As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 943 students and 86.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1. There were 325 students (34.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 93 (9.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
In October 1973, the Lakehurst district announced that its students would be shifted from Central Regional High School to the new Manchester Township High School.[9]
Completed at a cost of $6.3 million (equivalent to $33.7 million in 2023) on a site covering 100 acres (40 ha), the school opened in September 1976 for nearly 800 students.[10][11]
The school was the 220th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[13] The school had been ranked 245th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 260th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[14] The magazine ranked the school 227th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[15] The school was ranked 256th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[16]
Athletics
Manchester Township High School Hawks[2] compete in Division B South of the Shore Conference, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools in Monmouth and Ocean counties, along the Jersey Shore.[3][17] The league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[18] With 718 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.[19] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 514 to 685 students.[20]
The boys track team won the indoor track state championship in Group II in 1998 and 2003.[21]
The boys track team won the Group II indoor relay state championship in 1998.[22]
The boys track team won the Group II spring / outdoor track state championship in 1998.[23]
The boys bowling team won the overall state championship in 2003 and won the Group II state championship in 2010.[24]
The softball team won the Group II state championship in 2003, defeating James Caldwell High School by a score of 1-0 in the tournament final.[25][26]
The baseball team won the 2003 South Jersey Group II state sectional title.
The girls bowling team has been Group II state champions eight consecutive times, from 2009 to 2016, and won the Group I title in 2020; the team's nine state titles are ranked second in the state.[27] The team has won the Tournament of Champions, the sport's overall state championship, in 2009, 2012 and 2014.[28][29][30] Manchester was the first team to win three titles in the Tournament of Champions, which was introduced in 2007.[31]
The girls basketball team won the Group II state championship in 2019, defeating runner-up Lincoln High School in the tournament final. With the 2020 group finals cancelled as a result of COVID-19, the team was declared as the South II regional champion.[32]
Administration
The school's principal is Dennis Adams. His core administration team includes the three vice principals.[33]
^About Our District, Manchester Township School District. Accessed November 19, 2017. "We are also the receiving district for approximately 150 high school students from neighboring Lakehurst Borough."
^"Driver Class Stays as Is In Lakewood", Asbury Park Press, June 9, 1964. Accessed June 10, 2021. "The board voted to again notify Dr. Frederick M. Raubinger, state commissioner of education, it would like to have Manchester Township's 150 high school students withdrawn from the high school after 1964-65 because of overcrowding. James Dickerson, secretary, said the Board is in the process of signing an emergency one-year contract with the Manchester Board."
^"Correction", Asbury Park Press, October 20, 1973. Accessed June 10, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "John Mizvesky, Board of Education president, said local high school students will be phased out in orderly fashion from Central Regional High School, Berkeley Township, to the Manchester Township High School when it opens in September 1975."
^"Manchester Voters to Decide On $5.5 Million School Plan", Asbury Park Press, July 29, 1973. Accessed June 10, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The board is seeking approval to build the high school on a 100-acre tract bounded by Routes 37 and 70 and the proposed extension of Colonial drive.... About 250 high school students now attend Lakewood High School and the tuition rate this past year was $1,450 per student."
^"Manchester Schools Expected To Spur Many New Residents", Asbury Park Press, September 13, 1976. Accessed June 10, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The school system here will attract many new residents during the next two or three years, William F. White, Ocean County superintendent of schools, predicted yesterday. White spoke before about 500 persons at the dedication of the new, $6.3 million Manchester Township High School, which opened its doors Wednesday to 781 students from here and Lakehurst."
^Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst: Education, Military One Source. Accessed July 3, 2024. "Lakehurst students attending preschool through eighth grade attend the Lakehurst School District. Manchester High School serves students from ninth to twelfth grades." This is a .mil website.
^Brown, Jen. "3 Hits, 1 Run, 1 Championship; Vanchure's key hit in seventh lifts Manchester", Asbury Park Press, June 11, 2003. Accessed January 17, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Senior second baseman Rianna Vanchure was clearly displeased at having gone 0-for-2 with minor throwing errors in the field during yesterday's NJSIAA Group II softball championship game.... Vanchure reached second and courtesy runner Sabrina Hager dove head first into home plate for the run that gave Manchester a 1-0 victory over Caldwell and its first state title."
^Staff. "Girls bowling: Manchester Township captures championship", NJ.com, February 17, 2009. Accessed November 19, 2017. "Manchester Township captured the Tournament of Champions crown:... Manchester Township, which captured the Group 2 championship earlier in the day by a 2,767-2,561 margin over Burlington Township, defeated Group 1 champion Keyport, 3-1, in the T of C final. That came after Manchester finally put away its nemesis, Group 3 and defending T of C champion Brick, 3-1, in the semifinals."
^Finan, Chris. "Manchester Township wins girls bowling NJSIAA Tournament of Champions", NJ.com, February 13, 2012. Accessed November 19, 2017. "After knocking off defending state champion Brick in the semifinals, Manchester Township, No. 3 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, defeated No. 7 Cardinal McCarrick, 3-0, in the final to win the 2012 NJSIAA/Bollinger Tournament of Champions on Monday at Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick."
^Lanni, Patrick. "Mike McCrae of Manchester Township is the girls bowling Coach of the Year, 2013-2014", The Star-Ledger, March 30, 2014. Accessed November 19, 2017. "Not many coaches in any sport can match the success Mike McCrae has found at Manchester Township.The ninth-year coach guided his Ocean County school to its third Tournament of Champions title this season as well as its sixth straight Group 2 title and eighth straight South Jersey, Group 2 title.... Manchester Township is the only team in the state with three Tournament of Champions titles."
^O'Connell, Justin. "Girls Bowling: Manchester Township captures third Tournament of Champions title in six years.", The Star-Ledger, February 10, 2014. Accessed November 19, 2017. "Manchester Township, No. 4 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, added to a day of surprises by upsetting the top two seeded teams and claiming its third Tournament of Champions title yesterday at Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick.... Manchester Township has now won eight consecutive South Jersey Group 2 titles, six consecutive Group 2 titles and has the most Tournament of Champion titles (2009, 2012, 2014) since the inception of the format in 2007."
^Our School, Manchester Township High School. Accessed February 15, 2024.
^"Manchester Students Sign To Colleges", Jersey Shore Online, December 14, 2018. Accessed July 2, 2024. "Leilani Correa will join the West Virginia University Mountaineers as a criminal justice major. Leilani is a four year basketball player, who transferred to Manchester this year."
^Kevin MalastArchived August 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Tennessee Titans. Accessed July 27, 2016. "The Manchester, N.J., native was originally signed by the Chicago Bears as a rookie free agent on April 27, 2009.... Attended Manchester (N.J.) High School, where he played both linebacker and tailback."
^Denman, Elliott. "New Jersey's Andrew Valmon named Olympic coach", MileSplitNy. February 18, 2011. Accessed July 27, 2016. "The 20-something young man was Andrew Valmon, the graduate of Manchester Township High School, just a few miles east of Lakehurst, and of South Orange, NJ's Seton Hall University, who'd run a sizzling 4x400 relay leadoff leg in the semifinals at Seoul (thus earning a gold when USA took the final.)"
