Dr. Timothy Plotts
Principal
Ms. Vickki Nadler
Assistant Principal
Ms. Michelle Papa
Assistant Principal/HIB Specialist
Ms. Jennifer Kraljevich
Nurse, X5821
School Hours: 7:15 am - 2:15 pm
1010 Weldon Road
Oak Ridge, NJ 07438
(973) 697-3535 / Fax (973) 208-8409
Follow us on Twitter: @JTHSFalcons
Jefferson Township High School
Jefferson Township High School is a four-year, comprehensive public high school with an enrollment of approximately 960 students in grades 9-12. The high school provides many challenging academic, athletic and co-curricular programs. The high school has up-to-date facilities for our students which include a dedicated music wing, science labs, robotics lab, television studio and state of the art culinary lab. A recently passed referendum in 2019 has enhanced many facets of our educational facilities. The broad range of curricular offerings in the core academic areas, business, fine and related arts, as well as technology completely align with the updated NJ Standards. Required academic and elective programs at the school build on previously acquired skills by emphasizing higher-level thinking, problem solving, and application, understanding and reasoning.
Academic, honors and advanced placement courses, as well as independent study programs, are available. JTHS offers 24 Advanced Placement classes. 84.6% of the students in these classes scored 3 or higher on the AP Examination. 86% of the Class of 2019 continued their education beyond high school, with 51% going on to four-year colleges, and approximately 30% to two-year colleges, specialty business, technical and trade schools, or the military.
Technology is plentiful throughout the high school and is utilized in every level of instruction. Students are actively engaged in lessons that are accompanied by web-based media using interactive projectors and boards. We have implemented and gone one to one with laptop computers for each student in grades 6-12. Mobile laptop carts are also available to aide in instruction. The laptop carts of convertible laptop/tablet computers are deployed throughout the building. Staff members maintain individual web pages and many courses are accompanied by technology-enriched activities utilizing mobile technology. This school year the staff will continue to focus on the Google Classroom. The teachers are focused on extending the use of technology applications within the classroom, improving the use of digital tools to include the use of a learning management system, and through digital technology create a culture of respect and responsibility.
The students, staff, parents, and community are justifiably proud of Jefferson Township High School and work hard to maintain its high standards of excellence. For the 2019-2020 school year Jefferson Township High School will continue to be using a 4-day rotating drop block schedule. This change last year increased instructional time in the classroom from 42 minutes up to 53 minutes. The 51 co-curricular programs and 28 interscholastic sports offer a complete range of options for males and females of all grade levels. We are consistently recognized by the NJSIAA for our sportsmanship and during the 2017-2018 were recognized by the Directors of Athletic Administration of New Jersey (DAANJ) as the only program in New Jersey to be designated as a “Program Of Excellence.” The guidance department was recognized by the American School Counseling Association as a Recognized Model School Counseling Program (RAMP). In 2019 Jefferson was recognized by U.S. News and World Reports as a "Best High School." In 2019 Jefferson Township High School was recognized as a "2019 Best Schools" by the Niche Report and as a 2019 "Best Communities For Music Education" by the NAMM Foundation. Students compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference as well as Morris County tournaments in athletics. Additionally, students compete in the academic arena in the Academic Decathlon, Academic Bowl, Math League, Science Leagues, Debate Team, as well as other academic competitions. The high school has active chapters of the National Honor Society, Student Council, FEA, Red Cross, FBLA, and DECA. Extraordinary Instrumental and Choral Musical programs are an integral part of the success of the Jefferson Township High School program.
Dr. Timothy Plotts
tplotts@jefftwp.org
973-697-3535
June 11, 2019
The Jefferson Township High School Community hosted our first ever Armed Forces Student Acknowledgement Day on June 11, 2019. Principal, Dr. Timothy Plotts, led the ceremony and first congratulated and thanked our two students, Colleen Kuntz, who will be attending The United States Air Force, and Jared Malley, who will be attending The United States Navy, for their service. The students then had a moment to share a few words about what branch of service they would be attending and what their future military career plans are.
Members present at the Armed Forces Student Acknowledgement Day signing included the student’s parents, school administration, the guidance department, members of the teaching faculty, friends, and a representative from both the United States Navy and the United States Air Force. Each student was presented with a certificate acknowledging their intent to serve and thanking them for their commitment to the United States.
The ceremony ended after many pictures were taken of both Colleen and Jared with their military representatives, parents, family, and friends. A big thank you to everyone who participated and made the first ever Armed Forces Student Acknowledgement Day a success.
May 29, 2019
Subject: U.S. News & World Report’s Rankings: 2019
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Jefferson Township High School was recently named one of the best high schools in the country by U.S News and World Report. The school was ranked 145​th​ in New Jersey out of 438 high schools or in the top 33%. In the nation, Jefferson Township High School ranked number 3,908 out of 17,245 school districts in the rankings or in the top 22%. The scoring criteria included college readiness, the percentage of students completing AP courses (36%), the graduation rate (95.2%), and the percentage of students proficient in reading and math.
In recent years, Jefferson Township High School has been recognized by the College Board for the terrific AP scores and the participation rate of its students. The 2019 Best Schools Niche Report said “​Jefferson Township High School is an above average, public school located in Oak Ridge, NJ.” The Niche Report gave Jefferson Township High School a “B” ranking​. The ​Niche Report ranks nearly 100,000 schools and districts based on statistics and millions of opinions from students and parents.
123 of 591
191 of 400
215 of 411
There are many reasons for these improvements, but it all starts with great students and great teaching. The district offers so many opportunities for students to be able to get involved in the total school program and participate in areas of high interest to them. This is what fosters a great learning environment. The fact that Jefferson Township High School ranked so well among 35,035 teachers and 430,768 students is a testament to the total team approach that is applied from the administration, to the teachers, and ultimately the students.
We thank everyone for their hard work, and look forward to continued success!!!
Best regards,
Tim Plotts, Ed. D.
Principal
Jefferson Township High School
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