Manalapan Science and Engineering Program

How It Works

The Science and Engineering Program is a comprehensive, 4-year magnet program located in Manalapan High School. After applying their 8th grade year, up to 30 students are brought into the program. Each year, students take rigorous STEM classes within the program, while taking humanities based classes outside the program, but within Manalapan High School. Besides the comprehensive academic standards, students within the Science and Engineering Program participate in academic competitions, explore STEM career paths, and form a community with their peers.

The program was founded in 1985 with comprehensive courses focused on the mathematical and scientific subjects. As time went on, the program evolved and now consists largely of courses related to engineering, science, and advanced level mathematics. Recently, the program has had anywhere from 10 to 40 students in each class, recently changed to a max of 30 per class. The program, part of Manalapan High School, is part of the Freehold Regional High School District. The learning center serves more than 100 students at a single time. Students in the program challenge themselves with Advanced Placement (AP) courses. In these courses, students in high school learn at the college level in their classes and culminate their course material with an AP exam, a rigorous, applicative assessment scored from 1 - 5 which tests students on their knowledge. If the student receives appropriate scores, they may be able to receive college credit for the hard work and effort they’ve put into their high school careers.

Applying to the Program

How do students looking to pursue a career in science and engineering apply to this learning center to help pursue their dreams? It all starts in their eighth grade year, when students in the various middle schools of the communities of the Freehold Regional High School District. Academically talented students are first presented with options of vocational schools or learning centers they may be interested in applying to, which includes schools of the Monmouth County Vocational School District, as well as some of the other learning centers offered by the FRHSD such as the Medical Sciences Learning Center, Computer Science Academy, Business Administration Learning Center, Humanities Learning Center, Law and Public Service Learning Center, and many more. Students are allowed to apply to one MCVSD school and two FRHSD learning centers. To apply to the Science & Engineering Learning Center, a student must complete an online application on the FRHSD website, comment on their extracurricular activities, give two recommendations from their middle school teachers, take an entrance exam that tests their abilities in mathematics and english, and write a personal statement allowing students to comment on why they want to attend the school. Students, in a few months, are either accepted to the program or are waitlisted to potentially be accepted at a later date. The Science and Engineering program at Manalapan High school competes heavily with schools such as Biotechnology High School and High Technology High School for students, which have consistently been ranked in the top 20 high schools in the country.

Course of Study

Upon being accepted into the Science & Engineering Learning Center, you attend an orientation at the end of your eighth grade year to listen to a presentation about the program once again, meet some of the teachers you’ll be encountering in your freshman year, and receive your summer assignments for your respective mathematics and science courses.

In your freshman year at Science & Engineering, you are challenged with rigorous mathematics and science courses along with history, english, world language, and possibly a finance course of your choosing. *SE - courses denoted with “*SE” are courses exclusive to the program and are not flexible.

World History: Perspectives on the Past (Academic or Honors)
*SE Computer Programming & Engineering Design
*SE AP Biology
Physical Education & Health Education 9
*SE Honors Math IA: Geometry
Financial Literacy OR AP Microeconomics (if the student already completed Geometry)
*SE Honors Math IB: Algebra II
World Language (Italian or Spanish
English I (Academic or Honors)

At the end of your freshman year in the program, students take finals in just about every course they’re enrolled in (with the exception of half-year and quarter-year courses in which you take the final at the end of the respective semester or quarter. Before embarking into their summer break, students receive another batch of summer assignments for their courses in sophomore year.

US History I (Academic or Honors)
*SE AP Statistics
World Language (Italian or Spanish)
Physical Education & Driver’s Education 10
*SE AP Chemistry
English II (Academic or Honors)
*SE Honors Math II: Pre-Calculus

In their junior year, Science & Engineering students are exposed to more profound aspects of engineering and computer science while continuing their track of rigorous science and mathematics courses as well. Summer assignments are once again given to be completed during the summer to prepare for the rigorous workload of junior year.

*SE AP Physics C: Mechanics
Physical Education & Health Education 11
*SE AP Computer Science A
Academic US History II OR AP US History
*SE AP Calculus BC
*SE Electronics
Academic English III OR AP English: Language & Composition

In their senior year, Science & Engineering students utilize the extensive engineering knowledge they’ve obtained in their junior year and apply it to their own engineering research projects. Students will work on their own creative engineering idea and/or work at an internship with a local technology firm. Summer assignments are given to prepare students for the coursework of their senior year. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are reserved for science and mathematics classes, while Tuesdays and Thursdays are devoted to either their senior projects or their internships (after 11:00 and only in their *SE classes).

Art, Music, or Drama
Elective - Student Choice
Academic English IV OR AP English Literature & Composition
Physical Education & Health Education 12
*SE AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism
*SE Honors Multivariable Calculus
*SE Honors Engineering Research

Outside the Program

Students in the program take rigorous science and mathematics classes with the other students accepted into the program and take history, english, world language, and art classes mixed with students in the program and outside of the program, ensuring the students can still socialize with students outside of Science & Engineering. Students are still technically students of Manalapan High School and are entitled to play sports representing Manalapan High School as well as attend Manalapan High School’s out-of-school events such as homecoming and Battle Of The Classes. Students in the program also have an unignorable presence in extracurricular activities both related and unrelated to science and engineering. Students are well-rounded and perform well in politics and public-speaking activities as well, such as Junior Statesmen of America and the Freethinkers Society.

Accomplishments

The program has earned

numerous accolades.It has an impressive entourage of knowledgeable and helpful teachers. Most students in the program perform very well on standardized tests including the AP Exams they take. The PSAT/NMSQT, and the SAT. Students have also performed well in competitions such as New Jersey Science League and the American Mathematics Contest. In 2006, the average SAT score was a 2,185 and more recent scores have been similar. If this center was ranked as a separate high school, they would rank #2 out of more than 27,000 U.S high schools based on SAT scores alone. Students who graduate from the Science & Engineering Learning Center attend some of the top schools throughout the nation and are very well prepared for the rigorous curriculum they’ll face in college. Included in the program are opportunities for staff and students to interact with representatives from industry and institution of higher learning to receive awareness of research methods, current applications, and career opportunities to further assist students in their journey beyond high school.