The Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST) is a coeducational four-year magnetpublichigh school located in the Sandy Hook section of Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. The school offers learning in all subjects, specializing in marine science and technology. It is one of five career academies administered by the Monmouth County Vocational School District (MCVSD). MAST requires each student to participate in the Naval Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NJROTC) every year as well as an Annual Military Inspection (AMI) in the spring or fall. The school's curriculum focuses on marine sciences and marine technology/engineering. The school offers small classes with close personal attention.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 273 students and 27.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.1:1. There were 4 students (1.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 1 (0.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]
The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools.[3] The Marine Academy is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology. For the 1997–98 and 2013 school years, the Marine Academy was designated a Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education.[4][5] MAST was selected by the Department of Education as a New American High School for the 1998–99 school year;[6] among the many honors and awards the innovative program has received throughout its years. On April 15, 2007, in honor of the Marine Academy's 25th Anniversary, a proclamation by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders declared April 15 as "Marine Academy of Science and Technology Day" in Monmouth County.
History
Marine Academy was founded in 1981 as a part-time program which served an inaugural class of 53 students who attended their home high school in the mornings and took 21⁄2 hours of classes at MAST in the afternoon.[7] The school has since become a full-time diploma-granting program.
Location and campus
MAST campus is located in the Fort Hancock Historic Area, as part of the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The school is adjacent to the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, the oldest operating lighthouse in the country, and is within walking distance of several beaches. The campus includes 13 newly renovated buildings and various laboratories devoted to marine biology, marine chemistry, oceanography, C.A.D., and multi-media. The buildings were previously mess halls and latrines for the "Tent City" that was set up at Fort Hancock for a time during World War II. A Technology Workshop, a Media Center containing a Computer Classroom, a Naval Science Building, a state of the art wet lab in the James J. Howard Marine Science laboratory, and other classrooms round out the facilities. There is also hands-on instruction on the school research vessel, the R/V Blue Sea for underclassmen and some seniors. The "R/V Blue Sea" is currently berthed at the Coast Guard Station on Sandy Hook. This vessel is extensively used throughout many core classes in the curriculum including marine biology, marine chemistry, marine physics, and oceanography.[8]
In the wake of significant damage to the Sandy Hook campus following Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, the MAST campus was temporarily relocated to St. Joseph's School in Keyport, in addition to the use of lab space at Brookdale Community College.[9] As of September 9, 2013, MAST relocated back to its Sandy Hook campus.
NJROTC
All students at the Marine Academy participate in the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC). The unit is designated as an Area 2 school and participates in many inter-unit competitions, the most prominent of which is the Drill Team. Cadets can participate in several disciplines including Freshmen, Color Guard, Armed Platoon, Unarmed Platoon, Unarmed Exhibition, and Armed Exhibition. In the past, MAST has been successful at several area competitions, including Neptune, Linden, and Areas. Exceptional performance in the Area 4 Drill Competition (placing first in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012) has qualified the school for national competition in Pensacola, Florida for those years. In 2016,the MAST Drill Team attended Navy Nationals once again in Pensacola, Florida, their first time back since 2012.
Each year, cadets take a physical fitness test (PFT). The standards for this exam are based upon Navy guidelines. Grades range from "unsatisfactory" to "outstanding", and the result forms a part of the Naval Science grade for credit. Satisfactory PFT performance is a criterion for advancement and promotion.
At the end of each year, qualified cadets are promoted to a rank and billet commensurate with academic performance, ability, and PFT results. The MAST unit is organized into a battalion with four companies and a headquarters section. The highest rank a cadet can achieve is Cadet Commander.
Awards
For the 1997-1998 and 2013 school years, Marine Academy of Science and Technology received the Blue Ribbon Award from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.[4]
MAST was one of two high schools recognized by the New Jersey "Star School" program in its inaugural year of 1993–94.[10] MAST has been honored twice since with the New Jersey Department of Education's highest recognition for a New Jersey school, in both 1997-98 and 2003–04.[11]
For the 1998–1999 school year, MAST received additional national recognition as the New American High School.[12]
Best Practice Award (1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003)
New Jersey Governor's School of Excellence Award, October 2005
Schooldigger.com ranked the school as one of 16 schools tied for first out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (unchanged from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy (100.0%) and mathematics (100.0%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[15]
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 364th in the nation among participating public high schools and 33rd among schools in New Jersey.[16]
In September 2013, the academy was one of 15 in New Jersey to be recognized by the United States Department of Education as part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, an award called the "most prestigious honor in the United States' education system" and which Education Secretary Arne Duncan described as schools that "represent examples of educational excellence".[5][17]
In April 2015 MAST was one of nine schools in the nation recognized by the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) with the Excellence in Action Award. MAST won for its Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography program. NASDCTEc Executive Director, Kimberly Green, said of the winning programs, "Incredibly successful graduating their students at above average rates, building strong industry and community partnerships, and increasing students chances to obtain postsecondary credit and degrees and industry-recognized credentials," [18]
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 181st out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 28th among all high schools in New Jersey.[19]
^"Fledgling marine school fighting for survival", Asbury Park Press, November 9, 1981. Accessed February 16, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Marine Academy of Science and Technology, in its infancy this year under sponsorship of the Monmouth County Educational Services Commission, is looking for a philanthropist. Known to its 53 students from 18 high schools in Monmouth County by its acronym, MAST, the school on Sandy Hook is on the brink of going under.... The program is similar to vocational high school courses in that high school students attend their local regular school for half a day and attend MAST for 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon on what is known as a shared-time basis."
^Rundquist, Jeanette. "Hurricane Sandy aftermath: Some N.J. schools reopen with no heat, no lunch", The Star-Ledger, November 6, 2012. Accessed November 14, 2012. "On Sandy Hook, officials from the Monmouth County Vocational School District yesterday got their first look at damage to the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, known as MAST.... But plans are to send the 280 high school students to class next Tuesday in the former St. Joseph's School in Keyport, and borrow science labs at the Brookdale Community College in Hazlet."
^Rundquist, Jeanette. "15 N.J. schools named as national 'Blue Ribbon' winners", The Star-Ledger, September 24, 2013. Accessed September 25, 2013. "Five Catholic schools, six county vocational-technical schools and a Yeshiva are among the list of honored schools in New Jersey. Also named as 2013 Blue Ribbon Schools were Dover, Harrison and Wildwood high schools."
