Trenton Central High School
Encyclopedia
Trenton Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Trenton
, in Mercer County
, New Jersey
, United States, as part of the Trenton Public Schools
.
As of the 2008–09 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,376 students and 181.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE
basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.1.
The school was the 317th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly
magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 310th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 311th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.
Trenton Central High School was the focus of a research study aimed at preventing obesity in students, in which student evaluations of the results played a major role in interpretation of the outcomes.
Trenton Central High School (TCHS) opened on January 4, 1932 and was formally dedicated on January 18 amid a crowd of five thousand. Hailed as “an ornament to the city” and “one of the show places of Trenton,” TCHS was one of the largest and most expensive high schools built in the country. The Chambers Street façade stretches broadly for almost 1000 feet (304.8 m), nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. The cost of the building, including land and furniture, totaled $3.3 million. Most firms involved in the construction were based in Trenton
, including John A. Roebling
’s Sons who provided “Jersey” wire lath to fireproof the ceilings and walls.
, which consists of public and private high schools located in Mercer County
, Monmouth County
and Middlesex County
, New Jersey
, under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
(NJSIAA). Trenton Central High School has the Best basketball teams in the history of the U.S.
In 1961, Tal Brody
led the undefeated boys basketball team to a 24–0 record and a New Jersey state championship in his senior year, as he was voted a New Jersey basketball All Star and selected to the First Team Newark Star Ledger All-State Team. Brody, though later drafted # 12 in the NBA draft, passed up an NBA career to play in Israel.
The boys basketball team won the Central, Group IV sectional championship in 2003 with a 54–40 win over Old Bridge High School
.
The girls basketball team won the 2007 Central, Group IV state sectional title with a 51–24 win against Howell High School. The team moved on to win the 2007 Group IV State Championship, defeating Eastside High School
52-44 for the title.
robotics team, from the Applied Engineering & Science Academy, is sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb, Sarnoff Corporation
and Princeton University
. The
Team 381 Tornadoes were the 2004 Philadelphia Regional Winner in the FIRST Robotics Competition
. In 2008, the Tornados became the Trenton Regional Winners. This high school also includes a military program called United States Army ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) which it's mission is to motivate young people to be better citizens .
The New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA), presented its proposal to build a new school on the TCHS athletic fields and then demolish most of the old school, except for its iconic tower and part of the facade, which would become a small athletic field house.
According to an SDA draft conceptual plan, work on an architectural design would begin in January and construction would start in summer 2011. The old building would be demolished in summer 2014 and students would start using the new building that fall. A new athletic facility would open in fall 2015.
However, once destroyed the school can never be replaced. The iconic and historic building has roots with many residents and past generations of Trenton. Controversy and local uproar from residents has thrown the school and its "demolition" into headline news. The fate of the historic landmark is still in limbo.
There is controversy and little progress on how to deal more effectively with student performance at TCHS. Academic achievement is low and dropout rates are high, and various groups such as Citizens for Successful Schools are working toward solutions to these problems. Students lose their opportunity for full participation in society, and are more likely to become burdens rather than contributors to their communities.
Parts of the 1993-released movie Baby It's You
were filmed at Trenton Central in 1982. In some exterior shots St. Francis Hospital can be seen across Hamilton Avenue as an expansion is under construction.
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, in Mercer County
Mercer County, New Jersey
As of the census of 2000, there were 350,761 people, 125,807 households, and 86,303 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,552 people per square mile . There were 133,280 housing units at an average density of 590 per square mile...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States, as part of the Trenton Public Schools
Trenton Public Schools
The Trenton Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district, serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from Trenton, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The district has twenty-one elementary schools, two middle schools and five high school programs...
.
As of the 2008–09 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,376 students and 181.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.1.
The school was the 317th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly is a monthly glossy publication featuring issues of possible interest to residents of the United States state of New Jersey...
magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 310th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 311th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.
Trenton Central High School was the focus of a research study aimed at preventing obesity in students, in which student evaluations of the results played a major role in interpretation of the outcomes.
