district from 1977-1978[59]
- Jammal Lord (born 1981), former safety for the Houston Texans[60]
- Gene Olaff (born 1920), early professional soccer goalkeeper inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1971[61]
- Nicholas Oresko (1917-2013), Medal of Honor recipient[62]
- Ronald Roberts (born 1991), professional basketball player who played for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Premier League[63]
- Steven V. Roberts (born 1943), journalist, author and political commentator[64]
- William Sampson (class of 2007), politician who has represented the 31st Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2022.[65]
- William Shemin (1896–1973), U.S. Army sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient and namesake of the William Shemin Midtown Community School[66]
- William N. Stape (born 1968), screenwriter and magazine writer who wrote episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine[67]
- Morris Warman (1918–2010), photographer[68]
- Chuck Wepner (born 1939), heavyweight boxer[69]
- Elliot Willensky (1943–2010), composer, lyricist and music producer[70]
- Bill Wondolowski (born 1946), former wide receiver who played for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1969 season[71]
Korpi Ice Rink, Bayonne Hockey Association. Accessed October 29, 2016.
"Bayonne in Net Sweep; 60th Straight Triumph", The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 27, 1951. Accessed March 3, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Bayonne High School defeated East Orange, 3-0, to sweep the New Jersey Interscholastic tennis championship today. The victory in the final round of the two-day tournament was the 60th consecutive triumph for the up-state school over a five-year period. The winners' record this spring was 11-0."
Sullivan, Al. "Five years in a row: Bayonne High School's tennis team honored", The Hudson Reporter, July 6, 2011. Accessed November 9, 2020. "When Bayonne High School's tennis team beat Secaucus last month in the Hudson County Team Tournament, it was the team's fifth straight time they had become the Hudson County Interscholastic League champions. The team achieved a record of a perfect 18-0 against other teams in Hudson County, and an overall record of 25-3 for the year... Bayonne has made the finals the last 19 years, winning the championships 14 times during that stretch. Previously, Bayonne teams have won only four straight championships, from 1996 to 1999, and from 2001-2004. This is the first time Bayonne has won five championships in a row."
Roberts, Jeff. "Hackensack so close, yet so far", The Record, December 8, 2002. Accessed April 24, 2008. "But he ran out of time and chances in a 25-23 loss to Bayonne.... Bayonne (9-3) won its first Group 4, North 1 state championship...
Villanova, Patrick. "Prep downs Bayonne for HCT title", The Jersey Journal, May 14, 2010. Accessed July 13, 2011. "The Marauders, ranked No. 2 in the state, had been edged by the Bees in four straight HCIAA championship matches, from 2006 to 2009. After the match, Bayonne coach Pat Longo called this St. Peter's team the best the school has produced in the last five years."
Kamaras, Jacob. "New-look Bees hoping for deep run", The Jersey Journal, April 4, 2009. Accessed July 13, 2011. "With a few returning leaders but a mostly new cast of characters, Bayonne High will go for a fourth straight HCIAA championship this season - and then try to make up for last year's state playoff heartbreak. This edition of the Bees has just two seniors - compared to five on last year's team, which lost to Vernon in the NJSIAA North semifinals during a match that was tied at 23-23 in the third game."
Staff. "Year in review (High school Boys Volleyball news)", The Star-Ledger, June 13, 2009. Accessed July 13, 2011. "Team of the year: Despite having six juniors in the starting lineup, St. Peter's Prep, No. 6 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, captured its third consecutive NJSIAA North Jersey title with a 25-15, 25-23 victory over No. 7 Bayonne on June 2."
Barton, Rich. "Bayonne gets revenge and a third straight Hudson County title", NorthJerseySports.com, February 27, 2011. Accessed July 13, 2011. "Rovatsos finished with game-highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds as top-seeded Bayonne won its third consecutive Hudson County title with a 48-32 triumph over second-seeded North Bergen at the Yanitelli Center on the campus of St. Peter's College."
Reed, Ben. "Bayonne High is the reel deal for 'Strangers with Candy'", copy of article from NJ.com, July 16, 2004. Accessed July 13, 2011. "Yesterday afternoon a group of teenage boys surrounded a car in the Bayonne High School parking lot and beat it senseless with baseball bats, shattering windows and denting doors. Luckily, parents of Bayonne high schoolers need not worry. The boys were actors, not juvenile delinquents, and were filming a scene for the upcoming movie Strangers with Candy, parts of which have been filmed at the high school since the students began their summer vacation."
