Bergen County Academies

Bergen County Technical School
Bergen County Academies
Dr. John Grieco Campus
Location
Bergen County Technical School
Bergen County Academies
Dr. John Grieco Campus
Bergen County Technical School
Bergen County Academies
Dr. John Grieco Campus
Bergen County Technical School
Bergen County Academies
Dr. John Grieco Campus
200 Hackensack Avenue
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Information
Type Public magnet high school
Established 1991
School district Bergen County Technical Schools
Principal Russell Davis
Vice principal Raymond Bath
Faculty 90.4 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,060[1] (as of 2013-14)
Student to teacher ratio 11.7:1[1]
Color(s)      Black
     Vegas Gold and
     White[2]
Athletics conference Big North Conference
Team name Knights[2]
Website School website

The Bergen County Academies (BCA), commonly referred to as the Academies due to its seven academic and professional divisions, is a tuition-free public magnet high school located in Hackensack, New Jersey that serves students in the ninth through twelfth grades from Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.[3]

Admission to the Academies is highly competitive, as the school typically accepts about 270 of the more than 1,600 applicants every year (~16% admissions rate) through a process that includes letters of recommendation, exams, and interviews.[4] BCA is considered the most rigorous of the three Bergen County Technical Schools. Founded in 1991, BCA has been included as one of the 23 highest performing high schools in the United States by The Washington Post [5][6] and in 2015 was ranked by Newsweek as the #5 public high school in America.[7] In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 11th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked fourth among all high schools in New Jersey.[8]

BCA is often excluded from national high school rankings because "despite their exceptional quality, their admission rules and standardized test scores indicate they have few or no average students."[9]

BCA is a Blue Ribbon School, a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology, admitted to the Coalition of Essential Schools, home to five Intel Science Talent Search finalists in the past five years, and a Model School in the Arts as named by the New Jersey Department of Education.[4]

63.5% of the Class of 2015 will be National Merit Scholars, Finalists, Semifinalists, or Commended students, who are at least the top 5% in the State of New Jersey based on PSAT scores and at best the top 0.5% of the United States based on PSAT scores, academic record, recommendations, and essays.

As of the 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,060 students and 90.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1. There were 25 students (2.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 19 students (1.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

BCA's strengths are in its academics, extracurricular activities, and notable faculty, many of whom hold doctorates in their respective fields.[10] While offering some 16 AP courses, BCA does not focus on them. Led by a faculty of which 20% hold PhDs, students at BCA enjoy courses that often surpass AP courses in technical rigor and creativity, such as Series Hybrids & Electric Vehicles, Civil Engineering & Architecture, Cybersecurity, Digital Electronics, Optics & Lasers, Arduino Microcontroller, Modern Optical Physics, Advanced Problems in Music Theory & Technology, Comparative Asian Cultures, Microscopy, Forensic Science, Biopsychology, Foundations of Nanotechnology, Interactive Design, Robotics, Stagecraft, Medical Microbiology, BioEngineering, Markets & Trading, Zoology, Acting Methods, Bioethics, Java, Python, Anatomy & Physiology, Organic Chemistry, Macroeconomics & International Economics, Advanced Business Topics, Entrepreneurship, and Culinology.

Awards and distinctions

In 2015, Bergen County Academies 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.[11][12]

Newsweek ranked BCA fifth out of the top 500 public schools in America in 2015 and fourth in New Jersey.[13] U.S. News and World Report, employing a different methodology that stratified state-relative performance of socioeconomically disadvantaged students in its calculations,[14] ranked BCA 119th out of all high schools in the United States in 2015, and eighth in New Jersey.[15]

Inside Jersey magazine ranked BCA first in its 2014 ranking of New Jersey's Top Performing High Schools. In 2014, BCA had an average HSPA score of 297 out of 300 and an average SAT score of 2103 out of 2400.[16] Also in 2014, The Daily Beast ranked BCA 15th in the nation among over 700 magnet and charter schools nationwide, second in the 25 Best High Schools in the Northeast, and highest among schools in New Jersey.[17] The Washington Post listed BCA as one of 23 top performing schools with elite students intentionally excluded from its 2014 list of America's Most Challenging High Schools "because, despite their exceptional quality, their admission rules and standardized test scores indicate they have few or no average students".[9]

