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Fort Lee High School

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Coordinates: 40°51′30″N 73°57′56″W / 40.858283°N 73.96569°W / 40.858283; -73.96569
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Fort Lee High School
Address
Map
3000 Lemoine Avenue

Fort Lee
,
Bergen County
,
New Jersey
07024

United States
Coordinates40°51′30″N 73°57′56″W / 40.858283°N 73.96569°W / 40.858283; -73.96569
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1916
NCES School ID340531000442[1]
PrincipalLauren Glynn
Faculty83.0 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,160 (as of 2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio14.0:1[1]
Color(s)  Orange and
  Black[2]
Athletics conferenceBig North Conference (general)
North Jersey Super Football Conference (football)
Team nameBridgemen[2]
NewspaperFort Leeder[3]
YearbookPioneer[4]
Websiteflhs.flboe.com

Fort Lee High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade, located in Fort Lee, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Fort Lee School District. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1931.[5]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,160 students and 83.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.0:1. There were 101 students (8.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 41 (3.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

History

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Fort Lee High School was established in 1916. It was relocated to its current location in 1928. A new wing was added in 1964 and new classrooms were constructed in 1968. The school was completely renovated in the 1980s.[6]

2009 transcript scandal

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On March 3, 2009, a scandal concerning the transcript records of the students was alleged. The transcripts of students from 2003 to the current senior class were reported by Raymond Bandlow, the superintendent of schools, to have been tampered with. The Fort Lee Board of Education began its investigation of the scandal on March 4, 2009, and attempted to ascertain as to who exactly was involved after it was reported that in some instances, grades were changed, and in others low grades were deleted. Students of the class of 2009 expressed their discontent and anger regarding the scandal, as these allegations could jeopardize their chances of being admitted to colleges.[7]

Awards, recognition and rankings

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In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 52nd in New Jersey and 1,611th nationwide.[8] In 2006, the school was ranked 217th out of the top 1000 High Schools in the United States by Newsweek magazine.[9]

The school was the 81st-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.[10] The school had been ranked 97th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 72nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[11] The magazine ranked the school 75th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[12] The school was ranked 99th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[13]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 137th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 1 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (85.6%) and language arts literacy (93.2%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[14]

Fort Lee High School was ranked 55th out of 426 schools in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report on its 2018 listing of "Best High Schools".[15] In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 106th among high schools in New Jersey, 264th in the New York City metropolitan area and 2320th nationwide.[16]

Athletics

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The Fort Lee High School Bridgemen[2] compete in the Big North Conference which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey made under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[17] Prior to the 2010 realignment, the team participated in the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL) American Conference, comprised of public and private high schools located in Bergen County and Hudson County.[18] With 681 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 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.[20][21] 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.[22] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 700 to 884 students.[23]

The boys' basketball team won the Group I state championship in 1947 (defeating Dunellen High School in the tournament final) and 1949 (vs. Wildwood High School).[24] In front of a crowd of 2,500 spectators at the Elizabeth Armory, the 1947 team upset Dunellen, winning the Group I championship with a 39-34 victory.[25] Trailing for most of the game, the 1949 team pulled ahead of Wildwood in the fourth quarter to win the Group I state title by a score of 49-44.[26]

The boys track team won the Group II spring / outdoor track state championship in 1963.[27]

The wrestling team won the North I Group II state sectional title in 1980.[28]

The girls volleyball team won the Group II state championship in 1988, defeating Garfield High School in the final match of the playoff tournament.[29]

In 2011, Nancie Sophias broke the school record for the 800m that had been set in 1977 and became the high school's first woman to qualify for the NJSIAA State Track Meet of Champions in the event.[30]

The varsity boys tennis team was top-seeded in the North II, Group II state sectional tournament, but lost in the semifinals 3–2 to James Caldwell High School.[31]

The school's marching band was Class VA national champion in 2023 with a score of 95.40.[32]

Clubs

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Clubs at the school include art, theatre, the school chorus, the debating society and the school newspaper.[33] The Fort Lee High School Band was the Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast Invitational Class A winners in Group 4 in 2019 and 2021.[34]

Administration

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The school's principal is Lauren Glynn. Her administration team includes two assistant principals.[35]

Notable faculty

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  • Joan Voss (born 1940), politician, was on the school's faculty from 1963 until she retired in 2001.[36]

Notable alumni

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See also: Category:Fort Lee High School alumni

