Howell High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades located in Howell Township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as one of six secondary schools of the Freehold Regional High School District.Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Freehold Regional High School District, June 30, 2019. Accessed September 4, 2024. "Geographically, the District is comprised of the Townships of Colts Neck, Freehold, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro and the Boroughs of Englishtown, Farmingdale and Freehold. Established in 1953, the District's total area is 198 square miles." The school serves all students from Farmingdale and those from some portions of Howell Township. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1970; the school's accreditation runs through July 2025.Howell High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 19, 2024. Although located in Howell, the school has a Farmingdale mailing address.

As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,775 students and 128.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.9:1. There were 275 students (15.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 40 (2.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Howell High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.

The school hosts the Fine & Performing Arts Center (FPAC) and the Scholars' Center for the Humanities.Humanities Magnet Program, Freehold Regional High School District. Accessed October 21, 2021. "Students curious about the world around them and thirsty for knowledge are who you will find in the Scholars’ Center for the Humanities at Howell High School."

Blue and gray are the school colors, although originally all schools in the district had blue and gold as the school colors at least until the late 1970s. This was originally done so the district could attempt to realize some cost savings on uniforms for extracurriculars.

History After voters rejected a June 1961 referendum for a 1,600-student capacity school, a ballot question for a facility to serve 300 fewer students was passed in March 1962 by a 2-1 margin. The board of education confirmed the name Southern Freehold Regional High School in November 1962, despite efforts by Howell Township to have the school named after the host community. The district allocated $2.7 million (equivalent to $ million in ) for construction of a building on a site to handle an enrollment of up to 1,300 students. Ground was broken in March 1963, with construction set to start a month later and a target completion date of May 1964."Howell Loses Bid to Share School Name", Asbury Park Press, November 18, 1962. Accessed February 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Officials here have been informed by the Freehold Regional High School Board of Education that Howell Township will not be included in the name of a new high school to be built in the township because 'any future schools will be named in accordance with their location.' Another factor is that students from municipalities besides Howell Township will attend the school. The school, to be named Southern Freehold Regional High School, is planned to accommodate 1,300 students at a 60-acre site on the Squankum-Yellow-brook road. A $2,707,000 bond issue has been approved for its construction.""Ground Broken For New Southern Regional High", The Freehold Transcript, March 28, 1963. Accessed February 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Ground was broken yesterday afternoon for the new $2,707,000, 52-classroom Southern Freehold Regional High School to be located on Yellowbrook-Squankum Road..... Target date for completion of the school is May 31, 1964..... Voters in the seven sending districts approved the referendum March 13, 1962 by a vote of 2,010-1,002. A referendum held the previous June was turned down, 1,726-1,331, after which Board members reduced the capacity of the building from over 1,600 to 1,320 students."

The school opened in September 1964, though construction delays meant that the school was not fully complete."Problems No Solved At Southern Regional", Asbury Park Press, October 13, 1964. Accessed February 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The new Southern Freehold Regional High School is in operation, but a lot of work remains before the school is finished.... The school didn't open until Sept. 28 because of a delay in construction caused in July when the general contractor went bankrupt." When it opened, the Southern Freehold Regional High School attendance zone included all of Farmingdale and Howell Township along with the southern portion of Freehold Township."Attendance Zones Set For Freehold Regional", Asbury Park Press, January 16, 1964. Accessed February 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Freehold Regional Board of Education last night established attendance zones which will become effective when the Southern Freehold Regional High School opens in September. Students from Howell Township, Farmingdale, and the southern part of Freehold Township will attend the new school. Students from Englishtown, Manalapan Township, Marlboro Township, Colts Neck Township, Freehold, and the northern part of Freehold Township will continue at the present high school in Freehold."

The school mascot is the Rebel, which had been depicted as a Confederate Army soldier with white hair and a gray uniform.Wall, Karen. "Howell Petitions Spar Over High School's Rebel Mascot District officials say they've been in the process of eliminating the Confederate soldier from Howell's gear and property for some time.", Howell, NJ, Patch, June 8, 2020. Accessed June 8, 2020. "Howell High School's mascot has been the Rebels since its early days. The high school opened in the 1960s, first as Southern Freehold Regional High School. The Rebel has been represented by a soldier with white hair and a gray uniform, and the high school's colors have been blue and gray for many years." The mascot was selected due to the school's original name, "Southern Freehold Regional High School," which lasted until the district expanded to three schools in 1968 when the school was renamed as Howell High School.Howell High School, backed up by the Internet Archive as of December 23, 2014. Accessed September 17, 2017. "As the schools were built, Freehold Regional High School was renamed Freehold High School and Southern Freehold Regional High School was renamed Howell High School.""Passing of a legend" , News Transcript, July 11, 2007. Accessed September 17, 2017. "Goldwater was a fixture in the district for several decades, first at Southern Freehold Regional High School (later renamed Howell High School) and then at Freehold Township High School." While the nickname Rebels was retained after a redesign for the 2020-21 school year, the mascot was redesigned to look like an American soldier from the American Revolutionary War.Gecan, Alex N. "Howell Rebels: New mascot is Continental soldier", Asbury Park Press, July 8, 2020. Accessed October 21, 2021. "Instead of a caricature Confederate soldier dressed in fringe and wearing a broad mustache, the face of the school is now turned down, half-cloaked in shadow. A white collar spreads from the soldier's neck and on the soldier's head sits a tricorn hat, festooned with the letter 'H' and obscuring the soldier's forehead and eyes.... It's a far cry from the Howell High School of the 1970s, when the Confederate Battle Flag marked the school's yearbook and the school's fight song was the Confederate anthem 'Dixie,' a song composed for blackface minstrel shows in the antebellum South."

Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 107th-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 187th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 174th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 29, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 159th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 27, 2011. The school was ranked 181st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across 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 67th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (88.0%) and language arts literacy (98.7%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 27, 2012.

Magnet programs Fine and Performing Arts Center The FPAC program consists of actors, dancers, and Music, Video & Production (MVP) students. Students work for four years to hone their skills in one of these three aspects. Although many students of the FPAC program work in the Drama Club, it is open to any student of Howell High School. Classes that can be taken through the learning academy are: Honors Acting I, Honors Acting II, Honors Music Technology, Honors Video Technology, Honors Media Study, Honors Dance I, Honors Dance II, Honors Dance IV, Honors Acting IV, Honors Music Studio, Honors Video Studio, Honors Music/Video Production, and Honors Video Production.Fine & Performing Arts Magnet Program, Howell High School. Accessed February 3, 2022.

Humanities Scholar Center The Humanities Program consists of a wide variety of students, who take part in advanced classes on history, art, literature, computer applications and philosophy. Their history class, English class and elective are exclusively for Humanities students. Courses that can be taken are: AP English Literature and Composition, AP Seminar, AP Research, Honors Humanities English, Technology Literacy, AP World History: Modern, Honors Topics in Philosophy, AP US History, Honors Modern Art in America, Honors US History 1, and AP English Language and Composition.Humanities Magnet Program, Freehold Regional High School District. Accessed February 3, 2022.

Athletics