63.5% of the Class of 2015 will be National Merit Scholars, Finalists, Semifinalists, or Commended students. In the Class of 2015, 165 of 255 students qualified for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program from the state of New Jersey, where the cutoff score is the highest in the nation, at 224 out of 240.[18] Of those who qualified, 124 are qualified to be National Commended Scholars (scorers in the top 5%) and 36 are qualified to be National Merit Semifinalists (scorers in the top 0.5%).[19][20]

Other accolades include:[4]

Historical awards or distinctions (1997-2013)

Year Award or Distinction
2013 U.S. News & World Report recognized BCA as the 34th best high school in the United States and the 3rd best high school in New Jersey,[21]
2013 Newsweek ranked BCA 26th out of the 2,000 best public high schools in the nation.[22]
2012 The Daily Beast ranked BCA 21st in the nation among participating public high schools and 3rd best in the northeast.[23]
2012 An entire chapter is devoted to BCA in Exam Schools: Inside America's Most Selective Public High Schools, which was published by Princeton University Press in 2012.[24]
2011 Newsweek reported Bergen County Academies students registered an average SAT score of 2100,[25] the second highest of any U.S. high school.
2011 Overall, Newsweek ranked BCA 23rd nationally and second in New Jersey.[25]
2011 Schooldigger.com ranked the school as one of 16 schools tied for first out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an improvement of 10 positions from the 2010 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy (100.0%) and mathematics (100.0%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[26]
2009 Bloomberg Businessweek named Bergen County Academies as New Jersey's best high school for overall academics.[27]
2009 Bloomberg Businessweek also featured BCA's nanotechnology lab and wealth of interdisciplinary offerings that do not just stop at STEM-related disciplines.[28]
2008 Bergen County Academies was recognized by Newsweek magazine in its May 17, 2008 issue covering America's Best High Schools, as one of its Public Elites, a group of consistent high performers excluded from its rankings because of the number of students with SAT (or ACT) scores well above the national average.[29]
2007 Bergen County Academies was recognized as one of six national Intel Schools of Distinction for excellence as one of the nation's top schools for mathematics. The program recognizes one school for math and one for science in each of three school ranges (elementary, middle and high school).[30]
2007 Daniel Jaye, who left Stuyvesant High School after 35 years to become the principal at Bergen County Academies, said BCA "offers a lot more to students" than Stuyvesant does.[31]
2007 Bergen County Academies was recognized by Newsweek magazine in its May 28, 2007 issue covering America's Best High Schools, as one of its Public Elites, a group of consistent high performers excluded from its rankings because of the number of students with SAT (or ACT) scores well above the national average.[32]
2006 For the 2006-07 school year, the Bergen County Academies was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.[33]
2006 The school was recognized as a "Public Elite", one of 22 such schools recognized nationwide in Newsweek magazine's listing of "America's Best High Schools" in the May 8, 2006 issue. Newsweek described the school as "Seven subschools specializing in everything from finance to visual arts".[34]
2005 In 2005-06, BCA averaged a 2015 combined SAT score, second-highest statewide.[35]
1997 For the 1997 - 1998 school year, AAST was cited by the New Jersey Department of Education as a Star School.[36]

Admissions and funding

Though it is a public school, the admission process is highly selective.[37] A math and English test, as well as an interview by a panel of teachers, is required for admission. The admissions rate has hovered around 16% of all applications from within Bergen County since the 2013-2014 academic year. BCA serves all 70 municipalities of Bergen County. Classes of 250 - 270 have been accepted from an applicant pool of 1,100 - 1,500, with the class of 2015 accepting 255 students out of an applicant pool of 1,500.[38] Limits are no longer held on the number of students that can be accepted from each district, with the limit being based on the size of the high school.

Tuition is free for residents of Bergen County and is paid for by the student's home school district, the State of New Jersey, and a number of public and private grants. Payments from sending districts are mandated by both state and county legislation affecting vocational and technical districts such as BCTS. For the 2006 - 2007 school year, districts paid annual tuition of $6,600 for each student.

Academics

BCA is divided into seven academic and professional divisions. Students apply to colleges and academic programs under their academy, rather than from BCA as a whole; BCA itself has no CEEB code. However, BCA is treated as a single high school within the district and the state.

The seven academies are often referred to by their single-word nicknames or acronyms.

Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology (Science | AAST)

AAST was founded on a charter school framework in 1992 with the mission of preparing students for careers in math and science by promoting a problem-solving, project-based, technical learning environment.[3] AAST has departed from this model and has since become a more standard magnet school. The roots of the program can be seen in its unique science curriculum, which emphasizes and integrates chemistry, biology, and physics, and its hallmark Wednesday lab rotation for the first two years. This academy celebrated ten years of excellence in 2006-07. Much of the AAST model, including the 6-mod project period on Wednesday, has been adopted by the other academies.

Academy for Business and Finance (Business | ABF)

Originally called the Academy for Business and Computer Technology (ABCT), ABF participates in the IB Diploma Programme[3] beginning in 11th grade. ABF is the only academy required to participate in the full IB Diploma Programme. Students in ABF take courses in economics, management, business law, Management Information Systems, business ethics, and the challenging IB curriculum.

Academy for Culinary Arts and Hotel Administration (Culinary | ACAHA)

Founded in 1997 and originally called the Academy for Culinary Arts (ACA), ACAHA represented a culinary vocational program that was reworked to give students a more academic focus. Originally grouped with APT and AVAGC as "career" academies, ACAHA was set apart from the college prep programs of AAST, ABF, AEDT and AMST. After being reorganized into academic, college-prep academies, the name changed to the present name in 2002 to reflect the change in emphasis and curriculum. Head instructor Mary Beth Brace has been recognized as Advisor of the Year for SkillsUSA and has received attention for devotion as a baking and culinary arts instructor. Chef John Branda, who worked in the food service industry for 30 years, was the saucier at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and co-owner of an upscale Fair Lawn, New Jersey restaurant.[39]

Academy for Engineering and Design Technology (Engineering | AEDT)

This academy's core curriculum is similar to that of AAST. The two programs share the same core courses, but AEDT directs students away from some of AAST's focus on biology in order to provide room for courses in electronics and design. The program encourages students to take part in several competitions such as "BattleBots IQ." Students in AEDT take the own engineering courses, like Digital Electronics, Principles of Engineering, Introduction to Engineering Design, and Electrical Engineering.

Academy for Medical Science Technology (Medical | AMST)

Students in AMST have more required biology courses, which include Medical Science Seminar, Biotechnology, Zoology, Cell Physiology, Bioethics, and two additional electives. Neuroscience is an optional senior year elective for AMST students.[40]

Academy for Technology and Computer Science (Compsci/Telecomm | ATCS)

ATCS has a primary focus in the world of computers and the Internet along with different types of engineering. Its students are well-prepared for careers as computer programmers, software engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, networking technicians, and other computer and engineering-related professions. The updated coursework focuses on the AP computer science curriculum and technologies such as mobile application development in current languages, as well as study material from engineering- and digital electronics-related studies. The academy is also the genesis of HACKBCA, the first ever high school hackathon drawing major corporate sponsorship and hundreds of high schools students in a 24-hour hacking event.

Academy for Visual and Performing Arts (Visual/Theater/Music | AVPA)

AVPA is unique for being subdivided into three divisions: Visual, which focuses on combining skill and passion into one cohesive movement; Music, where there are mandatory keyboarding and digital music classes, as well as a focused instrument; and Theatre, which stages all plays at the school and has resources similar to and sometimes better than Broadway plays. Depending on their focus, students in AVPA take classes in drawing, painting, printing, acting, and stagecraft, and music or music theory.[41]

Departments and programs

There are 18 academic departments at BCA: Biology, Business, Chemistry, Culinary Arts, Engineering, English, Health/PE, History, Journalism, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Studio Arts and Graphic Communications, Technology, Theater Arts, Senior Experience, Visual Arts, and World Languages. Aside from specific class and core requirements, all academies require four years of English, mathematics, and physical education; three years of social studies, science, and world language; and two years of technology and art/music.[3] All students take three years of projects and clubs, with clubs placed at the last three mods on Wednesday. (see the Scheduling section.) In addition, 40 hours of community service is required for graduation.[3]

While offering some 16 AP courses, BCA does not focus on them. This often hurts its placement in rankings with methodologies that place great weight on the test-driven, college level courses. BCA has traditionally given teachers great freedom in curriculum design to adequately engage the intellectual capacity of the student body. Courses thus often surpass AP courses in technical rigor and creativity, such as Series Hybrids & Electric Vehicles, Civil Engineering & Architecture, Cybersecurity, Digital Electronics, Optics & Lasers, Arduino Microcontroller, Modern Optical Physics, Advanced Problems in Music Theory & Technology, Comparative Asian Cultures, Microscopy, Forensic Science, Biopsychology, Foundations of Nanotechnology, Interactive Design, Robotics, Stagecraft, Medical Microbiology, BioEngineering, Markets & Trading, Zoology, Acting Methods, Bioethics, Java, Python, Anatomy & Physiology, Organic Chemistry, Macroeconomics & International Economics, Advanced Business Topics, Entrepreneurship, and Culinology.

