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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Bloomfield Tech High School

Bloomfield Tech High School (also Essex County Bloomfield Tech or Bloomfield Tech) is a regional public high school located in Bloomfield, that offered occupational and academic instruction for students in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, as part of the Essex County Vocational Technical Schools. The school was also home to the first Green Energy Academy in a high school setting, which opened in 2009. The district offered adult programs in the evening at Bloomfield Tech.

As of the 2016-17 school year, the school had an enrollment of 483 students and 40.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.9:1. There were 296 students (61.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 86 (17.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

At the end of the 2017-18 school year, Bloomfield Tech High School closed along with North 13th Street Tech and has been replaced by the newly constructed Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology in Newark. The students and staff of West Caldwell Tech used the former Bloomfield Tech facility while the West Caldwell school building was being renovated. Officials celebrated the official reopening of the renovated West Caldwell Tech with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October 2021.

Bloomfield Tech High School was transferred from Essex County Vocational Technical Schools to Essex County in June 2023 after approval by the Essex County Vocational Technical Schools Board of Education during their March 13, 2023 meeting. The building was transferred for $100. (link: https://www.essextech.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/1003/2023/04/Agenda-3-13-23.pdf)

The Township of Bloomfield Town Council, during their October 2023 Council meeting, voted unanimously to purchase the property from Essex County for $10 Million. (link: http://bloomfieldtownnj.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=12&ID=1395&Inline=True)

Awards, recognition and rankings

In 2015, Bloomfield Tech was one of 15 schools in New Jersey, and one of nine public schools, recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in the exemplary high performing category by the United States Department of Education.

During the 2009–10 school year, Bloomfield Tech High School was also awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 102nd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 58 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (83.9%) and language arts literacy (99.1%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

Athletics

The Bloomfield Tech Spartans compete in the Super Essex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Essex County and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 400 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North II, Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 73 to 481 students in that grade range.

The girls basketball team won the Group I state championship in 2004 (against runner-up Riverside High School in the playoff finals), 2005 (vs. Salem High School), 2006 (vs. Salem) and 2009 (vs. Gloucester City High School). The three consecutive state titles from 2004 to 2006 are tied for the seventh-longest streak in state history. In 2004, the girls' basketball team took the North II, Group I sectional title with a 70-44 win against Belvidere High School and went on to win the Group I state title with a 71-59 win against Riverside in the championship game played at the Ritacco Center. The team repeated as winner of the North II Group I title in 2005 with a 58-46 win against University High School.

The boys basketball team won the Group I state championship in 2003 (defeating Paulsboro High School in the tournament finals), 2004 (vs. Burlington City High School), 2006 (vs. LEAP Academy University Charter School) and 2007 (vs. Create Charter High School). After trailing by as many as 15 points, the team won the 2013 Group I title against Paulsboro by a 61-59 score in the playoff finals, with the winning basket coming as a buzzer beater to earn the program's first state championship. The team won the 2007 North II, Group I state sectional championship with a 78-74 win over Science Park High School. The team won the 2007 Group I state championship with a 73-59 win over Create Charter High School.

The boys and girls' basketball teams both won their respective Group I state championships in 2006, the boys defeating LEAP Academy University Charter School of Camden, 73-51, and the girls topping Salem High School.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:

