Lacey Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which operates as part of the Lacey Township School District.
The school is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1983, with accreditation expiring in July 2027.Lacey Township High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 20, 2024.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,119 students and 80.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.9:1. There were 270 students (24.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 75 (6.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Lacey Township High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
The school's mascot is a lion, the symbol is a paw, for the "Lacey Lions." The school's colors are navy blue, silver, and cardinal
Lacey Township High School has implemented a random drug testing policy. Students participating in any extracurricular activities including after school sports, clubs or any school event must sign a waiver that allows them to be drug tested randomly. The first offense includes suspension from all after school activities for 10 days.Napoliello, Alex. "Lacey Township High School to hold random drug testing", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 17, 2013. Accessed May 6, 2016.
History Organized efforts to establish a high school in the township go back to 1971, when a group of residents that included a Central Regional High School District board trustee created the Lacey Township High School Study Committee to consider the options available, based on advice from experts."Lacey Group Says School Only Studied", Asbury Park Press, May 1, 1971. Accessed April 12, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Vincent Passeri, chairman of a group of citizens on the feasibility of a high school in the township, says its only purpose is to investigate the possibility of a school. Mr. Passeri denied an assertion the committee favors a high school in the township which is now part of the Central Regional High School district. The group, called the Lacey Township High School Study Committee, was organized in January and has retained a lawyer, architect, and educational consultant. Mr. Passeri, who is also a member of the Central Regional Board of Education, said the growth of the township prompted formation of the committee." By March 1976, the Lacey Township Taxpayers Association suggested consideration of a township school for grades 7 and 8 as the first step towards withdrawal of the 1,100 township students attending Central Regional."Towns Move to Secede From Central Regional", Asbury Park Press, March 14, 1976. Accessed April 12, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Meanwhile, the Lacey Township Taxpayers Association plans to meet with the school board there to discuss staged withdrawal from Central -Regional leading to building a Lacey Township high school. About 1,100 Lacey seventh through 12th grade students will enter high school in September. The taxpayers propose an elementary school addition to house first withdrawal of the seventh and eighth graders."
Constructed at a cost of $9.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) and designed to handle a maximum enrollment of 1,200, the school opened its doors in September 1981 with 850 students in grades 9–12.Young, Sanne. "New school reflects Lacey needs", Asbury Park Press, August 31, 1981. Accessed April 12, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The $9.5 million school on Haines Street will open its doors Sept. 10 to about 850 students in grades 9 through 12.... The facility has a capacity of about 1,200 students, with an initial enrollment of about 850 students expected, Cangelosi said. Enrollment is projected to increase to about 1,000 students over the next few years, and to remain at that level for at least 9 or 10 years, he said." Before the new facility opened, students from Lacey Township had attended Central Regional High School in neighboring Berkeley Township as part of a sending/receiving relationship.Williams, Kevin. "A Renewal of the Lacey-Central Regional Rivalry", WOBM-FM, September 20, 2019. Accessed December 31, 2020. "I’m sure there are many who don’t know that for many years Lacey Township was a sending district to Central Regional High School. Until 1981 if you lived in Forked River, Lanoka Harbor or Bamber Lakes you attended Central and many of my friends from my high school days lived in Lacey. However in 1981 they got their own high school and as you might expect an immediate rivalry was born, especially when it came to athletics."
A new west wing was added onto the school in 2003, which offers upgraded classrooms.
In 2018, the school was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union after suspending two students who had posted photos of themselves at a gun range, in their own free time and not on school property. One of the students, Cody Conroy, was vocal about the situation. "Sharing our completely legal weekend activities on Snapchat should not result in three days of in-school suspensions."Oglesby, Amabda; Sastrowardoyo, Hartriono B. "ACLU sues Lacey schools for students' gun rights", Asbury Park Press, April 10, 2019. Accessed October 12, 2020. "The Lacey Township School District is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union's New Jersey chapter and a Hackensack-based law firm on behalf of two students who say their rights were violated last year after they posted a picture of guns on social media. Lacey Township High School student Cody Conroy and a friend identified in the lawsuit only as H.S. posted a picture on the Snapchat social-media app of legally owned guns on a table and were suspended by school administrators as a result, according to the ACLU."
Awards, recognition, and rankings The school was the 210th-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 257th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 225th 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 238th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed January 31, 2011. The school was ranked 201st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008. Schooldigger.com ranked the school as tied for 211th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of one position from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed January 8, 2012.
Maurice Grillon III was recognized by Princeton University as one of four outstanding New Jersey secondary school teachers, honored at its June 1, 2004, commencement. Through Grillon's efforts, the school's German language program was expanded to 210 students.Princeton honors outstanding secondary school teachers, Princeton University press release dated May 26, 2005
Math teacher Mark Geiger was recognized in April 2011 as a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, in recognition of his efforts to identify "for new and innovative ways to teach mathematics in order to make it relevant and to connect to each of his students."Mark Geiger: Lanoka Harbor, NJ - Mathematics, Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, April 2011. Accessed November 9, 2011. In 2014, Mark Geiger was selected as the first American soccer referee to officiate in the FIFA World Cup since 2002.via Associated Press. "Former Lacey teacher Mark Geiger looks to get call as World Cup soccer referee", The Press of Atlantic City, April 14, 2014. Accessed February 23, 2016. "Geiger is the first American official at the World Cup since 2002. His assignment could be any match from the other seven groups. The 39-year-old former high school math teacher from Lacey Township High School in New Jersey won't know which until days before kickoff."
Advanced Placement courses Lacey Township High School offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses to students including AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science A, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP French Language and Culture, AP German Language and Culture, AP Physics 1, AP Psychology, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Statistics, AP Studio Art, and AP United States History.Lacey Township High School 2013-14 School Performance Report, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 14, 2015.
Athletics The Lacey Township High School LionsLacey Township High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in Division B 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 876 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 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 III South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 695 to 882 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The school participates as the host school / lead agency in a joint ice hockey team with Barnegat High School. 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.
Sports offered by the high school include: Fall SportsWinter SportsSpring SportsBoys Cross CountryWrestlingBaseballGirls Cross CountryBowlingGolfField HockeyBoys BasketballGirls LacrosseFootballGirls BasketballSoftballGirls GymnasticsBoys SwimmingBoys Spring TrackBoys SoccerBoys Winter TrackGirls Spring TrackGirls SoccerGirls Winter TrackBoys TennisGirls TennisGirls SwimmingBoys LacrosseGirls VolleyballIce HockeyBoys Volleyball