South Plainfield High School (or SPHS) is a four-year, co-ed 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, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located in South Plainfield in Middlesex County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, serving 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 (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

s and operating as the sole secondary school in the

South Plainfield Public Schools The South Plainfield Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district, for South Plainfield, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 20 ...

. The school offers numerous clubs, activities, and athletics. As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,091 students and 96.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 11.3:1. There were 220 students (20.2% of enrollment) eligible for

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

and 117 (10.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for South Plainfield High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed December 15, 2024.

Awards, recognition and rankings

In 1996, the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

recognized the school with the "Best Practices Award" for its Respect All Races Everywhere (R.A.R.E.) Program in which administrators, staff, and students work together to make cultural and ethnic diversity an instructional theme. The school was the 157th-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 New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 227th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 148th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 158th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 160th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 183rd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 25 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the two 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), mathematics (78.9%) and language arts literacy (93.5%). And in 2019, U.S. News ranked the school #96 in New Jersey high schools.

Extracurricular activities

Music

Three music teachers are currently employed at South Plainfield High School: William Haughwout (director of bands), Donna Kregler (director of choirs), and Sarah LiVecchi (director of orchestras). As of 2018, William Haughwout is the permanent band director, succeeding Ryan Dore.

Ensembles

* Marching Band * Concert Band * Wind Ensemble (starting 2017-18 school year) * Jazz Band * Lab Jazz Band * Orchestra * Chamber Orchestra * Concert Choir * Chamber Choir * Pit orchestra

Robotics

South Plainfield High School's

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition operated by ''FIRST''®. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work to build robots capable of competing in that year's game. Robots c ...

(FRC) team Tiger Tech 5624 has achieved several awards and has gained several victories since starting its rookie year in 2015. * At the Mid Atlantic District event 'Bridgewater-Raritan' in 2015, Tiger Tech earned both Rookie All Star and Highest Rookie Seed awards. * At the Mid Atlantic District event 'North Brunswick' in 2015, Tiger Tech was an Alliance Captain as well as earning the Highest Rookie Seed award. * At the Mid Atlantic District Championship in 2015, Tiger Tech was awarded the Rookie Inspiration award. *At the Mid Atlantic District event 'Mount Olive' in 2016, Tiger Tech claimed a first-place victory as well as the Judges' award. *At the Mid Atlantic District event 'Bridgewater-Raritan', Tiger Tech earned a first-place victory for the second time in its 2016 season. *The team went on in 2016 to compete at the

FIRST Championship The FIRST Championship is a four-day robotics championship held annually in April at which FIRST student robotics teams compete. For several years, the event was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to the Edward Jones Dome ...

in St. Louis, and earned a ranking of 31st out of 75 in the Archimedes Division. *At the Mid Atlantic District event 'Bridgewater-Raritan' in 2022, Tiger Tech was awarded the Gracious Professionalism Award. *At the Mid Atlantic District event 'Bensalem' in 2023, Tiger Tech claimed a first-place victory. *Through the efforts of the 2023–2024 Club President Achuthan Menon and the 2024–2025 Club President Aadi Shah, Tiger Tech successfully secured a recurring $10,000 award from SPHS, starting in the 2024–2025 season.

Athletics

The South Plainfield High School TigersSouth Plainfield 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 October 20, 2020. compete in the

Greater Middlesex Conference The Greater Middlesex Conference is an athletic conference comprising 34 public and private high schools located in the greater Middlesex County, New Jersey area. The league operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic At ...

, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in the Middlesex County area, and operates under the supervision of the

(NJSIAA). With 750 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. The football team competes in Division 3 of the Big Central Football Conference, which includes 60 public and private high schools in Hunterdon, Middlesex,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, Union and

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

counties, which are broken down into 10 divisions by size and location. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 700 to 884 students.

Wrestling

The wrestling team has won Group III state titles in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2016-2019, and won Group II state titles in 2000 and 2007. The 12 group titles won by the program are tied for the fifth-most of all teams in the state In 2007, the wrestling team took Central Group II with a 48-16 win over Raritan. The team then moved on to win a Group II state title that year with a 58-6 semifinal win against Point Boro and a 42-9 in the finals against Hackettstown. The 2017 team finished the season with a record of 30-1 after defeating

Delsea Regional High School Delsea Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Elk Township (feeding into Delsea from Aura Elementary School, which serves grades PreK-6) and Frank ...

38-23 in the tournament final to win the Group II state title, the program's tenth championship. In 2013, Anthony Ashnault became the first wrestler in state history to win four consecutive state championships while being undefeated in his high school wrestling career, finishing with an overall record of 170-0 during his four years at South Plainfield.

Baseball

In 2015, the baseball team won the NJSIAA Group III state baseball title, the program's first state championship, defeating

Northern Burlington County Regional High School Northern Burlington County Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from four communities in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, as part of the N ...

by a score of 8-4 in the tournament final.Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024

, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.

Bowling

The girls bowling team was the overall state champion in 1980 (tied with 2,424 pins as co-champion with

Lenape High School Lenape High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Medford Township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the oldest of the four high schools that comprise the Lenape Regional High School Di ...

