MISSION STATEMENT

Red Bank Regional High School is a comprehensive secondary school that offers a wide array of academic and extra-curricular program offerings for the student body which numbers 1200. The constituent sending districts include Little Silver, Red Bank Borough and Shrewsbury. The district also accepts students on a tuition basis who may be interested in one of three specialized academies of studies.

Most unique about the high school is its academies of special studies such as the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, Academy of Information Technology, and Academy of Finance. Other unique program offerings include the Pre-Engineering Program (Project Lead the Way) and a CISCO certification program.

Committed to preparing its students to demonstrate proficiency in the state Core Curricular Standards, the district has engaged in an ambitious and continuous process of curricular alignment with the standards. Also committed to professional development for the faculty, the district has provided professional development to over 70% of the teaching staff in the areas of "differentiated instruction," teaching to multiple intelligences, student assessment methodology and the effective use of technology in classroom instruction.

The administration embraces the concept of shared decision making and continually involves parents, students, faculty and staff in research, planning and decision making. All of the district stakeholders have been polled in comprehensive commercially prepared surveys related to the school's organization, day-to-day operations, curriculum, policies, procedures, facilities and resources.

Students benefit from both a peer and faculty mentoring program as well as a summer enrichment program for incoming freshmen, focusing on the skills necessary for academic success.

Among the new initiatives the district is pursuing is the investigation of implementing a re-organized school day schedule, raising expectations for 9th and 10th grade English and mathematics students by improving instructional strategies and scheduling strategies and seeing to completion an ambitious building renovation to accommodate the thriving Visual and Performing Arts Program and the emerging technology academies.

SUPERINTENDENT'S NARRATIVE

The mission of Red Bank Regional High School is to ensure the academic success and personal growth of all students while developing a passion for learning. This statement which was drafted seven years ago with the participation of all stakeholders (parents, students, staff and community members) is as relevant today as it has been in the past. Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, every subgroup population at RBR is measured against standards established by the Department of Education. There are a total of 41 indicators under NCLB that schools must meet to achieve what is called Annual Yearly Progress. That means that Hispanic students, Black students, special education students, English Language Learners, and economically disadvantaged students must all achieve the State benchmark in language arts and math. It also means that RBR’s graduation rate, dropout rate and attendance rate must meet the targets established by the State.

The Board of Education, staff and administration at RBR have been working very hard to achieve these rigorous and ever increasing standards. We have increased the rigor of our courses (adding numerous AP and honors offerings), recruited dynamic, well-educated teachers, provided excellent support with programs like The Source and our guidance department, extended our academy offerings, created new summer programs to better prepare students for academic challenges, and provided better transition to high school with the implementation of a Freshman Academy.

Thanks to excellent community and parent support, we have passed budgets, raised extra funding through our active foundations, expanded parental participation and volunteerism and have been able to update the facility and expand the use of technology.

This past year, 70% of our AP students scored three or better on this year’s AP exams. Our drop out rate has been substantially reduced, our attendance rate is up and student discipline offenses reduced. Most notably, the Department of Education this year notified the school that our improved scores on last March’s HSPA resulted in the schools having achieved Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). The school is now considered to be “On Hold” under NCLB.

RBR has much reason to be proud, but our efforts will continue as we look to other initiatives to raise student achievement and attract students to our highly diverse school.