September 2019
WELCOME BACK!
As the Principal of Allentown High School my primary focus is student learning. All students must be prepared to be successful in 21st century careers – many of which do not even exist yet. Students must know how to think, to problem solve, to innovate and to collaborate. There is no longer a single pathway to that end, but whatever paths our students choose must be steeped with rigor, relevance and relationships. In all their courses, students must be challenged beyond their comfort zones and encouraged to think critically and creatively. Students must be provided with authentic learning experiences, and they must be connected to adults who truly care.
Students need to interact with adults who help them to plan their futures and who model appropriate civic and social behaviors. As the adults in their lives, we must provide guidance in the development of character. We must help students act with compassion, accept responsibility and chose to do the right thing. Citizenship and service to others are tenets stressed in our high school, and I hope to expand these by encouraging our students to give back to the community that gives so much to them.
We continually seek to improve communication within the high school and with parents and the community. I ask parents to become active partners with us in the education and development of our students. Parents are invited to join the Principal’s Parent Advisory Council to discuss issues related to the high school and to develop programs and opportunities for our students. The dates and times are posted on the website. I also welcome parents to volunteer and to share their expertise with us.
Most of our communication will be through our web-site, the RealTime parent portal, the School Messenger system, and e-mail. You can also follow me on Twitter: Connie Embley @AllentownHS for school news, events and pictures and/or sign up for my Parent Remind by texting @msembley to 81010. Please be sure your son/daughter’s teachers and the office have your e-mail address. If you want to receive information through the mail instead of electronically, please call the office and we will place you on our mailing list.
Allentown High School is continually being ranked among the top high schools in our county, State and Nation. Newsweek Magazine rated the top high schools in the country based on the following criteria: enrollment rate, graduation rate, weighted AP enrollment and scores, weighted SAT/ACT scores, dropout rate and student to teacher ratio. I am proud to announce that Allentown High School was in the top 500 high schools in the country. We were # 226 of 6,477 schools they rated. There are almost 16,000 public high schools in the country. We are notable for our outstanding teachers and strong learning community. Recently we were ranked by Niche.com as the #2 school in Monmouth County and # 663 out of 10,782 schools nationally, putting us in the top percentile for high achieving schools. Our 2019 AP scores were great. 87% of the students who took an AP exam scored a 3.6 or higher, making them eligible for college credit. This percentage is above the State and National averages.
Allentown High School is a dynamic learning community that strives to meet the needs of our students through a comprehensive program that challenges all students to achieve. Some important facts and information about the high school include:
- We are pleased to welcome the following new staff:Justin Sauer, Guidance Counselor; Jacqueline Ward, Guidance Counselor; Karen Finnegan,Librarian;Adam Stokes, Latin teacher; Brian Keough , Special Education teacher, Kristen Graham, Special Education teacher;Melody Appel, Guidance Secretary;Alisha Dumont , Special Education teacher;Ryan Gogol, Italian teacher;Tom Daly, Special Education teacher
- The teachers at Allentown High School took part in a book study over the summer of 2019.They read one or more of these eight books:
1. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
2. The Wild Card: 7 Steps to an Educator’s Creative Breakthrough
3. Grit: The Power of Passion & Perseverance
4. The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching
5. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
6. Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life Changing Friendship
7. Workshopping the Cannon
8. What Made Maddie Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All American Teen
- We are in partnership with Princeton University to offer courses for our students who have completed all the high school courses in Math, World Language and Science.
- Allentown High School has five Choice Academies:Tomorrow’s Teachers, Fine and Performing Arts, Political and International Affairs Honors Program, Agricultural Sciences and our Engineering Academy.
- We offer our students 29 honors level courses and 20 Advanced Placement courses.
- As we strive to infuse technology in education, we have seven computer labs and ten wireless labs for student instruction and use.All students will receive their own Chrome books.
- 95 % of our 2019 graduates planned to continue their education at a two or four year college.
- Our 2019 graduates received over 6 million dollars in scholarships.
- We offer over forty clubs and activities for student participation.
- Academic integrity is the foundation of all scholarship; we have a Student Honor Code which all students are required to uphold.
- During the summer of 2019, we conducted five summer programs:College Application Process Made Easy, SAT Language Arts Prep and SAT Math Prep, Study Skills and for credit, Financial Literacy.All five programs were very well attended.
- Our Student Council was selected as the 2019 top Student Council in NJ; for over twenty years they have received this recognition.
- We have the high school version of the Olweus Anti-Bullying Program.
- The high school’s TV studio provides a daily live broadcast of the school’s announcements via classroom TV’s.
- We offer our students help from certified teachers after school in the Math Lab, Homework Lab and the library, and during the school day in the Writing Clinic.
To ensure academic excellence and an educational system that prepares students for the future, we must consider the most important aspects of education: innovation, individualization, sustainable change, sound educational research, challenging instructional methodology, and shared decision making at all levels.
If you ever have any questions or would like to meet with me, please call the office. I look forward to a successful 2019 - 2020 school year.
Constance DeNicola Embley
Principal