History
In the late 1920s the Trenton Board of Education had the foresight and the good fortune to acquire one of the last undeveloped tracts in the city: the 36 acres (145,687 m²) Chambers Farm, then used as a nursery. The new high school would be the city’s third, replacing the then existing high school at Chestnut and Hamilton Avenues built in 1900, which in turn replaced the first high school on Mercer Street built in 1874.Trenton Central High School (TCHS) opened on January 4, 1932 and was formally dedicated on January 18 amid a crowd of five thousand. Hailed as “an ornament to the city” and “one of the show places of Trenton,” TCHS was one of the largest and most expensive high schools built in the country. The Chambers Street façade stretches broadly for almost 1000 feet (304.8 m), nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. The cost of the building, including land and furniture, totaled $3.3 million. Most firms involved in the construction were based in Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, including John A. Roebling
John A. Roebling
John Augustus Roebling was a German-born American civil engineer. He is famous for his wire rope suspension bridge designs, in particular, the design of the Brooklyn Bridge.-Early life:...
’s Sons who provided “Jersey” wire lath to fireproof the ceilings and walls.
Academics
Trenton Central High School is divided into Small Learning Communities (SLCs) that span across three separate sites throughout the city of Trenton. The Chambers Campus, located on Chambers Street, houses five communities: Applied Science and Engineering, Media Technology, Performing Arts, Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism, and Business, Computer, Technology Design. The North Campus is located on N. Clinton Avenue and is home to the Medical Arts community. The West Campus sits on West State Street in the building that was formerly the home of the Arthur J. Holland Middle School. Three communities reside there: Law and Justice, Renaissance, and Business and Finance.Athletics
The Trenton Central High School Tornadoes compete in the Colonial Valley ConferenceColonial Valley Conference
The Colonial Valley Conference is an athletic conference in Central Jersey composed of a group of high schools located primarily in Mercer County, New Jersey, with one member school in Monmouth County and one in Middlesex County...
, which consists of public and private high schools located in Mercer County
Mercer County, New Jersey
As of the census of 2000, there were 350,761 people, 125,807 households, and 86,303 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,552 people per square mile . There were 133,280 housing units at an average density of 590 per square mile...
, Monmouth County
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
and Middlesex County
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.-State championships:...
(NJSIAA). Trenton Central High School has the Best basketball teams in the history of the U.S.
In 1961, Tal Brody
Tal Brody
Tal Brody is an American-Israeli former basketball player, and current Goodwill Ambassador of Israel, who lives in Israel. Brody was drafted # 12 in the National Basketball Association draft, but chose to pass up an NBA career to instead play basketball in Israel...
led the undefeated boys basketball team to a 24–0 record and a New Jersey state championship in his senior year, as he was voted a New Jersey basketball All Star and selected to the First Team Newark Star Ledger All-State Team. Brody, though later drafted # 12 in the NBA draft, passed up an NBA career to play in Israel.
The boys basketball team won the Central, Group IV sectional championship in 2003 with a 54–40 win over Old Bridge High School
Old Bridge High School
Old Bridge High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Old Bridge Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Old Bridge Township Public Schools...
.
The girls basketball team won the 2007 Central, Group IV state sectional title with a 51–24 win against Howell High School. The team moved on to win the 2007 Group IV State Championship, defeating Eastside High School
Eastside High School (Paterson, New Jersey)
Eastside High School is a four-year public high school in Paterson, New Jersey, United States, that serves the eastern section of Paterson. EHS, which serves grades 9 through 12, operates as part of the Paterson Public Schools....
52-44 for the title.
Extracurricular activities
The Tornadoes 381 FIRSTFirst
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one.First or 1st may also refer to:* First , minor summit below the Schwarzhorn in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland* First , mountain in Bernese Alps in Switzerland...
robotics team, from the Applied Engineering & Science Academy, is sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb, Sarnoff Corporation
Sarnoff Corporation
Sarnoff Corporation, with headquarters in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, was a research and development company specializing in vision, video and semiconductor technology....
and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. The
Team 381 Tornadoes were the 2004 Philadelphia Regional Winner in the FIRST Robotics Competition
FIRST Robotics Competition
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to , not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year...
. In 2008, the Tornados became the Trenton Regional Winners. This high school also includes a military program called United States Army ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) which it's mission is to motivate young people to be better citizens .
