Union City High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Union City, in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Union City Board of Education. The four-story school is located between Kennedy Boulevard and Summit Avenue, from 24th to 26th Street, with additional facilities a block south on Kerrigan Avenue. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools through July 2030.Union City High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 22, 2024.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 3,089 students and 181.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 17.1:1. There were 2,010 students (65.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 356 (11.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Union City High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024. Based on 2021-22 data from the New Jersey Department of Education, it was the second-largest high school in the state (behind Passaic County Technical Institute) and one of 29 schools with more than 2,000 students.Kausch, Katie. "N.J.’s biggest high school has 3,350 students. See how your school compares.", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 31, 2023. Accessed August 31, 2023. "Another 28 New Jersey schools have at least 2,000 students, according to 2021-2022 enrollment data released by the state Department of Education.... 2. Union City High School Number of students: 2,980"
The school administratively formed in 2008, with athletic teams combined, but for the first year the students were still at their former buildings. Its current building opened in September 2009, at that time merging the student bodies of the city's prior two high schools, Union Hill High School and Emerson High School, and marking the first high school opened in the city in 90 years.Pizarro, Max. "Stack honors McGreevey at new high school opening", New York Observer, October 3, 2009. Accessed February 9, 2017. "'No one was a bigger advocate for Union City than Governor McGreevey and we should never forget that,' Stack told the massive crowd, mobilized for a Stack-led walk-through of the massive $200 million facility on John F. Kennedy Boulevard, the first high school built in Union City in 90 years." The school, which was built on the site of the former Roosevelt Stadium, cost $180 million, covers and includes a rooftop football field.Hu, Winnie. "After 88 Years of Rivalry, the Last as Us and Them", The New York Times, November 22, 2007. Accessed August 28, 2017. "But today's so-called Turkey Game signals the end of the tradition. Next fall, the two schools will merge in a new $176 million building.... The new Union City High School takes up four-and-a-half acres in the center of the city, squeezed between row houses and commercial strips. It will have a football field and bleachers built on the roof so that players will no longer have to share the facilities at José Martí Middle School." The school's colors are navy blue and silver.
Grade structure
Union City High School holds Freshman through Senior students. The Academy for Enrichment and Advancement (AEA), which is housed one block south on Kerrigan Avenue between 22nd and 23rd Streets, is a special interest academy that is part of the high school. The AEA provides classes for students of grades 9 - 12 who show interest in the fields of science and engineering,Academy for Enrichment and Advancement, Union City High School. Accessed February 9, 2017. "REGISTERED SCHOOLS 2009 as of 11-16-2009", New Jersey Science League. Accessed June 3, 2013. and served as an alternative to José Martí Freshman Academy, which most ninth graders attended at the time.
Since its inaugural school year, Union City High School has offered college-level courses to students, and through its partnerships with nearby colleges and universities, increased the number of such courses for the 2010–2011 school year, enabling students to accumulate up to 12 - 15 college credits by graduation that can be transferred to New Jersey public colleges.Diaz, Lana Rose. "School days are here again: UC students will return to class on Sept. 9", The Hudson Reporter, September 5, 2010. pp. 1 and 14. "Sanger said that the district has built upon its partnerships with nearby colleges and universities to provide more college level courses to high school juniors and seniors. 'They can move towards their high school diploma and garner college credits', said Sanger. 'So it is very possible for Union City High School students to leave with 12-15 college credits without any cost to them that are transferable to many colleges in New Jersey.'" In addition to Liberal Arts courses, students can take advanced placement biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy & physiology, forensic science, robotics, geometry, algebra 2, and calculus at the AEA. Students preparing for civil engineering and architecture careers can take pre-engineering, computer networking and computer aided design (CAD) at the AEA. The AEA offers a course in Mandarin Chinese added in 2016,World Languages, Union City High School. Accessed August 28, 2017.Dia, Hannington. "What's new at schoolUC, WNY kids talk about returning; Mandarin language to be offered in UC", The Hudson Reporter, September 4, 2016. Accessed August 28, 2017. "Elementary and high school students in Union City can also look forward to a new Mandarin Chinese language program." making it one of the few high schools in New Jersey to do so. As of 2021, the Advanced Placement participation rate in the school was 13%. The Academy was so successful that the student body outgrew the building. To meet their needs, the city converted José Martí Freshman Academy into José Martí STEM Academy, beginning with the September 2019 semester, which saw 700 students in grades 9-12 enter the school the first time. So great was demand that 500 students applied for the 130 spaces available for the following year's freshman class.