BCA offers individual research opportunities that allow students to compete in science fairs on local to international levels. Seniors participate in Senior Experience,[42] a cooperative education or internship program through which seniors work and learn for the full business day each Wednesday instead of reporting to school.

BCA offers the Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programs. BCA was certified to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma in January 2004[43] and is one of only 16 schools in New Jersey to offer the IB program.[44]

Mathematics

Students in ABF who participate in the IB program have two years of Integrated Math and two years of IB Math. Students in other academies generally follow the in-house mathematics curriculum, which begins with algebra and continues to linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and beyond. This prepares the student for AP Statistics or a more common calculus sequence.

Students place into a course in the pre-calculus sequence and continue up, taking one course in each group. The full sequence requires six years; fewer than ten students from each graduating class reach Topics in Advanced Mathematics, the most advanced course designed for the exceptionally well-prepared student that covers material that is two years beyond the curriculum of BC Calculus. The material varies from year to year; currently, it covers a sweeping introduction to three cornerstones of Mathematics, namely, Linear Algebra, Abstract Algebra, and Real Analysis. Vector spaces, linear operators, groups, fields and rings, and the topological underpinnings of Calculus are also covered. Emphasis is placed on rigor and proof.

The Arts

Students of all academies participate in various studio and performing arts courses. The BCA Concert and Chamber Choirs have won excellent ratings and awards at local and national competitions under Dr. Patrick D. Finley. BCA also offers college-level courses in music theory, including AP Music Theory and Advanced Problems in Music Theory.[45] The instrumental performance program offers other features, including an opportunity for students to play with the North Jersey Philharmonic and the Guitar and Mandolin Society, the latter of which was founded by BCA's instrumental music director Michael Lemma.

The school features two studio art labs. Artwork produced by students have won awards in local, statewide, and national competitions. One of the studios is a visual arts lab equipped with compositing and printing equipment to train students in graphic communication and print media.[41]

The theatre arts department puts on plays and musicals each year in an auditorium seating 1200, sometimes rented to outside professional groups. The school has a restaurant-grade kitchen for teaching culinary arts, featuring the Academy Grill, which serves meals prepared by the school's culinary arts students. The Video Lab broadcasts inside the school, featuring workstations, professional cameras, and a bluescreen.

History

The school is considered the brainchild of John Grieco and began as a single academy, "The Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology" (AAST), which shared the current campus with the Bergen County Technical High School. AAST students were first inducted in 1992 for the graduating class of 1996.[3]

In 1997, additional academies opened on the campus: the Academy for Business and Computer Technology (ABCT), the Academy for Engineering Design Technology (AEDT), and the Academy for Medical Science Technology (AMST). The following year, three career institutes, renamed a year later to become academies: the Academy for Culinary Arts (ACA), the Academy for Power and Transportation (APT), and the Academy for Visual Arts and Graphic Communications (AVAGC). Soon, the seven programs were geared less towards career prep and more towards college prep, adopting a liberal arts curriculum with an extra focus on their respective fields.

In 2001, a dispute initiated by the Bergen County School Administrators' Association focused on what Paramus Superintendent Janice Dime called "elitism." Several of these districts threatened to withdraw funding from the program. The Bergen County Technical Schools agreed to increase the transparency of the admissions process and enter into talks with a number of sending districts.

In 2002, APT was eliminated. ABCT was split into the Academy for Business and Finance (ABF) and the Academy for Technology and Computer Science (ATCS), ACA added hotel administration to its coursework and became the Academy for Culinary Arts and Hotel Administration (ACAHA). AVAGC expanded its scope to include performing arts and became the Academy for Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA).[46] The school itself also changed its name numerous times, from "Bergen County Regional Academies" to "Bergen Academies", to "Bergen County Academy" and to the present "Bergen County Academies."

Started in 2004 to support the class of 2008, GLE was the newest program at the academies; its focus is the field of biotechnology and global leadership. It was initially designed to give its students the state high school requirements in two years, with International Baccalaureate courses being later added to the program. The GLE program existed only for the classes of 2008 and 2009.[3] Much of the GLE program's focus and goals are now being integrated into the Academy for Medical Science Technology.

