Immaculata High School (also known as Immaculata, Lata, or IHS) is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic high school in Somerville, in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1962, Immaculata High School operates within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.School Directory, Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. Accessed April 12, 2021. The school was also served by a group of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (from opening through the end of the 2018–19 school year), who lived in a convent attached to the main building of the school. Many of the Sisters taught different subjects in the school's curriculum. Immaculata High School has been accredited by Cognia since 2012.Immaculata High School, Cognia (education). Accessed September 13, 2020.
As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 487 students and 76.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 6.3:1. The school's student body was 78.4% (382) White, 7.6% (37) Black, 5.7% (28) two or more races, 5.1% (25) Asian, 2.7% (13) Hispanic and 0.4% (2) American Indian / Alaska Native.School data for Immaculata High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2023.
History The Immaculate Conception parish in Somerville had opened an elementary school, which would have its first class graduate from the school in June 1962. Plans were undertaken to have a high school open in time for the graduates of the grammar school. When the school opened in September 1962, there was a 90-student freshman class and a building under construction estimated to cost $1.15 million (equivalent to $ million in ).History of the Parish, The Church of the Immaculate Conception Somerville, N.J.. Accessed March 16, 2021. "Father Kelly immediately started planning for a high school. Since the grammar school went through grade four, with a new grade being added every year, it became the pastor’s goal of getting the high school ready in time for when those fourth graders completed their primary education and graduated in June 1962. He wanted to be ready for them the following September..... Ninety freshmen began their studies in September 1962 in a high school which consisted only of a freshman class."
From the school's founding in 1962 until the end of the 2018–19 school year, when they were assigned to other duties, the school had been staffed by nuns from the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary."Nuns Assigned to Immaculata Community to Leave Somerville after 61 Years", TAP into Hillsborough, January 13, 2019. Accessed March 16, 2021. "The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary will end their association with Immaculate Conception School and Immaculata High School after 61 years and will be reassigned to other responsibilities at the end of the school year.... 'I was recently notified by Sister Mary Ellen Tennity, General Superior of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), that the Sisters, who have been a part of the Immaculate Conception family since 1957 and Immaculata High School since 1962, will be reassigned from our community as of June 2019.'"
Awards, recognition and rankings During the 1997–98 school year, Immaculata High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,National Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982 Through 2019 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2024. the highest award an American school can receive.CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department , Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post, September 29, 2005. "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
Academics Beginning with the 2019–2020 school year, Immaculata students have the option of enrolling in the school's Chesterton Classical Studies program.Kuboski, Terry. Somerville: Immaculata HS Adds Classics Studies to Curriculum, Tap into Somerville, March 4, 2019. Accessed April 12, 2021 This program, named for G. K. Chesterton, provides a traditional foundation of studies in the humanities, namely philosophy, theology, language and the other liberal arts. Students in the program take Latin, and study the works of Homer, Socrates, Chaucer, Plato, Aristotle, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Teresa of Avila and others, while engaging in Socratic dialogue and discussion. The goal of the program is to form students intellectually and morally, so that they are capable of navigate the whole of life with prudence and wisdom.Chesterton Classical Studies Program at Immaculata High School
Students are offered many levels of classes, which include AP courses, Honors courses, and College Prep courses.
Immaculata's Unitas Prosperitas (U.P.) program supports students who are classified with learning disabilities and other academic challenges.Immaculata High School focuses on welcoming students with learning needs in Unitas Prosperitas program
Athletics The Immaculata SpartansImmaculata High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Skyland Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties in west Central Jersey and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 354 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. The football team competes in the United Blue division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions." The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Non-Public Group B (equivalent to Group I/II for public schools) for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 140 to 686 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. Immaculata's school colors are blue and white.
Interscholastic sports offered at Immaculata include:
Fall sports Cheerleading Boys' Cross Country Girls' Cross Country Football Boys' Soccer Girls' Soccer Girls' Tennis Girls' Volleyball Marching Band
Winter sports Boys' Basketball Girls' Basketball Bowling Girls Cheerleading Cheerleading Competition Team JV and Varsity Swimming Indoor Track Wrestling
Spring sports Baseball Golf Boys' Lacrosse Girls' Lacrosse Softball Boys' Tennis Track
The 1981 softball team finished the season with a 23-5-1 record after winning the Group I state title with a 2-0 one-hitter against Becton Regional High School in the championship game.Softball Championship History 1972–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated July 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024."Becton beaten, 2-0", Herald News, June 7, 1981. Accessed January 4, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Building up a ledger of 22-2 with-skeins of six and 12 wins in a row, including three rounds of state competition, the Wildcats captured the North Jersey Section 1 and 2, Group 1 title to be the first Becton squad to make it into the state finals.... 'It feels real good just to be here,' Maver said, speaking for the team after losing 2-0 to Immaculata (23-5-1) of Somerville and Janet Sidotti (one-hitter)."
The 1987 girls' basketball team finished the season with a 24–4 record after winning the Non-Public Group B state title with a 54–40 victory against runner-up Bishop Eustace in the championship game played at Brookdale Community College.Girls Basketball Championship History: 1919–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated March 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. As of date accessed, the source incorrectly lists Immaculate Conception High School of Montclair as the runner-upWhitmer, Kevin L. "Lessons learned in 4 defeats help Immaculata to state title", Courier News, March 16, 1987. Accessed February 24, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The banner will hang proudly in their Somerville gymnasium, reading 'Immaculata High School. Girls' Parochial B Champions. 1986-1987. 24-4.'... The Immaculata High girls' basketball team won a state championship yesterday at Brookdale Community College over a young and inexperienced Bishop Eustace team from Pennsauken."
The baseball team won the Non-Public B state championship in 1995 (defeating Gloucester Catholic High School in the tournament final) and won the Non-Public A title in 2010 (vs. St. Joseph High School).Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The 2010 team finished the season 22–5 after coming back from a 5–1 seventh-inning deficit to tie the game and then win the Non-Public A title with a 7–5 walk-off win in extra innings against St. Joseph in the championship game.Frezza, Harry. "Baseball: Courier News All-Decade teams, 2010-2019", Courier News, September 14, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2020. "2. Immaculata, 2010... Record: 22-5 (Non-Public A champions, Skyland Conference Delaware East champions)... The Spartans trailed St. Joseph 5-1 in the seventh in the state final, but a four-run bottom of the seventh tied it and Joe Sforza’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth gave Immaculata a 7-5 win and first state title since 1995. This one was its first in Non-Public A." The team has won the Somerset County Tournament in 1991, 1994, 1997–2002, 2004, 2006-2008 and 2018; the 13 titles (through 2018) are the most in the tournament's history since it was established in 1973."The history of the Somerset County Baseball Tournament (Throwback Photos)", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 8, 2019, updated August 24, 2019. Accessed November 24, 2020.
The boys' lacrosse team won the Non-Public B state championship in 2007 (vs. Pingry School), 2009 and 2010 (vs. Pingry both years), 2011 (vs. Montclair Kimberley Academy) and 2014 (vs. Morristown-Beard School). The program's five state titles are tied for eighth in the state.NJSIAA Boys Lacrosse Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.