Notable faculty
- Joey FinkJoey FinkJoey Fink is a former U.S. soccer forward who spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the American Soccer League and seven in Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned six caps with the U.S. national team between 1973 and 1975.-Youth and college:Fink played youth soccer...
(born 1951), former professional soccer player, now teaching health and phys ed.
Notable alumni
- George AntheilGeorge AntheilGeorge Antheil was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author and inventor. A self-described "Bad Boy of Music", his modernist compositions amazed and appalled listeners in Europe and the US during the 1920s with their cacophonous celebration of mechanical devices.Returning permanently to...
(1900–59), composer (dropped out in senior year, 1918) - Bo BelinskyBo BelinskyRobert "Bo" Belinsky was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, who became an instant southern California celebrity as a rookie with the original Los Angeles Angels, especially when the fourth of his season-opening four straight wins was a no-hit, no-run game against his former...
(1936–2001), MLB pitcher - Elvin BetheaElvin BetheaElvin Lamont Bethea is a former American football defensive end who played his entire career with the Houston Oilers...
(born 1946), Pro Football Hall of FamePro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
defensive end who played his entire NFL career with the Houston Oilers - Tal BrodyTal BrodyTal Brody is an American-Israeli former basketball player, and current Goodwill Ambassador of Israel, who lives in Israel. Brody was drafted # 12 in the National Basketball Association draft, but chose to pass up an NBA career to instead play basketball in Israel...
(born 1943), drafted # 12 in NBA draft, Euroleague basketball shooting guard for Maccabi Tel AvivMaccabi Tel AvivMaccabi Tel Aviv is the biggest sports club in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs many sports club and teams in Tel Aviv, which compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, judo, swimming, handball, and others.... - George CaseGeorge CaseGeorge Washington Case was an American left and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Washington Senators...
(1915–89), major league baseball player - Richard CrooksRichard CrooksRichard Alexander Crooks was an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera.-Biography:He was born on June 26, 1900 in Trenton, New Jersey...
(1900–72), tenor, singer for the New York Metropolitan Opera - David N. Dinkins (born 1927), former Mayor of New York CityMayor of New York CityThe Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
- Al Downing (born 1941), major league baseball player
- Ernie KovacsErnie KovacsErnie Kovacs was a Hungarian American comedian and actor.Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident...
(1919–62), groundbreaking American comedian and television personality - Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
(born 1969), hip-hop artist and businessman (did not graduate) - Charles MuscatineCharles MuscatineCharles Muscatine was an academic specialising in medieval literature, particularly Chaucer. He participated in the D-day landing on Omaha Beach and was fired by UC Berkeley for refusing to sign a McCarthyite oath...
(born 1920), academic and expert in medieval literature.
Controversy
In September 2009, State officials who want to raze and rebuild Trenton Central High School faced off against residents with an alternate plan to save the historic but dilapidated building at a school board committee meeting.The New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA), presented its proposal to build a new school on the TCHS athletic fields and then demolish most of the old school, except for its iconic tower and part of the facade, which would become a small athletic field house.
According to an SDA draft conceptual plan, work on an architectural design would begin in January and construction would start in summer 2011. The old building would be demolished in summer 2014 and students would start using the new building that fall. A new athletic facility would open in fall 2015.
However, once destroyed the school can never be replaced. The iconic and historic building has roots with many residents and past generations of Trenton. Controversy and local uproar from residents has thrown the school and its "demolition" into headline news. The fate of the historic landmark is still in limbo.
There is controversy and little progress on how to deal more effectively with student performance at TCHS. Academic achievement is low and dropout rates are high, and various groups such as Citizens for Successful Schools are working toward solutions to these problems. Students lose their opportunity for full participation in society, and are more likely to become burdens rather than contributors to their communities.
Parts of the 1993-released movie Baby It's You
Baby It's You (film)
Baby It's You is an American film released in 1983 written and directed by John Sayles. It stars Rosanna Arquette and Vincent Spano.This was Sayles' first film for a major Hollywood studio...
were filmed at Trenton Central in 1982. In some exterior shots St. Francis Hospital can be seen across Hamilton Avenue as an expansion is under construction.
External links
- Trenton Central High School
- Trenton Public Schools
- Data for the Trenton Public Schools, National Center for Education StatisticsNational Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...