As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 378 students and 34.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1. There were 117 students (31.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 23 (6.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
History
The high school opened for the 1927–28 school year with a building constructed at a cost of $180,000 (equivalent to $1.8 million in 2023), at which time students from Raritan Township (since renamed as Hazlet) began attending the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[8] By 1931, the school had 132 out-of-district students in attendance, including 62 from Union Beach, 47 from Raritan Township and 21 from Holmdel Township.[9]
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 216th-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.[10] The school had been ranked 226th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 249th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[11] The magazine ranked the school 265th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[12] The school was ranked 207th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[13]
Athletics
The Keyport High School Red Raiders[2] 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.[3][14] The league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[15] With 285 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.[16] The school's co-op team with Henry Hudson Regional was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 185 to 482 students.[17]
Keyport High School's interscholastic sports include: football, basketball, cheerleading for football/basketball, field hockey, wrestling, baseball, softball, track and field, cross country, indoor track, soccer, and tennis.[2] The school participates as the host school / lead agency for joint cooperative girls soccer, boys / girls volleyball and wrestling teams with Henry Hudson Regional High School, while Henry Hudson is the host school for cross country running, boys / girls tennis and winter track teams. Keyport is also the lead agency / host school for joint field hockey and football teams with Keansburg High School. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[18][19][20]
The football program, led by Coach Michael "Chic" Ciccoteli is probably the school's most notable. For the 2002-03 the team was "On the Road," as the home field was under construction. The Keyport Red Raiders went on to play an undefeated season and win their state championship. The following season also proved successful. Every game was won except the championship, giving the team a 21–1 record for the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons. The football team has won the Central Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 1987, 1988, 1992, 1998, 1999 and 2002.[21] The 1992 team finished the season with a 9–2 record after scoring the lone touchdown of the game in a 6–2 win against Dunellen High School for the Central Jersey Group I championship.[22][23] The team won the Central Jersey, Group I state sectional title in 1999 with a 21–0 shutout of South River High School.[24] The team repeated in 2002 with a 37–6 win against South River High School.[25]
The boys' basketball team took the Group II state championship in 1933, winning by a score of 26–22 in the championship game against a Cranford High School team that came into the finals with a 21-game winning streak.[26][27] In 2004, the team won the Central Jersey Group I sectional championship, topping Piscataway Technical High School 53–40 in the final game of the tournament.[28]
The baseball team won the Central Jersey Group II sectional title in 1961.[29] The team won the Central Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 2001 with a 10–0 win over Highland Park High School.[30]
The field hockey team won the Central Jersey, Group I state sectional title in 1978 and 1979.[31]
The girls basketball team won the Group I title in 1983 (vs. New Providence High School) and 1995 (vs. Bogota High School).[32] The 1983 team finished the season with a 24–5 record after winning the Group I state title by defeating New Providence by a score of 54–53 in the championship game played at the Rutgers Athletic Center.[33] The 1995 team held off a rally by Bogota to win the Group I championship game by a score of 52-46[34] and advanced to the Tournament of Champions seeded sixth before falling to third-seeded Middle Township High School 46–37 in the quarterfinals to finish the season with a record of 21–6.[35][36]
The wrestling team won the Central Jersey Group I state sectional title in 1983[37]
The girls bowling team won the Group I state championship in 2009.[38]
Clubs
Keyport High School clubs include: Key Club, National Honor Society, Raiders Inc., Student Council, SAC, Lifeline/VIPS, Drama, Literary Magazine, and Yearbook.[39]
Administration
The school's principal is Michael P. Waters Sr., who is joined on his administration team by an assistant principal / athletic director.[40]
Moe Jaffe (1901–1972), songwriter and bandleader.[45]
Sayra Fischer Lebenthal (1898-1994; class of 1915), Wall Street banker credited for introducing the idea of selling small lots of municipal bonds to individual investors.[46]
^Cheslow, Jerry. "If You're Thinking of Living In/Union Beach, N.J.; Waterfront Borough Making a Comeback", The New York Times, May 5, 2002. Accessed February 13, 2018. "Most Union Beach students go on to the 523-student Keyport High School in the neighboring borough of Keyport. A handful of students are accepted into Red Bank Regional High School, after passing admissions tests to its three specialized programs: visual and performing arts; information technology; and finance."