History The site on which Union City High School sits was acquired by the city in the 1930s, having originally been the location of the Hudson County Consumers Brewery Company, which opened in 1901 and closed in 1928. Through the efforts of Director of Public Affairs Harry J. Thorout and the Federal Works Progress Administration, which awarded the project $172,472, as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, it was turned into the art deco Roosevelt Stadium, which opened in 1937.Rosero, Jessica. "Farewell to historic stadium Union Hill, Emerson play final matchup at celebrated facility", The Hudson Reporter, December 14, 2004. Accessed February 9, 2017. "A tradition that has spanned eight decades, the annual Thanksgiving Day Game between Emerson High School and Union Hill High School has always been the culmination of the football season for Union City. This year's game, however, also marked a special place in the town's history, as it was the last Thanksgiving game to be played at the famed Roosevelt Stadium.... The WPA granted $172,472 for the stadium, and in 1936 employed 350 men to begin the construction. On Nov. 12, 1937, city, county and state officials gathered with about 11,000 people to dedicate the new stadium, which had been referred to as the 'Depression Baby.'" Though primarily a football stadium that served as a home to future National Football League greats Lou Cordileone and Frank Winters and College Football Hall of Famer Ed Franco, the stadium also housed events in semi-pro baseball, soccer, track, boxing, as well as numerous special events, such as an exhibition baseball game featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.Hague, Jim. "Scoreboard: The end of an era in Union City" , The Hudson Reporter, December 7, 2004. Accessed June 11, 2024. "Over the years, it housed some great events, like an exhibition baseball game that featured a traveling bunch of vagabond ball players by the names of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Or the time a Cuban baseball team played a game of solidarity and goodwill, with appearances from legendary Hispanic performers like Tony Oliva, Minnie Minoso and Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda. There were tractor pulls and car shows over the years, carnivals and concerts. There were ceremonies and graduations, political rallies and religious celebrations." Roosevelt Stadium was also the home to the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Game between rivals Emerson High School and Union Hill High School, the two high schools that previously served the city. The last Turkey Game was hosted by the stadium in 2004. Three subsequent Turkey Games were held at the Midtown Athletic Complex until 2007, after which the two high schools would be converted into middle schools. José Martí Middle School, which is located on Summit Avenue at 18th Street, was converted into José Martí Freshman Academy.
On July 11, 2005, acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey and Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack, along with other officials, broke ground in preparation for the new complex, budgeted at $180 million, of which $172 million was provided by the state, with Union City providing the remaining $8 million, making it one of the most expensive schools in New Jersey. Cliffside Park-based RSC Architects, in partnership with architecture firm HOK New York, designed the school, which includes 66 classrooms. Piscataway-based Epic Management served as the construction manager for the project.Lee, Evelyn. "Union City High School project nears completion", NJBiz, September 11, 2009, copied at RSC Architects. Accessed February 9, 2017. In early March 2006, a large piece of the Hudson Brewery's original brick foundation was found intact, along with the base of a manhole still connected to an original sewer that opened underneath the brewery. The artifacts were removed for historic preservation.Rosero, Jessica. "There's beer down here! Construction on high school unearths brewery foundation", , The Hudson Reporter, March 21, 2006. Accessed June 10, 2024. "The stadium has since been demolished, and the remaining foundation and manhole will probably be removed, but while construction crews continue to excavate the site, officials will be on the lookout for other hidden treasures for preservation."