Staff. "Montel Williams Going Prime Time", Akron Beacon-Journal, December 31, 1995. Accessed July 13, 2011. "So Matt Waters is being done in New Jersey's Bayonne High School (fictionalized to Bayview for the series) on Saturday through Wednesday, with Thursday and Friday saved for talk-show taping."
Head, Steve (September 5, 2002). "Video Feature: Poolside with Swimfan", IGN. Accessed May 21, 2013. "What we've got for you today is a unique look behind-the-scenes at the filming of Swimfan. This video footage was taken as the production filmed at Bayonne High School, in Bayonne, New Jersey, earlier this year."
Chanko, Kenneth M. "Meet the Petes; Nickelodeon unleashes its scourges of suburbia: Danny Tamberelli, 11, and Michael Maronna, 16", New York Daily News, November 28, 1993. Accessed February 10, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The brothers "Pete" big Pete and little Pete are holed up in a trailer behind Bayonne High School on a recent Monday during a break in shooting their fancifully warped cable series, The Adventures of Pete & Pete."
Home Page, Bayonne High School, Bayonne High School. Accessed February 18, 2024.
Hildebrandt, Alexandra. "Kuschelige Zeiten: Warum uns Katzen erwärmen", XING, August 7, 2019. Accessed April 17, 2020. "Die Fotografie faszinierte Walter Chandoha bereits in den späten 1930er- Jahren, als er Schüler an der Bayonne High School in New Jersey war."
Goodson, Adrienne. "The rest is history", CNN Sports Illustrated, May 18, 2000. Accessed April 24, 2008. "My name is Adrienne Goodson, and I was born and raised in Bayonne, New Jersey where I graduated from Bayonne High School."
Coutros, Evonne E. "Playing A Wicked Streak For All It's Worth -- After Dave, Frank Langella's On A Roll", The Record, January 23, 1994. Accessed November 17, 2015. "Langella -- who was born in Bayonne, attended Bayonne High School and Columbia High School in Maplewood, and graduated from Syracuse University -- is currently starring as the tormented 55-year-old 19th-century actor Junius Brutus Booth, whose fame was overshadowed by that of his actor sons, Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln."
Bernstein, Jason. "Former St. Peter's Prep player Roberts still following his pro dreams", The Jersey Journal, January 13, 2016. Accessed July 9, 2018. "Even though his parents Ronald Sr. and Dania played basketball professionally, Roberts was more into skateboarding growing up. He started his high school career at Bayonne, where he predominantly played freshman and JV. He transferred to St. Peter's Prep before his junior season and blossomed there."
Rahman, Sarah. "Author Steven V. Roberts pays a visit to hometown of Bayonne", The Jersey Journal, December 11, 2009. Accessed March 19, 2017. "For author Steven V. Roberts, Bayonne will always be the home to come back to, despite travels across continents and moving from one corner of the world to the next.... Growing up on 31st and 33rd Streets, Roberts was a graduate of Dr. Walter F. Robinson School and Bayonne High School before moving on to Harvard University."
McDonald, Corey W. "Bayonne renames school after WWI vet, Medal of Honor recipient", The Jersey Journal, January 31, 2019. Accessed November 9, 2020. "The Board of Education last night voted to rename the Midtown Community School after a distinguished World War I veteran born in the Peninsula City. The board voted unanimously to rename the Avenue A elementary school the William Shemin Midtown Community School — named after the distinguished Medal of Honor recipient."
Sullivan, Al. "'Beam me up, Scotty'; Local writer makes name in Star Trek universe", The Hudson Reporter, March 1, 2008. Accessed November 9, 2020. "A resident of Bayonne since he was 10 years old, William Stape, 39, has become a part of the Star Trek universe, both as the author of scripts for The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine TV series, but also by recently unveiling details concerning the sets of the upcoming Star Trek movie.... 'I've always been a science fiction, fantasy, and horror fan,' he said, recalling times at Bayonne High School when he used to discuss the books of J.R.R. Tolkien, who authored The Lord of the Rings."
Biography, Morris Warman Photography. Accessed July 23, 2019. "After graduating from Bayonne High School, he moved to New York City and worked as a free-lance photographer until he entered the United States Army in 1942."
Sullivan, Al. "A music legend dies: Willensky wrote music for Michael Jackson others", The Hudson Reporter, April 22, 2010. Accessed November 9, 2020. "Born in Bayonne, Willensky was celebrated even before he graduated Bayonne High School, one of those people everybody knew would turn out to accomplish something in life – if not in science, then in music. Most famous for writing Michael Jackson's 1971 hit 'Got to Be There,' Willensky wrote songs for some of the most prominent performers of that era, including Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Thelma Houston, Syreeta, and Jerry Butler."