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e School data for Fort Lee High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Fort Lee High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Club Directory 2017-2018, Fort Lee High School. Accessed March 24, 2022.
  4. ^ Program of Studies 2022-2023, Fort Lee High School. Accessed March 24, 2022.
  5. ^ Fort Lee High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed June 13, 2011.
  6. ^ School History, Fort Lee High School. Accessed June 13, 2011.
  7. ^ Pegues, Jeff. "Grade scandal at Fort Lee High", WABC-TV, March 5, 2009. Accessed June 13, 2011.
  8. ^ Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Fort Lee High School", The Washington Post. Accessed August 21, 2011.
  9. ^ The Complete List of the 1,000 Top U.S. Schools Archived March 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Newsweek. Accessed December 13, 2006.
  10. ^ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  11. ^ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 1, 2012.
  12. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 13, 2011.
  13. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  14. ^ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011[permanent dead link‍], Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 5, 2012.
  15. ^ "2018 Best High Schools: Fort Lee High School", U.S. News & World Report.
  16. ^ Fort Lee High School, U.S. News & World Report. Accessed February 13, 2022. "All Rankings #2,320 in National Rankings #106 in New Jersey High Schools #264 in New York, NY Metro Area High Schools"
  17. ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  18. ^ New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed October 7, 2014.
  19. ^ NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  20. ^ 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."
  21. ^ 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."
  22. ^ 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."
  23. ^ NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  24. ^ NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  25. ^ "Fort Lee and Englewood Capture State Championships; Bridgemen Upset Dunellen, 39-34; Precision-Like Fort Lee Quintet Impresses Crowd With Triumph Over Defending Group 1 Champs; Mullin, Cervieri Lead Scoring Parade", The Record, March 24, 1947. Accessed March 9, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "With its precision-like offense working to perfection, Fort Lee High School's well-coached aggregation scored an impressive 39 to 34 upset over Dunellen High to capture the 1947 Group One State title Saturday afternoon at the Elizabeth Armory. Coach John Mardy displayed the smoothest crew of ball handlers seen in this year's N. J. S. I. A. A. Tournament. Spotting Dunellen a definite height advantage. Fort Lee made up for it with some brilliant passwork and heads-up ball playing that had the afternoon assemblage of 2,500 fans 'oh-ing' and 'ah-ing' almost continually."
  26. ^ De La Ree, Gerry. "Fort Lee Wins Group I State Basketball Title By Downing Wildwood; Bridgemen Score 49 To 44 Victory; Team Rallies In Second Half To Capture Second Title In Three Years And 27th Championship For Bergen County In 31 Years Of Event", The Record, March 21, 1949. Accessed March 11, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Down five points at the half. Fort Lee High's Bridgemen rallied brilliantly in the last two periods Saturday to defeat Wildwood High School, 49 to 44, for the Group I championship In the 31st annual New Jersey State Interscholastic A. A. basketball tournament at Elizabeth Armory."
  27. ^ NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Boys, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2021.
  28. ^ NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  29. ^ NJSIAA Girls Volleyball Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  30. ^ Murray, Chris. "Fort Lee Senior Track Star Makes History: Nancie Sophias Keeps on breaking her own records and will be doing something that no other female from Fort Lee High School has ever done.", FortLeePatch, June 6, 2011. Accessed July 16, 2011. "Sophias, a senior, qualified to run in the NJSIAA State Track Meet of Champions in the 800 meter race on Thursday in Old Bridge at Carl Sandburg Middle School. With Sophias' qualification she became the first female runner in the history of Fort Lee High School to run in this major and prestigious event."
  31. ^ Boys Tennis - 2011 NJSIAA Tournament - North 2, Group 2, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 16, 2011.
  32. ^ USBANDS A Class National Championships (I A, II A, V A), USBands, November 4, 2023. Accessed November 5, 2023.
  33. ^ 2022 Club List and Descriptions, Fort Lee High School. Accessed October 2, 2023.
  34. ^ Atlantic Coast Champions by Year, Tournament of Bands. Accessed October 2, 2023.
  35. ^ Contact, Fort Lee High School. Accessed October 2, 2023.
  36. ^ Fasbach, Laura. "Voss ends juggling, resigns council seat", The Record, April 18, 2004. Accessed October 24, 2008.
  37. ^ Davidson, Eric. "Q&A: Rock ‘N’ Roll High School Director Allan Arkush Looks Back (Plus Exclusive Photos)", The Village Voice, May 18, 2011. Accessed June 26, 2019. "But a lot of the outrageous stuff in Rock 'N' Roll High School was stuff that happened to me personally in high school. Like the freshman being shoved in the locker. That happened to me all the time at Fort Lee High School, in New Jersey."
