By: Frank C. D’Amico
UPPER FREEHOLD – Every school years brings changes, and this year is no different at Allentown High School.
The school will have a new vice principal, Rodney Logan, who will take over from Monica Taylor.
Christopher Nagy, principal of the school, said there also will be a new career resource room to help students land internships and provide information about the workforce.
"Because of the success of our senior practicum internship program, we wanted to expand it," Mr. Nagy said.
Mr. Nagy said the program was "the wave of the future" and there was a "need for space and support."
Last year, 39 students were involved in the practicum and this year 107 will participate, Mr. Nagy said.
"The career resource room will have materials about internships and we also hope to have guest speakers there who can share their experiences," Mr. Nagy said.
Along the same lines, there will be a guidance department "corner" in the library.
"It will be a multimedia desk where students can listen to tapes and view videos about colleges and careers," Mr. Nagy said.
In addition, the honor roll requirements have been modified for the upcoming school year. Now, students will have to hold a grade-point average of 3.2 or above with no grade below a B- to be eligible.
Before, the requirements were 3.0 with no grade as low as a D or F, Mr. Nagy said.
"We’re sending a message out that we focus on academic excellence," Mr. Nagy said. "We want Allentown High School to be recognized as an institution of academic excellence."
The school’s main entrance has changed from the main office hall to the doors next to the auditorium.
Mr. Nagy said the school was originally designed to have the main entrance at the auditorium. The new entrance will have a security sign-in desk.
Also, to alleviate parking problems, the school added 12 new spaces and assigned students parking spaces.
"Each student will have a parking sticker which will correspond to specific parking space," Mr. Nagy said.
The school also will have an earlier starting time this year, moving from 7:45 a.m. to 7:20 a.m.
In order to save money on bus expenses, the district will have staggered starting times so the same fleet can be used to transport all students in the district.
"We’re as prepared as we can be with the schedule change," Mr. Nagy said. "We’ll evaluate it after a couple months."
