Jackson Memorial High School was a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Jackson Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, opened in 1963 as part of the Jackson School District. It was the sister high school of Jackson Liberty High School, which opened in late summer 2006.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,577 students and 115.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.6:1. There were 445 students (28.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 79 (5.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Jackson Memorial High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
History Before the high school opened, students living in Jackson Township attended Lakewood High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship."Board Sets Up 4-Year High At Lakewood", Asbury Park Press, October 29, 1963. Accessed April 6, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Dr. David Zweben, president of the Board, said that the change is based on the knowledge that Jackson Township students who now attend the Lakewood junior and senior high schools will attend the new Jackson High School next year. He said that only those Jackson Township students now in the junior class who will be seniors next year will attend Lakewood High School."
Jackson High School first opened in September 1963 with 700 students in grades 7-9, though other district school facilities were used on a temporary basis as the building that housed Jackson Junior-Senior High School wasn't completed and opened to students until the spring of 1964.Oglesby, Amanda. "Jackson Memorial celebrates 50 years", Asbury Park Press, October 7, 2014. Accessed December 30, 2020. "Fifty years ago, Jackson opened its first high school within the township, giving residents their own high school.... The building's completion drew an end to Jackson's previous educational relationship with Lakewood High School. When it opened its doors in the spring of 1964, its roughly 700 students walked into Jackson Junior Senior High School for the first time, said Bernie Reider, 73, of Jackson, who was a math and science teacher there at the time." The school was originally a single, one story building with three wings. Around 1970, a second story was added to one wing. In the 1980s, it was expanded to include the nearby middle school which became known as the Clayton building. The original high school building was known as the memorial building in the early 1990s; later it was renamed the Bernie Reider Hall, for a longtime wrestling coach and former principal. The Fine Arts building, added , connects the once separate Clayton building, previously a middle school, and the two-story Bernie Reider Hall.
As part of an effort to deal with a mounting budget deficit, the district announced in February 2025 that for the 2025–26 school year, all high school students would be attending Jackson Liberty High School, with Jackson Memorial High School repurposed for use as a middle school for 7th to 8th grade students.Oglesby, Amanda. "Jackson to merge high schools, sue New Jersey Dept of Education after Lakewood gets loan", Asbury Park Press, February 20, 2025. Accessed February 27, 2025. "This summer, Jackson officials plan to close Christa McAuliffe Middle School to fill an estimated $13 million budget hole in the 2025-26 school year.... In addition, about 1,400 Jackson Memorial High School students would be merged into the student body at Jackson Liberty High School, the newer of the two high schools. Jackson Memorial would then be used to educate seventh- and eighth-grade students."
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 115th-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 188th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 181st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 22, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 216th in the magazine's September 2008 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2010: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 166th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 22 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (80.8%) and language arts literacy (94.1%) 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 March 6, 2012.
Athletics The Jackson Memorial High School JaguarsJackson Memorial High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. competed in Division A South of the Shore Conference, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools in Monmouth and Ocean counties along the Jersey Shore.Shore Conference Realignment for 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, Shore Conference. Accessed November 15, 2020.Member Schools, Shore Conference. Accessed November 15, 2020. The league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 1,186 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 890 to 1,298 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The school participated in a joint ice hockey team with Point Pleasant Borough High School in which Jackson Liberty High School is the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
Jackson Memorial's key rivals were Southern Regional, Toms River South, Toms River North, Toms River East, Brick Memorial and Brick Township.
Baseball Team championships Ocean County Tournament champions - 1972,"Jackson Memorial baseball's success", Asbury Park Press, June 7, 2014. Accessed May 27, 2016. "Legendary former coach Larry D'Zio Jr.'s 407 career wins are sixth on the Shore's all-time list. D'Zio was the coach when the Jaguars won the Group III state and Ocean County Tournament titles in 1972 and the SCT in 1984." 2012,Ocean County baseball season in review 2012 20152015 Ocean County Baseball Tournament homepage Shore Conference Tournament champions - 1984, 2012 South Jersey Group IV sectional champions - 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2024 State champions - 1972 (in Group III, with a 2-1 win against runner-up Summit High School led by future MLB player Willie Wilson"Langford's 3 -Hitter Helps Jackson Win Baseball Title", Asbury Park Press, June 5, 2020. Accessed December 15, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Behind the three-hit pitching of John Langford, Jackson Township High School yesterday defeated Summit, 2-1, and won the State Group III baseball championship.... Jackson Township wound up its season 22-7 and Summit finished 22-3."Edelson, Stephen; and Falk, Steven. "NJ baseball: 25 greatest Jersey Shore teams ever, ranked", Asbury Park Pres, June 11, 2020. Accessed December 15, 2020. "20. Jackson Memorial (1972).... They won the NJSIAA Group III championship 2-1 over a Summit team that was led by a sophomore catcher named Willie Wilson, who would go on to be a first-round draft choice of the Kansas City Royals in 1974 and then a star outfielder with the Royals.") and 2014 (in Group IV, with a 2-0 win vs. Roxbury High SchoolStaff. "Jackson Memorial wins Group IV crown", Asbury Park Press, June 7, 2014. Accessed August 16, 2015. "The Jaguars, after not having a base runner for the first 3 1/3 innings, strung together three hits for two runs in the top of the fourth and recorded a 2-0 win. It is Jackson Memorial's first state championship since 1972, when it won Group III under legendary former coach Larry D'Zio Jr., and its second state championship overall.")Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
Girls basketball Team championships Group IV state champions - 2012 (with a 50-47 win vs. North Hunterdon High School in the finals)Girls Basketball Championship History: 1919–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated March 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.LoRe, Michale. "North Hunterdon High School girls basketball team loses to Jackson Memorial in Group 4 final", The Express-Times, March 12, 2012, updated January 3, 2019. Accessed December 15, 2020. "Sure enough, the Lions came back, but just not enough as Hannah Missry's 3-pointer with 10 seconds left propelled Jackson Memorial to a 50-47 victory over North Hunterdon in the NJSIAA Group 4 championship game at Pine Belt Arena on Sunday afternoon."
Boys bowling Team championships 1975-1976 Overall state championsHistory of NJSIAA Boys Bowling Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 1, 2022. 2010-2011 South Jersey Group IV sectional champions 2010-2011 Group IV state champions 2011-2012 South Jersey Group IV sectional champions 2011-2012 Group IV state champions 2012-2013 South Jersey Group IV sectional champions 2012-2013 Group IV state championsWitkowski, Wayne. "Jaguars' bowlers win third straight Group IV title", Tri-Town News, March 14, 2013. Accessed August 23, 2015. "I t was no surprise to knowledgeable bowling fans around the Shore that Jackson Memorial High School's boys bowling team would enjoy another great season. Few, however, expected it to be the greatest in school history. The Jaguars not only won the NJSIAA Group IV championship for the third straight year, but they also won their first Shore Conference title since 2002. Their only other Group IV title prior to the current three-peat was in 1976." Individual champions Mike Ormsby - 2013 individual state champion Donald Kane - 2013 South Jersey individual state sectional champion Mike Ormsby - 2011 South Jersey individual state sectional champion 2022 Group III state champion
Girls bowling Team championships 1975 Overall state championHistory of NJSIAA Girls Bowling Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. 1978 Overall state champion 2015 Group IV state champion
Boys cross country Team championships State sectional champions - 2006 Meet of Champions winners - 2006NJSIAA Boys Cross-Country Meet of Champions Winner (1972-2018), New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. 2006-2007 New Jersey state champions