Dates

• Existence: 1975    

Biography

History of RBRHS

The Red Bank Regional High School District was formed on November 25, 1969, by voters in Little Silver, Red Bank, and Shrewsbury. At this time also, these voters approved purchase of 53.4 acres of land in Little Silver on which to build a new high school. On December 16, 1971, voters of the district approved the plans for a new high school to be built at a cost of $9,478,000. Groundbreaking was during the fall of 1972. The first students attended the new facilities during the 1975-76 school year. From November 25, 1969, to occupancy of the new high school, the Red Bank Regional School District paid rent to the Red Bank Public Schools District for students from Little Silver, Red Bank, and Shrewsbury to go to high school in buildings owned by the local Red Bank school district. Prior to November 25, 1969, high school students from Little Silver, Shrewsbury, and Holmdel attended Red Bank High School, along with Red Bank students, in a special arrangement with the Red Bank Board of Education known as a ‘sending-receiving district’ agreement. This arrangement was discontinued with the formation of the Red Bank Regional High School District in 1969.

The history of the Red Bank School buildings goes back to 1901 when the oldest part of the Branch Avenue building was erected. This building contained sixteen classrooms and cost $60,000. It was torn down in 1976. In 1917 a three story building of classrooms was built on Harding Road; in 1924 a gymnasium was built and a tunnel constructed to connect the Branch Avenue building and the Harding Road building; in 1954 an addition including a new gymnasium was built, and in 1960 a million laboratory wing including a new cafeteria was built. Lack of space in the decade following the last addition caused the Board of Education to rent four portable classrooms which were constructed on the Branch Avenue lawn. Various classes had to be held in neighboring houses during the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Public schools in Red Bank date back to 1816 when the first school was officially in session. A school on Mechanic Street was the first graded school in Monmouth County. Boards of Education here have built on this history and have remained dedicated to the ideal of providing a comprehensive education for the students in their charge. In testimony to this, Red Bank Regional High School is recognized today as one of the finest comprehensive high schools in New Jersey.

On February 27, 1984, the New Jersey General Assembly recognized the school as one of the seven across the state commended for their solid academic curricula and applauded the ingenuity of the staff to make the pursuit of excellence a reality for their students.

On June 27, 1994, the New Jersey Commissioner of Education congratulated the school for being recognized in the School Match ‘What Parents Want’ program which ranked the district in the top 9 percent of the nation’s 15,625 public school district.

In 2000-2001, the Academies of Information Technology and Finance were created and were quickly established as premier specialized programs alongside the highly lauded Academy of Visual and Performing Arts.

In 2007, the Freshman Academy was developed, adding an organized 9th grade transition program. In 2009,three-year academies in Humanities, Math and Science, International and Cultural Studies, and Sports Medicine and Management were added, providing all students with a purposeful, personalized learning environment.

Since 2008, Red Bank Regional has been named as one of Newsweek Magazine’s “America’s Top High Schools” four years in a row and three times been ranked in the top 75 of New Jersey high schools by New Jersey Monthly Magazine.

In 2013, RBR was named a High Performing District by the New Jersey Department of Education, as well as being named one of America’s Most Challenging High Schools by the Washington Post.

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