John P. Stevens High School: A Comprehensive Overview

Introduction

John P. Stevens High School (JPS), located in Edison Township, New Jersey, stands as one of the two comprehensive high schools within the Edison Township Public Schools District. Named in honor of John Peters Stevens Jr., a prominent figure in the textile industry and a dedicated member of the district's board of education, JPS has a rich history and a strong commitment to academic excellence and extracurricular involvement. This article delves into various aspects of John P. Stevens High School, including its rankings, student demographics, academic performance, extracurricular activities, and more.

General Information

John P. Stevens High School is located in the Oak Tree neighborhood of Edison Township and has expanded rapidly as the northern part of Edison grew, including residents from the Stephenville and New Dover communities. The school serves students in grades 9-12. As of the 2024-25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,687 students and 167.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 16.0:1.

Naming and History

John P. Stevens High School was named after New Jersey textile giant John Peters Stevens Jr., who served on the district's board of education for nearly two decades (1940-1959). He was also the President of J.P. Stevens & Co., a major textile firm founded in 1813, now part of WestPoint Home. The decision to name the school after him was made in January 1964. Originally, JPS was a senior high school, serving grades 10 through 12.

Rankings and Recognition

John P. Stevens High School consistently receives high rankings from various national and state publications. These rankings reflect the school's strong academic performance, college readiness, and graduation rate.

National and State Rankings

John P. Stevens High School is ranked #439 in the National Rankings. Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation and how well they prepare students for college. In New Jersey, John P. Stevens High School is ranked #22 among all high schools. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks JPS among the top high schools in the nation.

Ranking Factors

The rankings are based on several factors, including:

College Readiness Index Rank: Measures how well the school prepares students for college. John P. Stevens High School's College Readiness Index Rank is #427 nationally and #26 statewide.
College Curriculum Breadth Index Rank: Assesses the breadth of the school's college curriculum. John P. Stevens High School's College Curriculum Breadth Index Rank is #249 nationally and #17 statewide.
State Assessment Proficiency Rank: Reflects the school's proficiency on state-required tests. John P. Stevens High School's State Assessment Proficiency Rank is #1,076 nationally and #25 statewide.
State Assessment Performance Rank: Measures the school's overall performance on state assessments. John P. Stevens High School's State Assessment Performance Rank is #1,768 nationally and #41 statewide.
Graduation Rate Rank: Indicates the school's graduation rate. John P. Stevens High School's Graduation Rate Rank is #4,808 (tie) nationally and #142 (tie) statewide.

Student Demographics

The student body at John P. Stevens High School is diverse, representing a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

Enrollment and Demographics

The school serves students in grades 9-12. The student population as of 2024-2025 is 2,687. 14% of the student population is considered economically disadvantaged, with 11% participating in the free lunch program and 3% in the reduced-price lunch program.

Academic Performance

John P. Stevens High School is known for its strong academic performance. Students consistently score well on state-required tests and college entrance exams.

Test Scores

Students at John P. Stevens High School demonstrate high proficiency in mathematics and reading. New Jersey administered the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments to high school students. The school's performance on these assessments consistently exceeds state expectations.

College-Ready Student Performance

John P. Stevens High School emphasizes college readiness, encouraging students to take AP® exams and IB exams to earn college credit and demonstrate success at college-level coursework.

Proportion of 12th Grade Class Who Took an Exam: 71%
Proportion of 12th Grade Class Who Scored 3+ on an Exam: 65%
Exam Takers in 12th Grade Class Who Scored 3+ on an Exam: 92%

Graduation Rate

John P. Stevens High School has a high graduation rate of 96%, somewhat above the state median.

Faculty and Staff

The faculty population of J.P. Stevens High School in 2022 is around 185 teachers, 5 administrators, 10 counselors, 2 college counselors, PATH Counselors, and a special services team. The student to faculty ratio is 13 to 1.

Curriculum and Programs

John P. Stevens High School offers a comprehensive curriculum that includes a wide range of courses and programs designed to meet the diverse needs of its students.

Advanced Placement (AP) Courses

For the 2021-22 school year, the school offered 32 AP courses, with 59.8% of students taking at least one AP exam (more than double the statewide average of 28.4%), and 79.4% of participants receiving a passing AP score (of 3 or above). The AP participation rate at John P. Stevens High School is significant.

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Graduation Requirements

To graduate from John P. Stevens High School, students must complete a set of requirements that includes courses in mathematics, science, English, social studies (including U.S. History and one of world), and at least two years of a foreign language (including Latin, French, Spanish, and starting the 2008-09 school year, Hindi). In 2012, Mandarin and Italian were also added. In addition, health and physical education classes are required for every year in which a student attends J.P. Stevens. Starting with the Class of 2008, one year of "21st Century Life and Economics/ Financial Literacy" such as Foods or Technology Fundamentals is required as well as another year of the "Visual Performing Arts" such Chorus, Band or Visual Arts.

Extracurricular Activities

John P. Stevens High School offers a wide array of extracurricular activities, providing students with opportunities to explore their interests, develop their talents, and connect with their peers. The school also offers 54 student clubs, 25 varsity sports, a choir, band, and orchestra.

