Livingston High School (New Jersey)


Livingston High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, operating as part of the Livingston Public Schools. It receives all eighth grade graduates from Heritage Middle School. It is the only high school in the Livingston Township. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1958.
Livingston High School offers 28 Advanced Placement courses within eight department areas. The school's principal is Mark Stern; his administration team includes three assistant principals.
As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,907 students and 173.0 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1. There were 30 students eligible for free lunch and 27 eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

Building and facilities

In 2011, LHS completed a $50 million renovation and expansion project featuring a new science wing, orchestra room, atrium and a "fitness and wellness center". The cafeteria, auditorium, digital design room, freshmen locker room, and TV studio were also refurbished. Existing areas of the building, originally built in 1953, was upgraded with new technology including, a new security system, centralized HVAC, a fire safety system as well as new audio-visual equipment for every class room. The project was paid for with the proceeds of a $51.5 million bond issue approved in a 2005 referendum and included the addition and renovation of more than of space.

Awards, recognition and rankings

For the 1997–98 school year, Livingston High School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 383rd out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 44th among all high schools in New Jersey and 27th among the state's non-magnet schools.
The school was ranked 9th in New Jersey, 3rd among non-magnet schools, and 142nd in the nation in the Newsweek 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools". The school was ranked 153rd in the nation and 13th in New Jersey on the list of "America's Best High Schools 2012" prepared by The Daily Beast / Newsweek, with rankings based primarily on graduation rate, matriculation rate for college and number of Advanced Placement / International Baccalaureate courses taken per student, with lesser factors based on average scores on the SAT / ACT, average AP/IB scores and the number of AP/IB courses available to students. Prior to 2011, Newsweek used a different methodology with calculation derived only from a single factor. In Newsweek's June 8, 2009, issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Livingston High School was listed as the 25th-highest ranked school in New Jersey. The ranking was calculated using one main factor that is the ratio of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests given at a school.
The school was the 16th-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. The school had been ranked 24th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 22nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 20th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 14th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.
Livingston High School has a history of success in academics and the arts. Recent accomplishments are:
The Livingston High School Lancers compete in the Super Essex Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. With 1,384 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North I, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,090 to 2,568 students in that grade range. Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had competed as part of the Iron Hills Conference, which was made up of public and private high schools in Essex County, Morris County and Union County.
The boys' soccer team won the Group IV title in 1972, defeating Brick Township High School in the tournament final.
The boys' tennis team won the Group IV state championships in 1976 vs. Cherry Hill East High School, in 1977 vs. Watchung Hills Regional High School, in 1989 vs. East Brunswick High School, in 2001 vs. Bridgewater-Raritan High School, in 2002 vs. Cherry Hill East and in 2002 vs. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, and won the Group III title in 1995 vs. Mainland Regional High School. The team won the overall state championship in 1977, defeating Christian Brothers Academy in the tournament final. In 2011, the Livingston boys' tennis team earned their second overall state title when they won the Tournament of Champions over Delbarton School, completing a perfect 36-0 season.
The baseball team won the Group IV state championship in 1976 vs. Bridgeton High School and in 1980 vs. Steinert High School.
The boys' wrestling team won the North II Group IV state sectional championship in 2003.
The football team won the 2008 North I, Group IV state sectional title, the program's first, with a 28–8 win over Hackensack High School in a game played at Giants Stadium. As of 2016, the football coach is Robert Breschard.
The girls' soccer team won the North I Group IV state sectional championship in 2013 with a 1-0 win against Randolph High School in the tournament final.
The men's ice hockey team plays at Richard J. Codey Arena.

Notable alumni

Bold names indicate members of the Livingston Education Foundation's Livingston High School Alumni Hall of Fame