Clubs and extracurricular programs

Model United Nations

BCA has a successful Model United Nations team. The Academies have an internationally awarded Model UN program which runs its own Model UN conference, called AMUN.[47] and the Academies Model United Nations Team, which has won Best Delegation at countless conferences, including those hosted by Yale, Princeton, GWU, MIT/BU, NYU, and many local conferences. Consequently, the BCA Model UN team has earned many individual delegate awards and recognitions.[48]

Debate

BCA has an extremely successful debate team. The school competes in both the Varsity and Junior Varsity levels of debate. The Academies' policy debate program finished first in Bergen County in 2005-2006, beating Tenafly High School and the Dwight-Englewood School. The Varsity Debate program at the Academies consistently ranks in the top 3 of the Bergen County Debate League (BCDL) annually.

Mock Trial

Recently, the Academies has begun to increase focus on its Mock Trial team. The team was undefeated for part of the 2011-2012 season and runs frequent practices to prepare for each trial.

JSA

BCA hosts an accomplished Junior State of America (JSA) chapter. It won Chapter of the Year for the Mid-Atlantic State in the 2011-2012 and 2014-2015 school years. It meets as a Wednesday club and also attends and hosts JSA conventions.

Math Team

The Math Team is open to all academies, but is known as "AAST Math Team" for historical and logistical reasons.

With over 150 students from grades 12 and below in participation, Math Team is the largest extracurricular team at the Academies. The late Joseph Holbrook, chair of the math department, was the team's coach from its founding until his January 2010 death. In line with the school's original philosophy, Holbrook created a model for mathematics education that was directed at solving non-standard problems, without concerning traditional time restraints and curricula. The coaches run problem-solving sessions on Saturdays and Sundays, which function as practice sessions for team members.[49] Students are encouraged to come to practices and participate with the team in high school math competitions.

The Math Team participates in competitions such as the AMCs, AIME, USAMO, Mandelbrot, Harvard–MIT Mathematics Tournament, and ARML. The team often ranks within the top ten in competitions it enters, competing against top magnet schools and state and regional teams.

In 2008, the team first place in Division B at the Princeton University Mathematics Competition, an annual competition attended routinely by the team. The school routinely has 10+ students rank qualifying for the USAMO (United States of America Mathematics Olympiad), with a student winning the competition in 2012.[50] The school captured first place at the 2009 ARML Local competition, another routine annual competition.

In 2015, student Ryan Alweiss competed on the American team at the International Math Olympiad, helping the US win the competition for the first time since 1994 with a 98th percentile score of 31.[51]

Quiz Bowl

BCA's Junior Varsity and Varsity Quiz bowl teams qualified to compete in the National History Bowl in 2013,[52] and several individuals competed in the National History Bee.[53][54] The Junior Varsity bowl team placed fifth in the finals.[55]

BattleBots

BCA's BattleBots IQ team, known as the Titanium Knights, won the 2006 national heavyweight championship in the high school division with the robot E2V2,[56] and won two other awards for another 120 lb robot, Knightrous. In previous years, the team has won second, third, and fourth place titles in BBIQ, and affiliated student teams have won numerous awards in Northeast Robotics Club events.

Amnesty International

BCA is also home to a large Amnesty International student group that leads school wide activities and events, and attends local, regional, and national conferences on human rights.[57]

National competitions

BCA students participate in many other competitions nationwide, such as DECA, SkillsUSA, FBLA-PBL, and Health Occupations Students of America.

Sports

BCA shares its sports program with the Bergen County Technical High Schools in Teterboro and Paramus. The boys' teams, called the Bergen Tech Knights, and the girls' teams, the Bergen Tech Lady Knights,[2] compete in the Big North Conference, following a reorganization of the Northern New Jersey sports leagues by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[58] In the 2009-10 school year, the school competed in the North Jersey Tri-County Conference, which was established on an interim basis to facilitate the realignment.[59] Before the realignment, Bergen Tech had been placed in the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) at the start of the Fall 2006 athletic season. With 1,605 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as North I, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,108 to 2,479 students in that grade range.[60]

