# Mount Olive High School (New Jersey)

Mount Olive High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Mount Olive Township, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Mount Olive Township School District. The school is located in the Flanders section of the township.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,511 students and 117.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.9:1. There were 188 students (12.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 74 (4.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

## History

The original school opened in October 1972 and was operated as West Morris Mount Olive High School by the West Morris Regional High School District until voters from Mount Olive Township and the other constituent municipalities approved a refererendum to have Mount Olive leave the regional district effective with the start of the 1978–79 school year. West Morris Mount Olive High School Class of 1978 was the last graduating class from this facility under the regional administration. The high school building and remaining faculty became part of the Mount Olive Township Schools.

## Awards, recognition and rankings

In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 482nd out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 50th among all high schools in New Jersey and 33rd among the state's non-magnet schools.
The school was the 97th-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. The school had been ranked 69th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 90th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 107th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 114th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 109th out of 381 public high schools statewide its 2011 rankings (an increase of 35 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (85.9%) and language arts literacy (96.4%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

## Athletics

The Mount Olive High School Marauders compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had competed as part of the Iron Hills Conference, which included high schools in Essex, Morris and Union counties. With 1,158 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. The football team competes in the Freedom 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. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 893 to 1,315 students.
Students are eligible to participate in interscholastic sports offered in the fall, winter, and spring seasons. Fall sports include boys/girls soccer, girls tennis, boys/girls cross country, boys football, girls cheerleading, girls volleyball, and girls field hockey. Winter sports include boys/girls basketball, boys/girls indoor track, boys wrestling, and boys/girls swimming. Spring sports include boys/girls track, boys/girls lacrosse, boys baseball, girls softball, boys/girls golf, and boys tennis.
The school participates as the host school / lead agency for a joint cooperative ice hockey team with Hopatcong High School, while Hopatcong is the host school for co-op boys / girls bowling teams. The ice hockey team also includes Hackettstown High School as a partner. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. The ice hockey partnership with Mount Olive started in the 2014-15 school year and plays under the Mount Olive name.
Mount Olive High School added new athletic facilities constructed during the 2005-2007 school years. New facilities include a turf field, auxiliary gym, weight room, dance room, training room, and new offices for coaches. In 2017–18, additional facilities were added, including new stadium seating for the turf football field and a dome to be used over the soccer field in the winter.
The field hockey team won the North II Group II state sectional championship in 1981, won the North II Group III title in 1988, 1995 and 1998, and won the North I Group III title in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004. The 2003 field hockey team won the North I, Group III sectional title with a 1–0 win against High Point Regional High School. The 2004 team repeated the title with a 3–0 win over Wayne Hills High School.
The girls cross country team won the Group III state championship in 1989 and 2013. The team has won the North Jersey sectional title 11 times in their history starting with five in a row from 1977 - 1981.
The soccer team won the North I, Group III state sectional championship in 1999 with a 2–1 win against Northern Highlands Regional High School in the tournament final.
In 2002, the football team finished the season with an 11-1 record after winning the North II, Group III sectional championship with a 14–13 victory against Jefferson Township High School in the championship game, after holding off a late rally by Jefferson.
The wrestling team won the North II Group III state sectional title in 2002 and the North I Group IV title in 2020
In 2008, the softball team won the NJSIAA/Blue Ribbon Awards North I, Group III sectional tournament with a 1–0 shutout of Montville Township High School.
In 2011, the basketball team won their first conference championship in school history. In 2012, the Marauders won their second straight conference title, sharing it with Sparta High School and Pope John XXIII Regional High School. They also made it to the finals for their County Tournament for just the second time in school history. However, after tying the game up with 11 seconds to play, they lost by 2 points when Chatham scored a layup with 5 seconds left. The following season, in 2013, the Marauders made it to the Morris County Championship once again, this time defeating Chatham High School. The 2014 team went on to another MCT Championship with a victory over Morristown, being told as the greatest basketball game ever in Morris County history.
The ice hockey team won the Haas Cup in 2014 with a 3-2 overtime win against Madison High School in the championship game.