  • Ayisha Ingram-Robinson – Principal

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ School data for Bloomfield Tech, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed July 22, 2019.
  2. ^ Essex County Vocational-Technical Bloomfield Archived April 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed March 19, 2015.
  3. ^ Check out new $165M tech school, NJ.com. Accessed September 20, 2018.
  4. ^ "County cuts ribbon on new West Caldwell School of Technology", Essex News Daily, October 16, 2021. Accessed October 5, 2023. "A ceremonial ribbon was cut Thursday, Oct. 14, on the Essex County West Caldwell School of Technology, which received a $30 million makeover that included a new two-story addition and a complete renovation of the existing school building."
  5. ^ 2015 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed November 14, 2016.
  6. ^ Mueller, Mark. "Which N.J. schools were named National Blue Ribbon schools?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 29, 2015. Accessed November 14, 2016. "Fifteen New Jersey schools have been recognized by the federal government as National Blue Ribbon Schools, a designation that celebrates excellence in academics or progress in closing the achievement gap among groups of students.... Each of the 15 New Jersey schools was chosen for the 'exemplary high performing' category, which weighs state or national tests, high school graduation rates and the performance of subgroups of students, such as those who are economically disadvantaged."
  7. ^ 2009 Blue Ribbon Schools: All Public and Private Schools, United States Department of Education. Accessed October 29, 2009.
  8. ^ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 3, 2012.
  9. ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  10. ^ General Public School Classifications 2015-2016 Archived February 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of December 15, 2015. Accessed December 12, 2016.
  11. ^ Girls Basketball Championship History: 1919–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated March 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  12. ^ Bevensee, Rich. "Bloomfield Tech rolls by Belvidere for championship", The Star-Ledger, March 9, 2004. Accessed August 2, 2007. "Victoria Sykes led four players in double figures with 13 points and Bloomfield Tech converted 23 fast-break points off 31 turnovers en route to a 70-44 victory in the NJSIAA/ShopRite North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 tournament championship game in Rahway."
  13. ^ 2004 Girls Basketball - North II, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 2, 2007.
  14. ^ McCann, Sean. "Riverside's run at state title comes to decisive stop", Courier-Post, March 15, 2004. Accessed March 4, 2021. "But Riverside High School senior Sabra Wrice left the Ritacco Center at Toms River North with tears in her eyes, cradling her 2,000-point basketball, wishing she could trade it in for a state championship. The South Jersey champion Rams bowed to Bloomfield Tech 71-59 in the Group 1 state final Sunday afternoon, ending Wrice's career and a pledge that began in obscurity months ago."
  15. ^ 2005 Girls Basketball - North II, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 31, 2007.
  16. ^ History of NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  17. ^ "Boys Roundup", Asbury Park Press, March 17, 2013. Accessed November 23, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Courtney Nelson went coast to-coast with six seconds remaining and scored on a floating bank shot in the lane at the buzzer as Bloomfield Tech came from behind to earn a 61-59 victory over Paulsboro in the NJSIAA Group 1 Boys Basketball Championship yesterday at the Louis Brown Athletic Center at Rutgers University. Nelson finished with 28 points as Bloomfield Tech (22-4) won its first state group title despite trailing by 15 points with 6:51 left in the third quarter."
  18. ^ 2007 Boys Basketball - North II, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 25, 2007.
  19. ^ 2007 Boys Basketball - Public Group Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 29, 2007.
  20. ^ "Double the pleasure", The Record, March 13, 2006. Accessed July 12, 2007. "Bloomfield Tech won the boys and girls State Group 1 basketball titles Sunday."
  21. ^ Administration Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Essex County Vocational Technical Schools. Accessed September 24, 2015.
  22. ^ "West Virginia 81, Seton Hall 70", Sporting News, February 3, 2007. Accessed November 14, 2007. "'It was definitely special coming back to see my family and just to play against the teams we were playing,' said Butler, a former Bloomfield Tech player who came into the game averaging 9.5 points."
  23. ^ Behre, Bob. "Bloomfield Tech's Santiago called up by White Sox", The Star-Ledger, June 28, 2011. Accessed July 31, 2013. "Left-handed pitcher Hector Santiago, a 2006 Bloomfield Tech grad, was summoned by the Chicago White Sox from the Double-A Birmingham Barons yesterday to report today (Tuesday) to the big club."
  24. ^ Staff. "Former Blackbird Herb Scherer Passes Away" Archived March 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, July 3, 2012. Accessed July 29, 2012. "Herb was born on December 21, 1928, at home in Maplewood, New Jersey. He attended Bloomfield Technical High School and Long Island University where he graduated in 1950 with a BS degree in physical education. A college basketball star, Herb was on the starting five of the nationally ranked LIU Blackbirds. Herb was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1950 where he played from 1951–1952. He married Mary Buist on June 9, 1951 and they settled in Parsippany, New Jersey for the next thirty years in the home he built for them."