City Schools: Learning in Long Branch
Long Branch Education History …
The preeminent historical account of Long Branch — Entertaining a Nation — praises “three fighting superintendents” for guaranteeing the city’s educational heritage. They were: Thomas G. Chattle (1834-1889), Christopher Gregory and Charles T. Stone (1874-1942). These men were “brilliant and tireless champions of education,” according to the city bio-book about Long Branch written by the WPA in 1940. Talk about the benefits of continuity — over the first eight decades the average Long Branch education leader served for 25+ years.
Dr. Chattle guided the city’s school system with “dedication and courage” from 1857 to 1889, Gregory was lead educator from 1889 to 1921 and Stone was the super from 1921 to 1936. Thanks to their foundational service and to the many who came after them, the city has a long and solid record of producing quality students — with able minds.
Formal education for Long Branch really started in West Long Branch in 1780 at a schoolhouse on Cedar Avenue property owned by Elisha West. It wasn’t until 1812 when the first Long Branch school opened on Broadway; it expanded in 1840. John Wood was the first schoolmaster. The original Long Branch Primary School No. 1 was opened on Broadway in 1870; built for about $50,000. That same year the first Garfield Avenue school was also opened.
The school system’s first board of education was formed in 1867; George H. Green was the first president and Dr. Chattle was the first secretary. In 1876, the “Graded School” was opened on Prospect Street. Later it was known as the city’s “Grammar School school; it was torn down in 1968. Long Branch High School officially started in 1878-79. It’s first home, the Chattle High School, was opened in 1899 and torn down shortly after a 1966 fire.
“Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.”
—Daniel Boorstin
Learning in Long Branch caught on quickly. By February 1900, according to the Asbury Park Press, the school system included 2,600+ students with an 85% attendance rate. As a new century was arriving the district was already spread out over 11 buildings and had a $55,000 annual education budget. By 1903, the system included 3,500 students and 70 teachers. By 1949, total enrollment was nearing 3,300 students.
In 1922 Long Branch High School joined the National Honor Society (students were assessed for scholarship, leadership, service and character). The first city students to be chosen were: William Pearsall, Milton Stein, John Metzgar, Helen Vetter, Herbert Rothstein, and Berta Scwartz.
The school system’s main sports booster has been the “Green & White Association” which dates to November 1935 — MORE INFO. The Phi Chi Pi fraternity — city school alums with a Broadway office — played an early leadership role. William Crawford was the first group president. The first membership fee was 10 cents.
Annual spending on education in Long Branch first cleared $100,00 in 1910 and passed $1 million in 1952 (including a 152-teacher staff). By 1969 the budget reached $5 million in total school costs. Today, all in learning in Long Branch clears $120 million.
In November 1977, Long Branch became the last town in Monmouth County to change from an appointed to an elected school board of education. Some 6,800+ city voters approved the switch by 70% in a special referendum. Mayor Henry Cioffi, who held sole appointment power to the school board, had opposed the measure. In February 1978, city voters cast their first ever votes about school board candidates and school budgets. Only about 1,800 Long Branchers went to the polls, rejecting a $5.8 million budget and electing three board members (Burton Resnic, Joan Kiernan and Robert Lefker). Once given a real say on education matters, city voters would reject every school budget for the next 14 years, finally approving a 1992-93 spending plan — by only 1 vote.
As a new millennium dawned, the city school system took a huge learning leap. By virtue of the 1985 NJ Supreme Court case Abbott v. Burke and subsequent rulings, the city received massive new state funding to re-imagine its learning system. Turning a new page in city education history, Joseph M. Ferraina — the Long School school’s superintendent from 1994 until 2011 — helped secure nearly $200 million to build and renovate 8 city schools. Beginning about 1990 over a two decade period, state education aid for Long Branch soared by 335%, according to the Asbury Park Press. The crown jewel, the $6.5 million Joseph M. Ferraina Early Childhood Learning Center on Avenel Blvd., opened in 1999. Making Long Branch the first NJ municipality to offer free preschool. Ferraina, who started as a Spanish teacher in 1973, is still involved in Long Branch education as a sitting member of the city’s Board of Education.
Sam Mills, a 1977 Long Branch High School graduate where he excelled at football and wrestling, went on to greater glory as an NFL football player. A five-time Pro-Bowl linebacker — just 5’9” tall, he was known as a “ferocious hitter” – Sam had set the all-time school record for most career tackles at Montclair State College (he was made a College Football Hall of Famer in 2009). Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022 — he played 12 seasons in the hard-hitting league mostly with the Carolina Panthers (the team retired his jersey number 51). Sam died in April 2005 at age 45 from intestinal cancer leaving a wife, Melanie, and four children.
Today there are eight Long Branch Public Schools located throughout the city educating about 5,400 students (of which 61% are Hispanic, 23% are White and 13% are Black) taught by 475 teachers. Total annual spending on city education clears $120 million; city taxpayers cover about half the cost and the rest is state aid.
The current city board of education includes nine members. They serve three-year terms elected directly by the voters on a staggered basis with three seats up for election annually. The board appoints both the school superintendent and business administrator (who are compensated) to directly oversee district operations and finances. For 2024-25: Violeta Peters is Board of Education president, Francisco Rodriguez is Superintendent of Schools and Peter E. Genovese III is Business Administrator. Following are some photos of the city’s school system through the years.
• Long Branch Public Schools — MORE INFO.

