Immaculate Conception High School (ICHS) was an American private, Roman Catholic, all-girls college-preparatory high school located in Lodi, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school operated under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.Bergen County Catholic High Schools , Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Accessed November 12, 2016. The school was founded in 1915 by the Felician Sisters and closed at the end of the 2022-23 school year.Anzidei, Melanie. "As Immaculate Conception closes its doors, students will carry memories to new schools", The Record, July 5, 2023. Accessed July 5, 2023. "For one final time, the halls of Immaculate Conception High School were filled.... The Catholic school, founded in 1915, closed its doors on Friday after 108 years in service.... Those who ran Immaculate Conception announced its closure in March, pointing to a 'perfect storm of factors' that led to the school’s collapse: the global pandemic, declining enrollment from feeder schools and costly upgrades to the school’s facilities." ICHS was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools from 1961 until its closure in 2023.Immaculate Conception High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 6, 2022.
As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 145 students and 17.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.1:1. The school's student body was 62.1% (90) White, 26.2% (38) Hispanic, 10.3% (15) Black and 1.4% (2) Asian.School data for Immaculate Conception High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 10, 2022. The average class size was 15 students. The administration, faculty and staff consisted of three Felician Sisters, 19 women, and 8 men. About 98% of seniors pursued higher education.
History Established in 1915, the state approved the school in November 1923 to operate as a secondary school.History, Immaculate Conception High School. Accessed May 5, 2022. "In November 1923, the New Jersey State Department of Education approved the establishment of Immaculate Conception High School as a private secondary school. An increasing enrollment necessitated the construction of the present building. This school was blessed and dedicated on September 8, 1957, by the Most Rev. Thomas A. Boland, Archbishop of Newark." Constructed at the cost of $1 million (equivalent to $ million in ), Newark Diocese Archbishop Thomas Aloysius Boland officiated at ceremonies in September 1957 dedicating the new school, which had a student body of 500, including an incoming ninth-grade class of nearly 150."School Dedications Draw 4,000 Persons To Service; Archbishop Boland Officiates At Ceremonies For Catholic High, Elementary Buildings", Bergen Evening Record, September 9, 1957. Accessed May 5, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "A larger throng of more than 3,000 persons were at the Immaculate Conception High School for Girls at 3 P. M. Archbishop Boland, also performed dedication rites at the school, valued at more than $1-million.... Official opening will be Thursday with a freshman enrollment of 146 students. The entire enrollment of the school is 550 students."
In March 2023, after 107 years of the school running, the Board of Directors announced Immaculate Conception's closure as of June 30, 2023.Katzban, Nicholas. "Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi to close for good at end of June", The Record, April 1, 2023. Accessed April 1, 2023. "Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi announced it will close in June after 107 years due to a declining enrollment pool from Catholic elementary schools and financial headwinds, according to a statement released by the school's board of trustees on Friday. The school, which is sponsored by the Felician Sisters of North America, has operated as an all-girls' high school since 1915. But multiple factors, including a faltering economy and the COVID-19 pandemic, overwhelmed a carefully plotted financial plan to float the institution through 2024, board chair George Abaunza said."
Athletics The Immaculate Conception High School Blue WolvesImmaculate Conception Lodi, North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. Accessed October 20, 2020. participated in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which comprises small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson County, Morris County and Passaic County counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).Mattura, Greg. "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship", The Record, January 9, 2017. Accessed August 30, 2020. "The small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference may debut its own boys basketball tournament this season, one season after introducing its girls hoops championship. The NJIC is comprised of schools from Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties and the event offered to the 36 boys teams would serve as an alternative to likely competing against larger programs in a county tournament."Member Schools, North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. Accessed August 30, 2020.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. Before league realignment in the fall of 2010, Immaculate Conception was part of the smaller Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League (BPSL).New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed December 15, 2014. With 320 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools).NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
Sports offered included soccer, volleyball, tennis, cross country, basketball, softball, cheerleading, swimming and track.
Athletic accomplishments: 2004 Bowling Team: State Tournament Non-Public B sectionals 2005-06 Basketball Team: 2nd Place BPSL Carpenter, County Tournament, State Tournament Non-Public B semifinalist 2006 Softball Team: 2nd Place BPSL Carpenter, County Tournament, State Tournament Non-Public B semifinalist 2006-07 Basketball Team: 1st Place BPSL Carpenter, County Tournament, State Tournament Non-Public B finalist
Softball The team won the Non-Public B state championship each year from 2013 to 2019. The seven consecutive titles are the longest streak in the state and the seven state titles are tied for fifth among all programs in New Jersey.Softball Championship History 1972–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated July 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024.
The softball team won its first state championship in 2013, defeating Sacred Heart High School by a score of 6–4 in the tournament final; Sacred Heart had defeated Immaculate Conception by a 3–1 score in the finals the previous season and was playing its final softball game before the school's closure at the end of the 2012–13 school year.Goldstein, Eric. "Immaculate Conception-Lodi defeats Sacred Heart to win Non-Public B title", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 9, 2013. Accessed December 2, 2017. "It wasn’t supposed to end like this for the Sacred Heart High School softball team. It wasn’t supposed to end watching Immaculate Conception-Lodi celebrate winning the NJSIAA Non-Public B state title with a 6-4 win."
The team repeated as Non-Public B champion in 2014, with a 5–0 win against St. Joseph High School (Hammonton) in the final game of the tournament, finishing with a 27–2 record for the season.Gargan, Guy. "St. Joseph softball loses to Immaculate Conception in state softball final", The Press of Atlantic City, June 7, 2014. Accessed December 2, 2017. "Immaculate Conception won its second straight state Non-Public B title 5-0, scoring a run in the third inning and adding four more in the sixth. The Blue Wolves improved to 27-2, while St. Joseph, the South Jersey champion, finished its season at 14-12."
The team won their third consecutive title in 2015 with a 2–1 win in a rematch against St. Joseph, coming from behind to win the tournament final by scoring one run in the bottom of the sixth inning and a walk-off run on a single with one out in the seventh, finishing the season with a 22–5 record.Schutta, Gregory. "H.S. softball: Immaculate Conception walks off with third title in row", The Record, June 6, 2015, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 20, 2015. Accessed December 2, 2017. "The junior threw off her helmet Friday and raced toward the circle where she was mobbed by her Immaculate Conception teammates after singling in the winning run in the Blue Wolves’ 2-1, come-from-behind victory over St. Joseph (Hammonton) in the Non-Public B softball championship at Kean... It gave the Blue Wolves their third straight Non-Public B crown in a rematch of last year’s state final.... The Blue Wolves (22-5) trailed most of the game after giving up a run in the first on a hit batsman, an error and a wild pitch."McGurk, Tom. "Softball: St. Joseph's run falls short", Courier-Post, June 5, 2015. Accessed December 2, 2017. "Five outs away from capturing the school's first state title in any girls' sport, St. Joseph surrendered the tying run in the sixth and the decisive run in the bottom of the seventh Friday as Immaculate Conception Academy of Lodi walked off with a 2-1 win in the Non-Public B final at Kean University."
In a game that marked Jeff Horohonich's 600th career victory as a coach, the team won its fourth title with a 3–0 win against Benedictine Academy in the 2016 final, to finish the season with a 20–9 record and become the third program to win four straight group titles.Iseman, Chris. "H.S. softball: Immaculate Conception wins fourth state title in row", The Record, June 11, 2016, backed up by the Internet Archive as of June 13, 2016. Accessed December 2, 2017. "Fueled by a three-run fifth inning and another dominant performance from Piening – confident and composed in the circle as always – Immaculate Conception defeated Benedictine, 3-0, Friday in the Non-Public B state title game at Kean University. The Blue Wolves (20-9) became just the third program to win four consecutive state championships.... This was also the 600th career win for Horohonich, who was at the helm of Immaculate Heart when the Blue Eagles won four straight state titles from 1993-96."