^Annual Report of the State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education of New Jersey, 1933, p. 128. New Jersey Department of Education, 1933. Accessed April 7, 2022. "During the school year 1927-28 the Keyport High School was housed with the elementary grades in a three-story building in which eight classes were on part time. During that year a new high school was erected at the cost of $180,000 and the high school pupils of Keyport and tuition pupils received from neighboring districts including Raritan Township have occupied the new building since September 1, 1928."
^"Union gets it done against Randolph", The Record, December 6, 1992. Accessed January 22, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Senior fullback Odell Reevey carried 25 times for 111 yards including a 10-yard burst for the game's only touchdown leading Keyport to a 6-2 victory over Dunellen for the Group 1 championship."
^Fortuna, John. "Keyport's defense produces big effort", Asbury Park Press, December 6, 1992. Accessed January 22, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "While the Keyport defense swarmed about, Carter, especially in the second half, the Red Raiders' senior backfield tandem of Odel Reevey and James Scott combined for 201 yards rushing as Keyport pounded its way to a 6-2 victory over Dunellen for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Central Jersey Group I championship. The title is the third for Keyport (9-2) in six years."
^"Cranford Repulsed Again", The Record, March 20, 1933. Accessed February 27, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Long winning streaks and state tournaments don't jibe, as for as Cranford is concerned. Last year Cranford possessed a 35-game string, and had it blasted to bits by Carteret in the semi-final round. On Saturday a fast Keyport outfit took its place beside Carteret by flashing a sensational second-half rally that toppled Seth Weekley's combination in the Group 2 finale by 26 to 22. The defeat brought an end to a 21-game skein held by Cranford."
^Smith, Steve. "Rally beats New Providence", Courier News, March 21, 1983. "After controlling the tempo of the game for three quarters, the Pioneers of New Providence suffered through a final quarter of frustration and dropped an emotional 54-53 heartbreaker to the clutch-shooting Keyport Red Raiders in the Girls Group 1 state championship basketball game Saturday afternoon at the Rutgers Athletic Center.... The Red Raiders, who posted a 24-5 mark on the season, continually connected on clutch baskets down the stretch and stormed off the court replacing Gloucester Catholic as this year's new champion."
^Graham, Tony. "Grimaldi's big 3 lifts Red Raiders", Asbury Park Press, March 13, 1995. Accessed March 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "This swing in emotions was caused by Red Raiders' guard Laura Grimaldi's 3-point attempt with her team clinging to a 2-point lead with 1:30 remaining in yesterday's New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group I championship game at the Dunn Sports Center. When the ball hit nothing but net it ended Bogota's comeback and sent Keyport to a 52-46 victory and into the Tournament of Champions for the first time."
^Bush, John. "Keyport sees hopes dashed", Asbury Park Press, March 16, 1995. Accessed March 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "After all, the underdog Red Raiders found themselves tied with 29-0 Middle Township through three quarters, and were just eight solid minutes away from advancing to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament of Champions semifinals. Instead, it was Middle Township that seized the moment. The Panthers used a decisive 7-0 run to pull away from Keyport early in the fourth quarter and posted a 46-37 win in the Tournament of Champions quarterfinals last night at Elizabeth's Dunn Center. Keyport's season came to an end at 21-6, while Middle Township advanced to tomorrow's 6 p.m. semifinal game here against West Milford."
^"Bengals select Keyport's Earle", Asbury Park Press, April 28, 1992. Accessed January 18, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "It took nearly 28 hours, but the dream finally came true for John Earle. Earle, a 6-5 1/2, 285-pound center from Western Illinois and a 1987 graduate of Keyport High School, was selected in the 11th round of the NFL draft yesterday by the Cincinnati Bengals."
^"Hand Confirmed For Judgeship; Union County State Senator, KHS Grad, To Superior Court", The Keyport Weekly, February 16, 1956. Accessed June 2, 2020. "Kenneth C. Hand, state senator from Union County, was confirmed by the upper legislative body in New Jersey on Thursday as a justice of the State Superior Court. Mr. Hand is a graduate of Keyport High School and was a borough resident when his father, the late Aaron W. Hand, was pastor of the First Baptist Church, Keyport."
^Jaeger, Lauren. "Five are inducted into Hall of Fame", The Independent, October 12, 1994. Accessed June 6, 2016. "The late Sayra Fischer Lebenthal (class of 1915), born in Keyport in 1898, was only one of two women to graduate with a law degree from Syracuse University in 1920."