## Arts

Members of the Mount Olive High School Choirs have many outside performing opportunities. Members have sung with Essential Voices USA at Symphony Space in NYC for a concert tribute to Leonard Bernstein as well the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall presenting a program featuring the music of Lerner and Loewe. The MOHS Concert Choir has sung on the PBS special Celebrate America with composer Tim Janis which aired in March 2010. In November 2011, members sang with Neil Diamond at the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony on NBC Television as part of EVUSA. Members have also been a part of the annual "American Christmas Carol" (also featuring Tim Janis) concert in December at Carnegie Hall where Mr. Vanzini is the Choirmaster of a 230-voice choir and made his second conducting appearance at Carnegie Hall on December 2, 2011.
The Mount Olive High School Drama Club competes in the Bucks County Playhouse competition annually as well as performing two shows a year. The fall show is either a comedy or drama and in the spring, Mount Olive has a musical. In addition to a spring and fall production, each year, the club puts on a cabaret style show titled, "Broadway Night", which features members of the club performing various Broadway numbers.
In 2009, the school's marching band received 1st place in all competitions they competed in, including the United States Scholastic Band Association Northern Allstates Championships. The show they performed was entitled, "Next Stop...", featuring themes from New York, such as Beethoven's Fifth in Lincoln Center, variations on "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" for Yankee Stadium, "Clair De Lune" for Central Park, and "New York, New York", "Auld Lang Syne", and a medley of the songs performed in the show for the fourth movement, Times Square/Broadway.
In 2013, the decision was made to leave the United States Scholastic Band Association, and take a more independent track. In 2018, the marching band decided to reorganize itself to also contain a rock band. Part of this decision was to stop competing, and instead focus on creating the most entertaining halftime show possible. In 2022, the marching band decided to perform at select away shows and begin competing again.
The Visual Arts Department at Mount Olive High School has also had success for decades. The hierarchy of classes include introductions to drawing, sculpture, and digital design as well as intermediate courses in concentrations such as Graphic Design, Painting & Drawing, Photography (with a wet darkroom), Sculpture and Traditional Crafts. The culminating courses include Advanced Art, AP Studio Art, and AP Art History. The department has student award and scholarship winners at many of the exhibitions they attend each year and have won the Best in Show award from the Teen Arts Festival at the County College of Morris in 2015, 2016, and 2018. Students who move through the various courses within the department routinely get accepted to some of the best art schools in the country including SCAD, RIT, Pratt Institute, and [./Https://moore.edu/ Moore College of A&D]. The National Art Honor Society chapter at Mount Olive High School has been hosting one of the longest running Invitational Exhibitions in the region, continuing on for nearly 40 years, almost since the school's inception. Recently, the multiple art schools that are invited to jury the show have increased the amount of scholarship money they offer at the Exhibition to exceed a potential total of over $1 million.

## FIRST Robotics

The Mount Olive Varsity FIRST Robotics Competition Team is MORT Team 11. MORT was founded in the fall of 1996, and started competing in the 1997 season. The Junior Varsity team, which competes at the same level as Team 11, is MORT BETA Team 193. This team, which first competed in 2013, consists of only freshmen. Classes have been offered in the district since the year 2000.
In 2005 Team 11 won the Chairman's Award at the NJ Regional Competition. This award is the highest honor achievable at a regional competition by a FIRST robotics team. In 2004 and 2006 MORT won the Palmetto Regional and in 2008 they won the Chesapeake regional.
Founder Bill McGowan was awarded the FIRST New Jersey Regional Woodie Flowers Award in 2008, the highest commendation that FIRST awards a team coach or mentor.
Mount Olive Robotics Team also was a charter team in the inaugural FIRST LEGO League season in 2002 and received an at-large bid as one of only 17 teams to compete at the FIRST Championship at EPCOT that year.

## Administration

The school's principal is Kevin Stansberry. His core administration team includes the four vice principals.

## Notable alumni

* Liam Anderson (born 2000) American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League
* Mariann Budde (born 1959 or 1960), prelate of the Episcopal Church who has served as Bishop of Washington since November 2011
* Keturah Orji (born 1996, class of 2014), track and field athlete specializing in the triple jump who was selected as part of the U.S. team at the 2016 Summer Olympics
* Ryan Peterson (born 1995), professional footballer who plays for the Charlotte Independence in USL League One
* Steve Slattery (born 1980, class of 1998), track and field athlete who is a steeplechase specialist
* Naya Vialva, footballer who plays as a defender for the United States Virgin Islands women's national soccer team