High Tech High School named one of the best
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — High Technology High School Principal Daniel Simon does not have a ready answer to the question of how the school went from ranking seventh among the best high schools in the nation to the fourth-place slot.

"Our program hasn't changed," Simon said. "We have continued to do what we always do as part of our students' education. We continue to be a college-ready program."

U.S. News & World Report ranked High Tech High School — which is open to all residents of Monmouth County — as the fourth-best high school in the nation and No. 1 in New Jersey in its Dec. 4 "America's Best High Schools" issue.

In 2007 the school was listed as No. 7, with Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., continuing as No. 1.

High Tech High School also received the periodical's Gold Medal Award, given to the top 100 schools nationally based on a College Readiness Index, with the school attaining an index of 98.4.

The index is keyed to the degree to which students master some college-level material, with a weighted average based 25 percent on Advance Placement (AP) participation and 75 percent on quality adjusted AP participation rates, according to U.S. News & World Report.

High Tech High School is a member of the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology. The school is part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District.

Simon said the students have been posting on U.S. News'Web site chat rooms, excited about the move up in ranking.

"They are very good with numbers and have found a way that we could be No. 2," Simon said. "They are very excited."

The 262-student High Technology High School offers a four-year high school education with emphasis on math, science and technology.

Students take college courses during their junior and senior years at Brookdale Community College and seniors are required to take a mentorship course for one semester.

"All of our students are taking the AP exams anyway," Simon said. "The fact that we are rated so high is because they are college ready. Our program is extremely rigorous. They are taking 40 credits a year and are extremely driven."

He also gave a lot of the credit to the teachers at the school.

"They are the backbone of what we do here," Simon said. "They help make the students what they are."

He also credited the K-8 schools in the districts where the students live.

"It should be a shared congratulations for all of Monmouth County," Simon said. "The kids are great when they get here and we are blessed to have such well-prepared students coming into our school."

Other Monmouth County schools named in the U.S. News & World Report silver and bronze categories, which are ranked in the top 504 in the nation were: the Academy of Allied Health and Science, Neptune; Freehold High School, Freehold Borough; and the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Sandy Hook, in the silver category; and Communications High School, Wall Township, in the bronze category.

All high school age residents of Monmouth County are eligible to apply for admission to the Academy of Allied Health and Science, to the Marine Academy of Science and Technology and to Communications High School.

Freehold High School is part of the Freehold Regional High School District and enrolls students primarily from Freehold Borough and Freehold Township, although some specialized programs at the school are open to students from the eight municipalities that make up the FRHSD.