  38. ^ Cooper, Diana. "LOL!: Jonathan Cheban's High School Pictures Revealed—We Wonder if He Would Have Been Kim Kardashian's BFF Back Then!", In Touch Weekly, August 9, 2014. Accessed September 9, 2017. "For one, Jonathan Cheban, who's famous for being Kim Kardashian's BFF, looks completely different! Photos of him, exclusively obtained by Daily Mail, show what he looked like during his years at Fort Lee High School in New Jersey, where he graduated in 1991."
  39. ^ Hancock, Noelle. "The Art of the Schmooze", New York Observer, January 18, 2013. Accessed October 16, 2020. "Once upon a time, Mr. Cheban did wait in line at places like Limelight and Club USA. It was the late 80’s, and the Fort Lee High School student was the only child of a real-estate agent (his mother) and a diamond dealer (his father)."
  40. ^ "Memorial Post Elects Officers". The Record. June 30, 1970. p. 7. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  41. ^ Kemp, Joseph. "Real Estate Mahoffs: A Developing Story", Jewish Exponent, March 24, 2015. Accessed September 9, 2017. "Domb, 59, grew up in Fort Lee, N.J., across the George Washington Bridge from Manhattan.... After graduating from Fort Lee High School, he attended American University in Washington, D.C., where he took evening classes while working full-time during the day selling security systems at Phelps Time Lock Service, based in Hyattsville, Md."
  42. ^ Reich, Ronni. "New York Musical Theatre Festival: Three Jersey artists offer something different", The Star-Ledger, July 7, 2013. Accessed August 29, 2018. "Randy Klein, who grew up in Union City and Fort Lee, appeared at the festival last year with Flambé Dreams, a kitchen comedy.... Klein honed his musicianship in the Fort Lee High School marching band and got a taste for theater from Broadway shows he would see with his mother, including Fiddler on the Roof with Zero Mostel and Hello, Dolly! with Carol Channing."
  43. ^ Kurland, Bob. "Power Play Traps Langer", The Record, November 21, 1969. Accessed May 31, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Jack Langer is working as hard as ever getting ready for basketball season which could find him sitting in the stands.... It seems a shame that a fine athlete like Langer who led Bergen County in scorjng three years ago with a 27.13 average at Fort Lee High School, should be caught in a petty feud which could cost him his remaining two seasons of eligibility."
  44. ^ Teicholz, Tom. "Tommywood - Sayings of Chairman Levine", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, February 16, 2006, backed up by the Internet Archive as of June 14, 2013. Accessed June 16, 2020. "Born in New York City, Levine graduated from Fort Lee High in 1972, and attended Rutgers College for six months."
  45. ^ Caldera, Pete. "Where are they now? Former Fort Lee/Princeton basketball star Ted Manakas ", The Record at Newslookup. Accessed September 9, 2017. "As a "pretty accurate deep-range shooter," Manakas averaged 27 points per game in his senior year for a 19-4 Fort Lee team that won the Bergen County Scholastic League American Division."
  46. ^ Skelton, David E. "John Orsino: A Profile", The Pecan Park Eagle, September 13, 2017. Accessed September 15, 2018. "Orsino attended Fort Lee (New Jersey) High School."
  47. ^ John Orsino, Baseball Almanac. Accessed September 15, 2018.
  48. ^ "281 Graduated At Fort Lee H. S.",The Record, June 24, 1967. Accessed August 18, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The class speakers concentrated on the anniversary theme, 'A Half Century of Progress,' Lorraine Shemesh spoke on 'The Past, Present and Future' and Ronald Aminzade's speech was titled 'The Involved Generation.'"
  49. ^ Handler, Cindy Schewich. "Join the ride: NJ native Jenn Sherman has been a Peloton instructor since Day One", The Record, January 22, 2021. Accessed April 25, 2022. "Every week, Sherman, a Fort Lee native, attracts thousands of subscribing Peloton members who ride along with her on the company's stationary bicycles, either during live classes streamed from the company's Manhattan studios, or recordings of those rides available in its vast On Demand library.... At Fort Lee High School, Sherman 'played 0.0 sports,' she says."
  50. ^ Sarnoff, David. "A Conversation with Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich; Mark Sokolich was born and raised in Fort Lee, and in a very real way, by the Fort Lee community.", Fort Lee Patch, January 9, 2014. Accessed February 13, 2022. "Mayor Sokolich moved forward with his life and attended Fort Lee High School, which he describes as 'great and memorable years of his life.' At Fort Lee High School, he was an All-State basketball player and an All-County standout in baseball.... He graduated in 1981, and in an effort to overcome another obstacle, he enrolled at Rutgers University and tried out as a walk-on for the basketball team."
  51. ^ Coutros, Evonne. "Fort Lee natives up for documentary Oscar Sunday for Undefeated", The Record, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 24, 2012. Accessed September 9, 2017. "English may have been Glen Zipper's favorite subject at Fort Lee High School, but it could be a football documentary that earns the 39-year-old retired attorney an Academy Award."
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