The Patrick School (TPS) is an independent co-educational four-year high school in Hackettstown, New Jersey, United States. The school was established in 2012 following the closure of St. Patrick High School, which was a co-educational four-year Catholic high school in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark and had been founded as a vocational school in 1863 as part of Saint Patrick's Parish in Elizabeth, making it the oldest parochial high school in New Jersey. The Patrick School originally operated on the site in Elizabeth that had been St. Patrick High School and the school has continued to carry on the legacy of its predecessor even after its move to Hillside.
The Patrick School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools through July 2029.
The Patrick School reached an agreement with Centenary University in December 2024 that relocated TPS to the university's campus in Hackettstown, with students also having the option to live on campus.
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History
In the 2009–2010 school year, St. Patrick High School had an enrollment of 210 students and 16.8 faculty members (on an FTE basis), resulting in a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1.
St. Patrick High School was closed in June 2012 by the Newark Archdiocese in the face of increasing costs and declining enrollment, despite the school's reputation as a basketball powerhouse.
After the school closed, the Elizabeth Public Schools occupied the school building with the new iPrep Academy School No. 8 starting in the 2013–14 school year.
The Patrick School
Following the closing of St. Patrick High School, administrators and parents affiliated with the defunct school opened a new independent private school located on Morris Avenue in Elizabeth called "The Patrick School" in September 2012.
Despite being a new independent private school, the Patrick School retains a connection to the old St. Patrick High School, and its alumni base. In January 2018, NBA star Kyrie Irving, an alumnus of St. Patrick, donated a new gym to The Patrick School.
Athletics
The Patrick School Celtics / Lady Celtics competed in basketball under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). The Patrick School lost its NJSIAA membership in December 2020, after it established more than one competitive basketball team.
St. Patrick High School's athletic program was most noted for a storied boys basketball program that has produced numerous college and professional level players. For nearly 20 years, under the direction of head coach Kevin Boyle, the team captured multiple NJSIAA sectional and state titles as well as five NJSIAA Tournament of Champions titles (1998, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009). They have gained recognition from multiple national media outlets and have been a staple in many national rankings, including the ESPN RISE Fab 50, USA Today Super 25, and the Max Preps Top 25.
The boys basketball team won the Non-Public Group C state championship in 1947 (against runner-up St. Rose High School in the playoff final), 1948 (vs. St. Rose), 1961 (vs. St. Joseph High School of Hammonton), 1966 (vs. Wildwood Catholic High School), 1967 (vs. Sacred Heart High School) and 1971 (vs. Sacred Heart), and won the Non-Public B title in 1998 (vs. Saint Augustine Preparatory School), 2000 (vs. St. Augustine), 2003 (vs. Cardinal McCarrick High School), 2005 (vs. Cardinal McCarrick) and 2006 (vs. Wildwood Catholic), 2007 (vs. Wildwood Catholic), 2016 (vs. Trenton Catholic Academy) and 2017 (vs. Hudson Catholic Regional High School). The program's 14 state titles are tied for second in the state.
The team 1967 pulled ahead early, building a 20-point lead by the middle of the second period and won the Parochial C state title, the program's fifth, with a 74–50 win against Sacred Heart in the championship game.
In 2000, the boys basketball team won the Parochial North B sectional title with a 77–56 win over Paterson Catholic High School in the tournament final.
In 2003, the boys basketball team won the Non-Public, North B sectional title with a 76–64 win against Paterson Catholic. The team advanced to take the Parochial Group B State championship with an 86–56 win against Cardinal McCarrick High School. The team took the title in the 2003 Boys Basketball Tournament of Champions, defeating Camden Catholic High School in the tournament final.
Notable alumni
Bryce Aiken (born 1996, class of 2016), college basketball player for the Seton Hall Pirates
Joe Alvarez (born 1956, class of 1974), Cuban American baseball manager and a former utility infielder in Minor League Baseball
DeAndre' Bembry (born 1994, class of 2013), former small forward for the Brooklyn Nets
Grant Billmeier (born 1984, class of 2003), former center for the Seton Hall University Pirates men's basketball team
Derrick Caracter (born 1988, transferred), power forward/center, formerly for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, now with A.S. Ramat HaSharon of the Israeli Liga Leumit, played at St. Patrick for his freshman, junior and part of his senior year
Samuel Dalembert (born 1981, class of 1999), Haitian-Canadian former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers, drafted out of Seton Hall University after his sophomore year
Al-Amir Dawes (born 2001), basketball player
Ángel Delgado (born 1994, class of 2014), professional basketball player for Galatasaray Ekmas of the Basketbol Süper Ligi
John J. Fay Jr. (1927–2003), politician who served as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly and the New Jersey Senate
Corey Fisher (born 1988, class of 2007), former point guard for Villanova University, now playing overseas
Jamie Fox (1954-2017, class of 1973), New Jersey political appointee who served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation