Belleville High School is a four-year comprehensive community

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

that serves students in

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

from Belleville, in Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, United States. Operating as the lone secondary school of the Belleville School District, the school has been accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional accreditation of public and private schools in the Mid-Atl ...

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1964.Belleville High School

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed January 15, 2020. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,444 students and 111.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 13.0:1. There were 510 students (35.3% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the providing of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. It was once a common tradition in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with th ...

and 120 (8.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Belleville High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district financ ...

. Accessed December 1, 2022.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 294th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey. The magazine was started in 1976. It is based in Morristown. In addition to articles of general interest, the publication fe ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 160th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 214th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 241st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 311th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 12 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 The High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA, pronounced "hess-pah" (/ˈhɛspə/) or sometimes just "H-S-P-A") was a standardized test that was administered by the New Jersey Department of Education to all New Jersey public high school students in ...

(HSPA).

Athletics

The Belleville High School BuccaneersBelleville High School

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) 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 championsh ...

. Accessed November 4, 2015. compete in the

Super Essex Conference The Super Essex Conference (SEC) is a high school athletic conference located in Essex County, New Jersey. The conference was formed in 2009 by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association and was a result of a larger realignment that ...

, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Essex County and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the

(NJSIAA). Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in Division A of the

Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League The Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, abbreviated NNJIL, was a former athletic conference located in Bergen County, Passaic County and Essex County, New Jersey. The NNJIL was separated into three divisions, according to the classificatio ...

, which included high schools located in

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Passaic County and Essex County. With 1,057 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range. The football team competes in the Freedom White 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. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV North for football for 2018–2020. The school colors are blue, white and gold. The baseball team won the North II Group IV state sectional championship in 1965.

Administration

The school's principal is Caleb Rhodes. His core administrative team includes three assistant principals.

Notable alumni

* Gerard Adams (born 1984), entrepreneur who was co-founder of Elite Daily. * Lonnie Bunch (born 1952, class of 1970), educator, historian and museum curator, who was the founding director of the Smithsonian's

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...

. *

Kacy Catanzaro Kacy Esther Catanzaro (born January 14, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, gymnast and athletics-based television personality. She is currently signed with WWE on the NXT brand under the ring name Katana Chance. She competed a ...

(born 1990),

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

and athletics-based

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

. *

Robert Curvin Robert Curvin (February 23, 1934 – September 30, 2015) was an advocate for Newark, New Jersey, activist, and historian, who had a key role in the 1967 Newark riots. He lived in the Vailsburg section of Newark and devoted much scholarly effort t ...

(1934–2015, class of 1952), advocate for

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, activist and historian, who had a key role in the 1967 Newark riots. *

Phil Cuzzi Philip Cuzzi (born August 29, 1955) is an American professional baseball umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). He worked as a reserve umpire in the National League (NL) from 1991 to 1993 and returned to the NL in 1999. Since 2000, he has worked ...

(born 1955, class of 1973),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...

. *

The Delicates The Delicates, were an American three-girl singing group, made up of members Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti, and Peggy Santiglia. The group was formed in 1958 while all three members were attending Elementary School No. Eight, in Belleville, New ...

, singing group consisting of Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti, and Peggy Santiglia from the Class of 1962. * Tommy DeVito (born 1936), lead guitarist for The Four Seasons who dropped out of school following eighth grade to pursue his music career, but was named an honorary graduate of Belleville High School in 2007. *

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

(born 1937, class of 1955), singer. * David Grant (born 1965; class of 1983), defensive end for six NFL seasons for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

. * Joe Pesci (born 1943), academy award-winning actor. * Joel A. Pisano (1949–2021), United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...

from 2000 to 2001. *

Peggy Santiglia Margaret "Peggy" Santiglia (born May 4, 1944) is an American singer of the "girl group era". She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "My Boyfriend's Back (song), My Boyfriend's Back" with The Angels (American group), The Angels, which sh ...

(born 1944), singer-songwriter of the "girl group era", best known for her 1963 pop hit " My Boyfriend's Back" with The Angels, which she recorded at the age of 19. *

Gerard Way Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, ''Hesitant Alien'', ...

(born 1977, class of 1995), frontman of

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...

and writer of ''

The Umbrella Academy ''The Umbrella Academy'' is an American comic book series created and written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. The first six-issue limited series, '' The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite,'' was released by Dark Horse Comics betwee ...

''.Uschak, Roman J
"Rock band with Belleville roots, My Chemical Romance, breaks up"
''Belleville Times'', April 18, 2013. Accessed July 15, 2013. "Lead singer and co-founder Gerard Way graduated from Belleville High School in 1995.... Way's younger brother, Mike, the bassist for My Chemical Romance, also grew up in Belleville and is a 1998 BHS graduate." *

Mikey Way Michael James Way (born September 10, 1980) is an American musician and actor. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He is also the multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist of rock duo Electric Century. Mikey c ...

(born 1980, class of 1998), bass guitarist of

. * Leonard R. Willette (1921–1944, class of 1939),

Tuskegee Airman The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Arm ...

pilot killed in action in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

flying over Germany while protecting a group of American bombers. * Tony Zuzzio (1916–2002), lineman who played for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

during the 1942 NFL season.Tony Zuzzio
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed June 10, 2018.

References

External links

Belleville High SchoolBelleville School District
*
Data for Belleville High School

{{Authority control Belleville, New Jersey Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Public high schools in Essex County, New Jersey