Numerous sports are offered for boys and girls, including basketball, bowling, golf, lacrosse, soccer, track, tennis, and volleyball. For boys, offerings also include football and wrestling. as of the 2008-09 school year, wrestling was discontinued. For girls the program softball. During the 2007-08 school year, a varsity fencing team was initiated by parents along with the Athletic Department. As of 2009, BCA has a Varsity and Junior Varsity Fencing team.[61]

Athletic achievements for the Bergen Tech Knights and Bergen Tech Lady Knights include:

Scheduling

Prior to the 2007-2008 academic year, the full school day lasted from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm and began with a 10 min IGS followed by 24 modules (commonly referred to as "mods") that lasted 18 min each; there were 3 min after each mod. (Each 3-module class was 60 min.) A revised schedule was implemented in the 2007-8 school year. Each module was now only 15 min, IGS was now 4 min, and the number of mods raised to 27.[3] The Principal's Advisory Team strongly supported this schedule, giving students more time for electives and interaction. Classes still typically last three mods, or 51 minutes. Each 3-module class is 54 min. The school day lasts from 8:00 AM to 4:10 PM.

Another revised schedule was implemented in the 2013-14 year. IGS (Information Gathering Session) is now 10 minutes, shortening elective hour to 45 minutes. Normal classes are still 51 minutes.

Classes meet variably every day. Every week, a class may meet 4 h per week for AP programs or high-level classes to 2 h per week for electives. On Wednesday, students attend projects for 6 modules; students with labs meet for 4 modules for laboratory work, relevant to their chemistry, physics, or biology courses, in rotation. Wednesday labs and projects last 4-6 modules respectively. Extracurricular activities occur after the school day. Some clubs may meet before the school day as well. AAST and AEDT have often shared their core courses, AMST share their own core classes and the other academies shared their core courses.

Campus and facilities

Bergen County Academies Auditorium entrance

The Bergen County Academies is located on the John Grieco Campus of the Bergen County Technical Schools District in Hackensack. The school occupies a sprawling main building which runs along Hackensack Avenue as well as a nearby Environmental Science Center (ESC) building.[66]

Bloomberg Terminal

A dedicated Bloomberg workstation lets students conduct independent financial markets analysis and research. The option to earn a Bloomberg Certification is also available through tutorials. BCA is one of the few high schools in the country to have access to this technology.[67]

Nanotechnology Lab

First opened in May 2008, the Nanotechnology Lab offers one scanning electron microscope and one transmission electron microscope to experienced faculty, and sometimes to students, as well as those researching the physical sciences.[68] There are also math research and humanities research opportunities available to students skilled in those respective subjects.

Stem Cell Lab

The stem cell research laboratories are foundational to the Bioscience Research Program, which enables students to work as scientists, constructing projects to submit to journals.[69] This program is advised by Donna Leonardi and Dr. Robert Pergolizzi.

Studio Art Lab

The school features two studio art labs. One of the studios is a visual arts lab equipped with compositing and printing equipment to train students in graphic communication and print media.[39]

Academy Grill

The school has a restaurant-grade kitchen for teaching culinary arts. The Academy Grill serves as a laboratory room for those taking culinary arts or hospitality administration classes, or culinary electives.

Video Lab

The Video Lab broadcasts inside the school, featuring workstations, professional cameras, and a bluescreen.

Auditorium

The theatre arts department produces plays and musicals each year in an auditorium adjoining the main building that seats 1,200. It is regularly rented to outside professional groups.

Athletics

The school's baseball field, football field, track, and parking for students and visitors are located behind the academic buildings.

History

The school is considered the brainchild of John Grieco and began as a single academy, "The Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology" (AAST), which shared the current campus with the Bergen County Technical High School. AAST students were first inducted in 1992 for the graduating class of 1996.[3]

In 1997, additional academies opened on the campus: the Academy for Business and Computer Technology (ABCT), the Academy for Engineering Design Technology (AEDT), and the Academy for Medical Science Technology (AMST). The following year, three career institutes, renamed a year later to become academies: the Academy for Culinary Arts (ACA), the Academy for Power and Transportation (APT), and the Academy for Visual Arts and Graphic Communications (AVAGC). Soon, the seven programs were geared less towards career prep and more towards college prep, adopting a liberal arts curriculum with an extra focus on their respective fields.

In 2001, a dispute initiated by the Bergen County School Administrators' Association focused on what Paramus Superintendent Janice Dime called "elitism." Several of these districts threatened to withdraw funding from the program. The Bergen County Technical Schools agreed to increase the transparency of the admissions process and enter into talks with a number of sending districts.

