Point Pleasant Beach High School is a four-year, comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Point Pleasant Beach in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Point Pleasant Beach School District. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1939 and is accredited through July 2025.Point Pleasant Beach High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 22, 2024.
In addition to the students of Point Pleasant Beach, the high school serves the students of Bay Head and Lavallette for grades 9-12 and those from Mantoloking for K-12, as part of sending/receiving relationships, as well as some students who attend on a tuition basis.Point Pleasant Beach School District 2016-17 Report Card Narrative , New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 20, 2018. "Point Pleasant Beach High School is a public school serving students from Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head and Lavalette. The school also accepts tuition students, selected through an application and interview process." The district earned more than $650,000 in revenue by accepting 85 tuition-paying students in 2015–16, many of whom played on the school's athletic teams, leading to claims that the school is competing unfairly with other schools that don't accept outside students.Stanmyre, Matthew. "Paying for public school? You bet, and it’s impacting sports in major way", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 15, 2016, updated August 23, 2019. Accessed February 25, 2020. "So what Eastern and others — Point Pleasant Beach's boys basketball team is another notable example — have done is create a perfectly legal public vs. public imbalance.... Point Pleasant Beach has a staggering 85 tuition students in the high school this year among its total enrollment of 404. Each pays $7,747, amounting to a financial windfall of $658,495."
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 326 students and 38.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.5:1. There were 23 students (7.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 12 (3.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Point Pleasant Beach High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
History The building in the block between Trenton and Forman Avenues was originally constructed in 1908, replacing a building nearby built in 1886 when Point Pleasant Beach was still part of Brick Township. It has been renovated and expanded several times since. Students from Brick Township, New Jersey attended the school until Brick Township High School opened in September 1958."It Took 2 Years, $1 1/2 Million to Build And It's Overcrowded Before Opening", Asbury Park Press, September 7, 1958. Accessed May 2, 2022, via Newspapers.com "Brick Township used to send its pupils to Point Pleasant Beach and Berkeley Township Regional High Schools. Beginning tomorrow, Brick students will attend this new 36-room $1,600,000 high school." The school served students from both Point Pleasant Beach and Point Pleasant Borough students until the Point Pleasant Borough High School was built in 1963.Chickaree in the Wall: a History of one-room schools in Ocean County, NJ. Carolyn M. Campbell. Ocean County Historical Society, 1987. p. 134.
In March 2009, the school debuted the musical The Wedding Singer as the first amateur performance of the show in New Jersey.Competello, Alena. "High school to tak crowds back to '80s", The Ocean Star, March 6, 2009. Accessed February 3, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "It is time for an '80s flashback this weekend, courtesy of the students of Point Pleasant Beach High School, who will delight audiences with a performance of The Wedding Singer... Point Pleasant Beach High School is, in fact, the New Jersey amateur premiere of the show, Mr. Raguseo noted."
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 83rd-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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 78th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 58th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 22, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 59th in 2008 out of 316 schools, and was the top-ranked school in Ocean County in 2010 (Point Pleasant Boro High School was next with a ranking of 133rd).Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed January 31, 2011. The school was ranked 68th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. In 2009, the school was ranked 59th in the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 70th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 104 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (89.7%) and language arts literacy (96.6%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA)., Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 27, 2012.
Athletics The Point Pleasant Beach High School Garnet GullsPoint Pleasant Beach High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in Division B Central of the Shore Conference, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools in Monmouth and Ocean counties along the Jersey Shore.Shore Conference Realignment for 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, Shore Conference. Accessed November 15, 2020.Member Schools, Shore Conference. Accessed November 15, 2020. The league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 251 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 185 to 482 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The mascot is the Garnet Gull, and the school colors are red and white.
The school participates in joint cooperative boys / girls bowling, gymnastics, ice hockey and boys / girls swimming teams with Point Pleasant Beach High School as the host school / lead agency. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
The boys track team won the indoor track Group I state championship in 1978.Boys Winter Track and Field Championship History: 1922-2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated November 2023. Accessed February 1, 2024.
The girls' track team won the Group I state indoor relay championship in 1984.History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships , New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
The boys' tennis team won the Group I state championship in 2002 (vs. Jonathan Dayton High School) and 2003 (vs. Middlesex High School).History of Boys' Team Tennis Championship Tournament, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The 2002 team became the county's first tennis program to win a state title, after winning the Group I state championship by defeating Cresskill High School 4–1 in the semifinals and then topping Jonathan Dayton 3–2 in the finals.Grace, Keith. "Gulls make history with first Group I title; Calfano wins pivotal match in victory over Dayton", The Ocean Star, May 31, 2002. Accessed February 3, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Just two days after winning the program's third South Jersey Group I crown last Tuesday, Califano and Point Beach secured the 3-2 win over Dayton, the North Jersey Section 2 Group I champ and defending Group I champ in the final. The team also beat Cresskill. the North Jersey Section 1 Group I champ 4-1 in the semifinals. The Group I Championship marks the first for any athletic team at Point Pleasant Beach High School. The feat is also the first of any tennis program in Ocean County."
The 2008 girls' tennis team won the Central Jersey Group I state sectional title with a 3–2 win over Highland Park High School.2008 Girls' Team Tennis - Central, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 23, 2008. The team lost to Leonia High School 3½-1½ in the semifinals of the 2008 Group I state tournament.2008 Girls' Team Tennis - Public Group Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 23, 2008. The 2010 girls' tennis team won the Group I state sectional title and went on to win the Group I state title with a 4–1 win against Haddon Township High School.Parker, Chris. "Ed Hanley, Point Pleasant Beach, Girls' Tennis" , Asbury Park Press, December 11, 2010. Accessed August 2, 2011. "Hanley coached his team to the Class B Central division title and a trip to the NJSIAA semifinal match against top-seeded Glen Ridge.... Carrying the momentum from their dramatic semifinal victory, Point Beach defeated Haddon Township, 4-1, giving their coach his first NJSIAA Group I sectional title."Girls Tennis Championship History: 1971–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated November 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The 2010–11 seasons proved to be one of the most successful athletic years in the school's history. Girls' soccer, girls' tennis, cross country, ice hockey, boys' and girls' swimming, baseball and softball all won divisional titles with many of the teams going deep into the Shore Conference Tournament. Several of the teams qualified for the state playoffs, with girls' tennis winning the overall title.
In 2010, the girls' soccer team won their conference title, division title, and the Central Jersey Group I state sectional championship with a 1–0 win against Metuchen High School, the first sectional title in the history of the program.Staff. "Point Pleasant Beach 1, Metuchen 0" , The Star-Ledger, November 12, 2010. Accessed August 22, 2012. "Erin Springsteen produced a goal just shy of halftime and keeper Cora Wallace made the score stand up as Point Pleasant Beach stamped a breakthrough season with a 1-0 triumph over Metuchen yesterday in the NJSIAA/The Sports Authority Stores Central Jersey, Group 1 final in Metuchen. The victory marked the first sectional title for Point Pleasant Beach (13-3-3) and earned it a date with South Jersey champion Pennsville on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Toms River South."