Robotics

Team 2554, The Warhawks, is a FIRST Robotics Competition team that started in the 2007-2008 school year at John P. Stevens High School. The team consists of two major sub-teams: Operations and Build; the Operations sub-team is responsible for bringing in the money to maintain tools and buy parts for the robot, which is done through sponsorships from other companies and local fundraising events, along with automating tasks to expedite organization of the Build sub-team while managing the social media presence of Team 2554. The build team is responsible for building the competition robot. As a part of FRC, the team competes in 2 district events in the First Mid-Atlantic Region, competing against other teams in the region.

Model United Nations

The Model United Nations club, JPSMUN, has performed well for years, and has consistently ranked among the top 10 high schools in America. It has earned the special distinction as being the only public high school on the list. The team has received Outstanding Large Delegation and Best Small Delegation awards, as well as a few prestigious Best Large Delegation awards. These include that of HMUN 2012 and RUMUN 2016. Recently, the team has also won Outstanding Large Delegations awards at WAMUNC & VAMUN 2017, and also ILMUNC 2018. In January 2022, the team won the Best Large Delegation award at ILMUNC for the first time in its history. In February 2022, the team won the Outstanding Large Delegation award at NAIMUN. The team hosts three in-house conferences for the purposes of competition and training each year. The team is well recognized and decorated across the circuit.

Quiz Bowl

The Quiz Bowl team, STARS (now JPS Quiz Bowl) has been successful. The team has made Top 16 of 68 in the Bridgewater-Raritan Invitational Tournament of Excellence (BRITE) three times in a row and once was a quarter-finalist. In 2009, for the first time, the STARS were named Champions in BRITE and placed 30th out of 119 at Questions Unlimited's National Academic Championship. It has qualified for nationals thrice. It competes in Tri-State area events and has branched out to other competitions, namely History Bowl, in which it placed 51st in 2018, and 24th in 2019. In 2021, JPS Quiz Bowl tied for 31st place at HSNCT nationals, with the B team having tied for 49th place and the History Bowl team having placed 21st.

Music Programs

The J.P. Stevens High School band program has approximately 200 students participating in several ensembles, including a marching band, jazz ensemble, and wind ensemble. The program enjoys the majority of its success with its wind bands and jazz ensembles. Its wind ensemble is a perennial participant at the New Jersey Concert Band Gala and Mid-Atlantic Honors Wind Band Festival, and has performed as a featured band at Music for All's National Concert Band Festival twice, in 2015 and 2023. In 2017, JPS Chamber Choir and A cappella Ensemble both participated in the Interkultur Sing 'N'Joy Princeton International Choir Competition. A cappella Ensemble was named Category Winner for the Sacred Music Category and Chamber Choir was named Category Winner in the Mixed Choir level 1 Category. Chamber Choir was also the Grand Prize Winner, with an endowed prize of US$2000. The John P. Stevens orchestra program has over one hundred members. Each year, a number of students audition and are selected to participate in both CJMEA Regions II and All-State Orchestra. The J.P. Stevens High School Orchestra Program consists of three orchestras, including a number of string quartets. Chamber Orchestra includes up to 35 students who are selected by audition and perform standard orchestral literature. Concert Orchestra has more than 60 students and Symphonic Orchestra over 80 students.

Theatre Company

The John P. Stevens award-winning theatre company has been an ongoing program in the school for many years now. Since the foundation of the company, several Broadway and off-Broadway shows have been performed; some notable include: Grease, Into the Woods, Pippin, The Wiz, Leader of the Pack and Urinetown: The Musical. The theatre company's production of Urinetown garnered several honorable mentions and nominations by the NJ Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards. Other productions by the company from the past include Macbeth, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and Working among others. The theatre company put on a production of Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's Inherit the Wind in November 2007. The company put on perhaps their most successful and lauded show ever: the Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in April 2008. Since then, they have put on The Odyssey, Tommy, The Crucible, and Jekyll & Hyde. In the fall of 2010, the company performed the play, Metamorphoses. In 2011, the company performed the rock opera hit Rent and Our Town. In 2019, their musical was Chicago: The Musical and their Fall Play was A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the fall of 2019, their fall play was Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play. Their musical for the 2020 school year was The Addams Family, but the production was cut to two show nights due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, due to the pandemic, the company did not have a formal fall show, but opted to present a series of online one-acts under the title of "Virtuality." In spring 2021, the company's spring musical was The Theory of Relativity, a musical about the importance of relationships and connectivity, teaching lessons that everyone needed to hear amidst a global pandemic. The fall play for the 2021-22 school year was Almost, Maine by John Cariani, and the musical was Mamma Mia!. In the 2022-2023 school year, the company's fall play was a rerun of Our Town, with the spring musical being a rerun of Grease.

Greenhouse

The John P. Stevens Greenhouse was founded in September 2014 by the school's environmental science teacher. The 30 by 60 feet (9.1 by 18.3 m) greenhouse is used to a variety of organic foods each season and is entirely run by students, and their two advisors. All produce grown is sold at the farm stand in front of the school during select hours of the day or is donated to local food banks.

Athletics

The school participates together with Metuchen High School in a joint ice hockey team in which Edison High School is the host school / lead agency.

Notable Alumni

John P. Stevens High School has produced numerous successful alumni who have made significant contributions in various fields.

Entrepreneurs

In 2015, CNN featured J.P. Stevens High School for its successful alumni, including the co-founders of Boxed, Blue Apron, and Nature Box -- three startups with a combined valuation of more than $2 billion.

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