High Tech High Lab experiment with girl looking  at a metal ring

MCVSD News Release

Monmouth County Vocational School District (MCVSD) celebrates High Technology High School being named a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School (NBRS).

U.S. Secretary of Education (DOE) Miguel Cardona recently announced the honorees, which include just 353 public and private schools nationwide.

MCVSD’s High Technology High School, located on the campus of Brookdale Community College, provides students with a rigorous pre-engineering curriculum to prepare them for post-secondary success and futures as problem-solvers and innovators. The high school is repeatedly recognized in rankings of the nation’s top high schools.

This is the third time High Technology High School has been named a Blue Ribbon School; previous recognitions were in 2003 and 1998. High Technology High School is one of six four-year, full-time Career Academies operated by MCVSD; many of the Academies previously earned Blue Ribbon honors. Communications High School was named in 2019 and 2012; the Academy of Allied Health and Science in 2018, 2007 and 2002; Biotechnology High School in 2014; and the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST) in 2013 and 1998. The district also operates the Academy of Law and Public Safety, which is transitioning to a four-year program.

The NBRS program is one of the U.S. DOE’s longest-running recognition programs, celebrating outstanding public and non-public elementary, middle and high schools based on their overall high academic achievement or success in closing the achievement gap among diverse groups of students.

Each year, the NBRS process begins when the state departments of education identify and nominate outstanding schools to the U.S. DOE. Once schools are nominated, they are invited to apply for the award. After a rigorous review process, the U.S. DOE awards NBRS status to select schools in affirmation of the hard work of students, educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students thrive.

“This recognition validates the efforts of everyone within High Technology High and broader MCVSD school community to create an environment where students have that balance of freedom and support so they can challenge themselves throughout their educational journeys to realize their full potential,” said Superintendent, Dr. Charles Ford. “It also is a testament to our students’ drive to seize opportunities both in and out of the classroom to learn and grow and determine how they will leave their mark.”