In 2002, APT was eliminated. ABCT was split into the Academy for Business and Finance (ABF) and the Academy for Technology and Computer Science (ATCS), ACA added hotel administration to its coursework and became the Academy for Culinary Arts and Hotel Administration (ACAHA). AVAGC expanded its scope to include performing arts and became the Academy for Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA).[46] The school itself also changed its name numerous times, from "Bergen County Regional Academies" to "Bergen Academies", to "Bergen County Academy" and to the present "Bergen County Academies."

Started in 2004 to support the class of 2008, GLE was the newest program at the academies; its focus is the field of biotechnology and global leadership. It was initially designed to give its students the state high school requirements in two years, with International Baccalaureate courses being later added to the program. The GLE program existed only for the classes of 2008 and 2009.[3] Much of the GLE program's focus and goals are now being integrated into the Academy for Medical Science Technology.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[70]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 School Data for Bergen County Academies, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 11, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Bergen County Technical High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed February 11, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Admissions, Bergen County Academies. Accessed November 15, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Class of 2017 Profile, Bergen County Academies. Accessed November 15, 2016. "A diverse public magnet high school which typically accepts 17% of the over 1600 students who apply"
  5. ↑ Mathews, Jay. "Top-performing schools with elite students", The Washington Post, April 4, 2014. Accessed April 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ Mathews, Jay. "Top-performing schools with elite students", The Washington Post, April 4, 2014. Accessed April 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ Staff. "America's Top High Schools 2015", Newsweek. Accessed April 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Mathews, Jay. "Top-performing schools with elite students", The Washington Post, April 4, 2014. Accessed November 21, 2014. "These top-performing schools, listed in alphabetical order, were excluded from the list because, despite their exceptional quality, their admission rules and standardized test scores indicate they have few or no average students."
  10. ↑ Academy Faculty, Bergen County Academies. Accessed July 16, 2007.
  11. ↑ 2015 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed November 14, 2016.
  12. ↑ 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."
  13. ↑ "America's Top High Schools 2015". Newsweek. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
  14. ↑ "How U.S. News Calculated the 2015 Best High Schools Rankings". U.S. News & World Report LP. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  15. ↑ "Bergen County Academies Overview". US News and World Report Education. U.S. News and World Report LP. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  16. ↑ Kaimann, Frederick. "New Jersey's Top Performing Public High Schools for Academics & the Arts in 2014", The Star-Ledger, August 18, 2014. Accessed November 21, 2014.
  17. ↑ "25 Best High Schools in the Northeast: 2. Bergen County Academies", The Daily Beast. Accessed November 21, 2014.
  18. ↑ "America's Most Challenging High Schools". 2014 FairTest. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  19. ↑ http://www.testmasters.com/psat/faq
  20. ↑ . FairTest https://web.archive.org/web/20141129041018/http://bcts.bergen.org/index.php/bergen-county-academies/84-bcts-bca/bca-accolades?start=4. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-21. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ "Northern Valley, Bergen Academies score well in latest report". 2013 U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
  22. ↑ "2013 America's Best High Schools". Newsweek. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
  23. ↑ "4 N.J. high schools among top 20 in Northeast, report says". 2012. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
  24. ↑ "Exam Schools: Inside America's Most Selective Public High Schools". Retrieved 2014-11-20.
  25. 1 2 "America's Best High Schools 2011", The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company, June 19, 2011. Accessed July 3, 2011.
  26. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 20, 2012.
  27. ↑ America's Best High Schools 32 of 53: New Jersey; Best Overall Academic Performance: Bergen Academies, Hackensack; Town: Hackensack. GreatSchools rating: 10/10, "America's Best High Schools", Bloomberg Businessweek. Accessed April 9, 2016.
  28. ↑ Gopal, Prashant. "America's Best High Schools", Bloomberg Businessweek, January 14, 2009. Accessed April 9, 2016.
  29. ↑ "The Public Elites: Some schools didn't make our list because their students are too good. The best of the best.,Newsweek, May 17, 2008. Accessed November 26, 2008.
