Our School
Vice President Hubert Humphrey once said, “Just as we welcome a world of diversity, so we glory in an America of diversity – an America all the richer for the many different and distinctive strands of which it is woven.” Here at Perth Amboy High School, we have woven our own quilt of uniqueness, diversity and pride. Our school strives to embody what a high school should be, offering academic courses that range from advanced placement to enrichment classes. If a student is falling behind and needs assistance, he or she is able to take advantage of the various special peer-run tutoring programs. What sets our school apart is not merely our endeavors in academics, but our perseverance in the face of adversity, our vast extra-curricular and humanitarian programs and our students themselves.
Our school offers over 30 clubs that mirror the interests and diversity of the student population. We have a Performing Arts program that recently performed at Princeton University and Carnegie Hall, a Student Council that held a St. Jude Children’s Hospital Benefit in January, a Key Club that created its own food bank in the school, and a School Base that helped raise over $19,000 dollars for earthquake victims in Haiti. Additionally, our award winning NJROTC unit volunteers regularly in the community. The beauty of all these programs does not rely solely on the fact that any student can find their niche in our school, but that we help and give back to the community. A football player can be in the same club as the chorale member – we definitely rise above the typical high school stereotypes and are proud to say that we don’t have cliques here at Perth Amboy High School.
As an urban school district, some may look upon our school negatively; however, we continue to prove our nay-sayers wrong. Even though students are faced with many obstacles in their efforts to graduate and attend college, teachers, guidance counselors, administrators and students themselves fight to overcome these obstacles. Programs such as Project Adelante, a college bound program, which helps bilingual students perfect their usage of the English language is one example of a program to help overcome obstacles. Many students look back on their high school experience and remember teachers who didn’t understand them. Here, however, our students and teachers build relationships that give them the confidence both inside and outside of the classroom to succeed.
The students themselves are proof of our school’s diversity. Perth Amboy High School students hail from North and South America, the Caribbean Islands, Eastern Europe and Asia, as well as the African continent. We also have a socially accepting environment where dialogue, creativity and self-expression are encouraged.