) and 1991.

Field hockey

The team won the North II Group III state sectional title in 2004.History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships

. Accessed May 1, 2023.

Softball

The softball team won the Central Jersey state championship in 1975, won the Group II title in 1989 (vs.

Boonton High School Boonton High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Boonton, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Boonton Public Schools. The sch ...

in the tournament final) and 2000 (vs.

Pompton Lakes High School Pompton Lakes High School (PLHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the borough of Pompton Lakes in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Pompton Lakes School District. ...

), and won the Group III titles in both 2005 (vs.

) and 2017 (vs.

Steinert High School Steinert High School (also formally known as Hamilton High School East) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of three secondary high schools that are part of the Hamilton Towns ...

). The 1989 team defeated Boonton by a score of 5-3 in the playoff finals at

Trenton State College The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, ...

to win the Group II title and finish the season with a record of 21-3. The team won the 2000 Group II title with a 3-2 win in extra innings against Pompton Lakes in the tournament final. The 2005 softball team captured a North II Group III title with a 2-0 victory over

Voorhees High School Voorhees High School is a four-year public high school located in Lebanon Township, named for Foster McGowan Voorhees, the 30th governor of New Jersey. It is one of two high schools in the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School Distric ...

in the sectional final. They then defeated North I, Group III sectional champion Sparta High School to advance to the Group III final, where they defeated Northern Burlington in the final to capture the Group III state championship. The team had won state titles in Group II in both 1989 and 2000. The team won the Group III state championship in 2017, defeating Steinert High School by a score of 3-2 in the tournament final on a walk-off run scored on a ground out. The team advanced to the inaugural

softball

Tournament of Champions A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

as the fourth seed, losing to fifth-seeded Non-Public B champion Immaculate Conception High School by a score of 4-3 in the first round.

Basketball

The boys' basketball team won the Group III state championship in 1964, defeating Summit High School in the tournament final. In 2007, the girls' basketball team was the Group III runner-up, falling to

Willingboro Willingboro Township (known from 1959 to 1963 as Levittown and Levittown Township) is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia and part of the state's South Jersey region. The township, a ...

53-46 in the tournament final.

Soccer

In 2014, the boys soccer team captured a NJSIAA Group III state championship title, the program's first, with a 4-3 victory over Princeton High School in the tournament final.NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer

. Accessed May 1, 2023.

Administration

The school's principal is John Foscolo. His administration team includes three assistant principals.

Notable alumni

* Anthony Ashnault (born 1995), freestyle wrestler *

Patrick J. Diegnan Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. (born March 19, 1949) is an American lawyer and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who has represented the New Jersey's 18th legislative district, 18th Legislative District in the New Jersey Sena ...

(born 1949), politician who has represented the 18th Legislative District in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

since 2016 *

Greg Garbowsky Gregory Robert Garbowsky (born September 10, 1986) also known as Garbo, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for the pop rock bands Ocean Grove and Jonas Brothers. Early life and education Garbowsky was born and raised ...

(born 1986, class of 2004), musician best known as the

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low bra ...

for the

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

bands Ocean Grove and

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...

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, actor who played George Luz in

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's '' Band of Brothers'' and as "Endless Mike" Hellstrom in ''

The Adventures of Pete and Pete ''The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' is an American television sitcom created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi for Nickelodeon. It focuses on two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley, and their humorous and surreal adventures in suburbia among thei ...

'' *

Dontae Johnson Dontae Johnson (born December 1, 1991) is an American former professional football cornerback. He played college football at NC State and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He was also a member of ...

(born 1991),

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

who has played in the

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for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Daniel La Spata Daniel Francis La Spata (born February 26, 1981) is a Chicago politician. He has served as alderman from Chicago's 1st ward since May 2019. He won election to that office after defeating incumbent Proco Joe Moreno in the 2019 Chicago aldermanic ...

(born 1981, class of 1999) politician who has served as the alderman of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's 1st ward since May 2019 * Dennis Madalone (born 1954), stunt-coordinator-turned-musician best known for his work on three of the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' spin-offs — '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and '' Star Trek: Voyager'' *

Michelle Visage Michelle Visage (born Michelle Lynn Shupack, September 20, 1968) is an American television personality, singer, broadcaster, producer, and actress. She gained recognition as a member of the dance-pop group Seduction (group), Seduction, who char ...

(born 1968), judge on ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

'', radio DJ, singer in the band

Seduction In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or Human sexual activity, other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and Sexual script theory, sexual scripts, paralanguage, paralingual featur ...

, actress and media personalityCook, Michael
"Michelle Visage"
''Get Out'', October 25, 2015. Accessed January 19, 2021. "She certainly has come a long way from the hallways of South Plainfield High School in Central New Jersey.... Visage is taking her life lessons and Jersey sass and putting it into ''The Diva Rules,'' which will truly help every gorgeous girl and boy channel their inner strength."

References

External links

South Plainfield High School
* {{Authority control Public high schools in Middlesex County, New Jersey South Plainfield, New Jersey