  30. ↑ Fabiano, Giovanna. "Bergen Academies wins national math award", The Record (Bergen County), June 16, 2007. Accessed April 9, 2016.
  31. ↑ Taylor, Kate. "Stuyvesant High School's Status Burnished by New Book", New York Sun, September 12, 2007. Accessed April 9, 2016.
  32. ↑ "The Public Elites" Archived June 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., Newsweek, May 28, 2007. Accessed May 25, 2007.
  33. ↑ No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools in 2006, accessed September 29, 2006.
  34. ↑ "The Public Elites" Archived November 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine., Newsweek, May 8, 2006.
  35. ↑ 2005-06 School Test Score Rankings, The Star-Ledger. Accessed June 19, 2007.
  36. ↑ Star Schools for 1997-1998, New Jersey Department of Education.
  37. ↑ 2014-2015 Admissions Gide to Applying, Bergen County Academies. Accessed April 9, 2016.
  38. ↑ Admissions FAQ, Bergen County Academies. Accessed July 16, 2007.
  39. ↑ Branda Named Teacher of the Year
  40. ↑ Information on AMST Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  41. 1 2 AVPA Main, Bergen County Academies. Accessed July 16, 2007.
  42. ↑ Senior Experience, Bergen County Academies. Accessed July 16, 2007.
  43. ↑ Bergen County Academies, International Baccalaureate Organization. Accessed May 24, 2007.
  44. ↑ Find an IB World School—results, International Baccalaureate Organization. Accessed May 24, 2007.
  45. ↑ PDF File of Course Catalog, Bergen County Academies. Accessed July 16, 2007.
  46. 1 2 Academy Parent Partnership Organization Archived February 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  47. ↑ C, KF. "The 150 Best High School Model UN Teams in North America 2013-2014". Best Delegate. Best Delegate. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  48. ↑ "BCA Past Awards". BCA Model UN. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  49. ↑ Academy After Hours, Bergen County Academies. Accessed July 16, 2007.
  50. ↑ "Awards Presented to 2012 USAMO Winners".
  51. ↑ "International Math Olympiad". IMO Foundation. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  52. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  53. ↑
  54. ↑ http://hs.historybee.com/bee_varsity/standings.php
  55. ↑
  56. ↑ 2006 Results for BattleBots IQ Archived December 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  57. ↑ Home page of the local Amnesty International chapter Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  58. ↑ League Memberships – 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed February 11, 2016.
  59. ↑ League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 13, 2012.
  60. ↑ 2014-2015 Public Schools Group Classification: ShopRite Cup–Basketball–Baseball–Softball for North I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of July 8, 2014. Accessed August 20, 2014.
  61. ↑ BCTS Athletics Archived January 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine., Bergen County Technical Services. Accessed January 11, 2012.
  62. ↑ 2005 Boys Team Tennis - North I, Group IV, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed April 23, 2007.
  63. ↑ 2005 Baseball - North I, Group IV, NJSIAA, accessed April 23, 2007.
  64. ↑ 2006 Football Tournament - North I, Group IV, NJSIAA, accessed April 23, 2007.
  65. ↑ 2006 Boys Soccer Tournament - North I, Group IV, NJSIAA, accessed April 23, 2007.
  66. ↑ Auditorium Archived January 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine., Bergen County Academies. Accessed December 2, 2012.
  67. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-07. Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  68. ↑ , Bergen County Academies. Accessed June 23, 2008.
  69. ↑ Bioscience Research Program, Bergen County Academies. Accessed July 16, 2007.
  70. ↑ Administration, Bergen County Academies. Accessed November 15, 2016.
  71. ↑ 2015-2016 convocation Archived April 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine., Bergen County Academies. Accessed April 9, 2016. "Another BCA alumni, Ryan Condal, Class of 1997 was commended for his accolades as a writer and producer. Ryan has written a TV series, Colony, a screenplay, Hercules, produced and written The Sixth Gun and Plurality."
  72. ↑ McKay, Martha. "Bergen teen claims win in global race to unlock iPhone -- Tech whiz cracks code tying it to AT&T network", The Record (Bergen County), August 24, 2007. Accessed February 11, 2016. "'"I've lived and breathed that phone for the last two months,' said Hotz, a Bergen County Academies grad who won a prestigious $20,000 Intel science fair prize this year for a device that projects a 3-D image."
  73. ↑ "Once-touted novel has uncertain future", Arizona Republic, April 28, 2006, accessed April 23, 2007. "Weems, who taught literature to Viswanathan when she was a junior at Bergen County Academies in New Jersey, remembered her as a gifted student and as the winner of a number of writing contests."

External links

Coordinates: 40°54′08″N 74°02′05″W / 40.902203°N 74.034742°W / 40.902203; -74.034742

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.