Cost of Learning: Long Branch city school system annual budgets through the years (rounded figures): $120.1 million, 2024-25 • $102 million, 2020-21 • $88.4 million, 2017-18 • $82.3 million, 2014-15 • $72.8 million, 2009-10 • $70.9 million, 2003-04 • $53 million, 2000-01 • $45.8 million, 1997-98 • $40.9 million, 1992-93 • $28.3 million, 1989-90 • $22.2 million, 1986-87 • $16.4 million, 1983-84 • $12 million, 1979-80 • $9.2 million, 1975-76 • $7 million, 1972-73 • $5.2 million, 1969-70 • $2.9 million, 1964-65 • $2.3 million, 1959-60 • $1.7 million, 1957-58 • $1.2 million, 1953-54 • $846,000, 1950-51 • $466,900, 1945-46 • $282,200, 1937-38 • $220,100, 1933-34 • $422,000, 1930-31 • $302,000, 1925-26 • $229,800, 1921-22 • $147,400, 1917-18 • $122,300, 1912-13 • $120,000, 1909-10 • $81,300, 1905-06 • $55,000, 1900-01.

City Ivy — Long Branch High School on Westwood Avenue, 1949 MORE INFO. For nearly 50 years, the city’s high school system was led by a couple of Harvard guys. In July 1911, William E. Cate was appointed principal of the city’s Chattle High School and held the job for 25+ years. Born in March 1869 in New Hampshire, he earned his Harvard degree in 1895 and begin his education career as a Massachusetts teacher. He was a principal in Pennsylvania before coming to the city where the press called him “professor.” His April 1937 Long Branch Daily Record obit recalled him as a man of “ability” who “understood” children and “loved his work.” R. Preston Shoemaker was Long Branch High School principal from 1937 to 1958. Quite the impressive fellow — a Pennsylvania native, Shoemaker after beginning at West Point in 1918, left and got a degree from Penn State in 1922 and then a graduate degree in education from Harvard University in 1926. He briefly left the city school system to serve during WW II as a US Army captain. He warned of student’s “exposure to improper leisure time” as early as November 1937. He died in the late 1970s.

City Playing Fields — Bresett Stadium (dedicated in September 1966) and Ippolito Field at Long Branch High School, July 2022 (Jason Corley Photo). Re-dedicated in October 2008, the complex honors Edison E. “Ted” Bresett, a 33-year teacher/coach and Athletic Director, who died in December 1966, and Amedeo V. “Army” Ippolito, a five-time state champion football coach, Spanish teacher and city councilman, who died in June 1980.

Pride of the City — Sam Mills of Long Branch and his Pro Football Hall of Fame bust, August 2022. On the right is his widow, Melanie, at left is his first NFL coach, Jim Mora. A LBHS graduate and elite professional athlete, Sam died in 2005 at age 45 from intestinal cancer — MORE INFO.

“Green & White” — Long Branch Schools athletic symbol, 1963. Since 1974, the LBHS varsity football team has 4-7 record in NJSIAA sectional championship games.

All Aboard — Long Branch Public School bus, 2023. In November 1986, the NJ Department of Education approved mandatory busing to integrate the city’s elementary schools.

Over & Above — Bresett Stadium at LBHS on Westwood Avenue, August 2023 (Dave Booth Photo). The complex honors Edison E. “Ted” Bresett. A longtime teacher/coach and Athletic Director at the school, he coached the first LBHS football game played here in Fall 1927.

Hall of Learning — Long Branch High School sketch from its dedication day, Long Branch Daily Record, October 1927. “The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.”

High Times — Chattle High School on Morris Avenue, 1905. The first high school in Long Branch history opened in October 1899. The four-story, yellow-brown brick schoolhouse cost $78,000.

“Father of the City School System” — Chattle High School, 1919. Named for Dr. Thomas G. Chattle, who was superintendent from 1857 to 1889. A physician, he also served in the NJ State Assembly and Senate.

Chattle High School, 1910s. Badly damaged in a March 1966 fire, the school was torn down shortly after.

