Harrison High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Harrison, New Jersey, as part of the Harrison Public Schools. Harrison is located 8 miles to the west of New York City, and is sandwiched between Newark (the state's largest city) to the west and Jersey City (the state's second largest city).

Harrison High School is located at the intersection of Hamilton Street and Kingsland Avenue. East Newark pays to send their secondary school students to Harrison High School since the borough lacks a secondary school of their own.

Harrison High School has numerous team sports, and is a member of the Bergen County Scholastic League, where it plays in the National conference and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Sports played at Harrison High School are as follows:

Boys Sports - Football, Cross Country, Soccer, Bowling, Swimming, Basketball, Tennis, Volleyball and Baseball

Girls Sports - Cheerleading, Tennis, Volleyball, Soccer, Cross Country, Basketball, Swimming, Bowling and Softball

The boys soccer team holds the United States high school record with 23 state championships, and has enjoyed a renaissance under coach Michael Rusek.[1][2] Rusek has led the boys soccer team to 7 consecutive conference titles, as well as 5 sectional championships, 5 state championships (3 of which were in Group II play, the 4th and most recent championship in Group I), and a Star-Ledger and NJSCA top ranking in 2002.

The boys soccer team won the 2006 North II, Group I state sectional championship with a 2-1 win against Glen Ridge High School. The team won the Group I State Championship with a 1-0 win over Burlington City High School in the semifinals and a 6-0 win against Metuchen High School in the finals. The 2007 team repeated as North II, Group I state sectional championship with a 3-1 win over Jonathan Dayton High School in the tournament final. The 2007 team won the Group I state championship with a 2-1 win over Arthur P. Schalick High School, the team's 23rd state championship.

The new Harrison High School opened its doors in September 2007 for the 2007-2008 academic year. The new school, located on the former site of Clayton Container, initiated construction in January 2005 and lasted over two years, with the bulk of its electrical work completed in the summer of 2007. A new athletic complex constructed adjacent to the school building was completed in September 2006, which includes a football/soccer field, baseball diamond, softball diamond, track around the fields, and three tennis courts.

Spaces for the high school include thirty general classrooms, four special education classrooms, two classrooms for small group instruction, two gymnasiums (one big, one small), a dance/aerobics studio, instrumental/vocal music room, cafeteria, auditorium, media center, science labs, three computer rooms, and faculty spaces. The building has three floors. The first floor consists of the main office, the nurse's office, the gymnasiums, and the main places.

The classrooms are located on the second and third floors. There is a block scheduling of classes (about 80 minutes per period, with seven periods per day). The building formerly known as Harrison High School opened as the new Washington Middle School in September 2007 for students in grades 6-8.

Harrison High School is a multi-culturally diverse academic institution which provides a challenging curriculum for all students within a safe and orderly educational climate. Recently, there has been a revision of our program of instruction enabling Harrison High School to meet the challenges of the Core Curriculum Content Standards, the rigors of the High School Proficiency Assessment, and the federal mandates of No Child Left Behind.

First and foremost, the curriculum at Harrison High School speaks to all students. It is within this curricular framework that all of the standards, benchmarks, and indicators of the Core Curriculum Content Standards can be found. Each content area has identified specific core courses that are essential in delivering the CCCS. Within these core courses, skills have been sequenced in order that all students are exposed to all indicators prior to the administration of the High School Proficiency Assessment during the spring of their junior year. Each year, results obtained from the 8th Grade GEPA, the 9th and 10th Grade Terra Nova, and the 11th Grade HSPA help to revise and refine the points of emphasis of our curricular program.

Frequent assessment of our students has been the object of much attention at Harrison High School. We continue our program of administering open-ended questions throughout the curriculum. On a monthly basis, the results of these efforts are forwarded to each department facilitator for review. Again, the instructional program in each discipline is revised as this evidence of student understanding of material is interpreted. All of our students are given the opportunity to write across the curriculum as well. These writing tasks are administered in language arts, world languages, social studies, science, and the arts on a monthly basis.

This year, our instructional staff has been asked to gain concrete evidence from all students each day in order to check their level of understanding and proficiency with regards to material being taught. The various means of collecting such evidence may take the form of a brief quiz, overt responses during class, and /or homework to name just a few. Once again, our teachers receive daily feedback as to each student's proficiency with regards to specific skills. In turn, teachers are able to adjust and refocus their lessons with such information. This process is now documented in the weekly lesson plan.

In mathematics, our staff is in the process of developing common assessments to be administered throughout the year to all students in similar core courses. Having associated each course with specific HSPA skills, we now seek to check student progress with regards to mastery of these skills on a quarterly basis. Again, the information gained from these interim checks of student understanding will allow for the revision and refinement of our teaching strategies to meet the needs of all students. We expect continued development of this process in mathematics and the introduction of common assessments in language arts and science as well.

Another new trend at Harrison High School has been the "connection" of our student population to our professional staff. All students are "connected" through relationships with guidance personnel, homeroom teachers, and counselors of our School-Based Youth Services Program. The principal and assistant principal greet each student as they enter school in the morning. During 2007-2008, every staff member has been assigned no more than ten students in a special mentoring program focused on successfully introducing them to the rigors of high school. This program has resulted in many positive outcomes for both our students and staff members alike.

In conclusion, Harrison High School is very proud of the fact that we have developed an instructional process that has continually proven successful with regards to our students' performance. We also feel confident that this same process can correct any deficiencies that may arise in future assessments. I ask that you review all statistical information in this edition of our School Report Card and understand that through the determined efforts of our highly-qualified staff, our ever-evolving curriculum, and the personalization of our students' educational experience, Harrison High School is always striving to exceed expectations.

Source: Wikipedia Link | Image by DailyHarrison.com