“Roaring Inferno” — City firefighters battle fire at the Chattle School, Long Branch Daily Record, March 1966. At the time, it was a 650-student junior high school. Plans were to abandon the building in 1967. (Record chief photographer Paul DeNucci took this amazing shot.)
Long Branch High School

Long Branch High School on Westwood Avenue ground-breaking, November 1923. Zerbe Construction Company of New York was the builder.

LBHS under construction, July 1926 (Greg Anderson Photo). The architect was Ernest A. Arend; who also designed Asbury Park High School.

LBHS gym under construction, July 1926 (Greg Anderson Photo). When completed it had seating for about 900.

Long Branch High School. APP, December 1933. When the city’s high school was hosting the new “Monmouth Junior College” and its 300 students. The college moved to its present WLB campus in 1955.

“Monmouth Junior College” logo, 1933. College classes were held at Long Branch High School for over 20 years.

“Memorial List” — Long Branch High School students “Killed in Action” during World War II, 1947. William “Chief” Beatty — a Chattle High School grad and All-American lacrosse player at the University of Maryland — served as the LBHS Athletic Director from 1941 to 1953. The longtime teacher and coach died in January 1980.
Chattle School

Chattle High School on Morris Avenue, 1906. The Class of 1925 would produce two future city mayors — J. Paul Kiernan and Paul Nastasio, Jr.

Chattle High School on Morris Avenue (l) and Long Branch Grammar School on Prospect Avenue (r), 1906.

Chattle School building still simmering after fire, March 1966. Within a week the “ancient structure” was gone, according to the Long Branch Daily Record. Joseph Mazza & Sons did the demo for $8,500.

Two Schools — Chattle High School on Morris Avenue (l) and Long Branch Grammar School on Prospect Avenue (r), 1908.

Chattle School Building fire, March 1966. Some 650 junior high students were evacuated from the Morris Avenue school in under 2 minutes.
Long Branch Grammar School

“Grammar School” on Prospect Avenue (r) and the Chattle High School (l) on Morris Avenue, 1950s. In June 1968, Muccio Excavating Company of Long Branch demolished the school for $14,000.

“Grammar School” on Prospect Avenue (l), 1960s. Chattle burned in 1966 and the Grammar School was torn down 1968 when the city built the Anastasia School.

“Grammar School — Long Branch, NJ,” early 1900s. Dr. James A. Green was the first principal in 1876.

“Graded School” on Prospect Avenue, 1911. The school was modernized in 1954 from its “dull, dark look,” according to the Long Branch Daily Record.

First opened for classes in September 1876, it’s had many names over the years — the “Graded School,” “Prospect Street School,” and “Grammar School.”

LB Intermedial School. The 3-story, 13-classroom junior high school on Morris Avenue was dedicated in January 1913. It cost $110,000 to build,
North Long Branch School

North Long Branch School, 1900. The building made the National Register of Historic Places in July 1999.

North Long Branch School on Church Street, 2013. C.V.N Wilson was the builder and A.L. Hartwell was the architect.

Old North Long Branch School under renovation, 2019. After sitting dormant for 45 years it was converted into high-end condos.

North Long Branch School classroom, 1996. Primary School No. 3. Locals called it the “Church Street School.”

North Long Branch School area, 2018. The two-story brick building was gutted by fire in April 1928 but reopened the following year (Leon Cubberly did the re-design).

North Long Branch School, 1980s. The original school opened with four classrooms; four more were added in 1900.

North Long Branch School, 2010s. The city board of education sold the 16,700-square-foot building for $500,000 in 2014.

For Sale! — Church Street Apartments & Lofts in NLB, 2023 — MORE INFO.
Broadway School

Broadway School, 1950s. Built by R.H. Hughes, it opened as a four-classroom school in 1890. Additions came in 1903 and 1931, expanding to 8 classrooms. In the mid-1970s, it held nearly 350city students.

Broadway School at right, mid-1950s. The city’s first official school building opened on Broadway in 1812.

Broadway School at its closing in 1981. In 1984, Arthur and Frank Siegfried acquired the red brick building for $50,000 and added $2 million more in renovations. Today, it’s an office building.

Kids are Kids — City detectives investigate vandalism damages at a Broadway School classroom, Long Branch Daily Record, December 1959.
Bucktown School
Liberty Street School

Liberty Street School, 1940s. It was established as a “colored school” in 1903, according to the Long Branch Daily Record. Construction cost was $76,000. As school integration matters heated up in the city, Stanford Weicker, president of the local NAACP, called for the Liberty Street School to be closed in July 1948, saying the school had a “stigma” going back to the 1800s. “The Liberty Street School was started as a Jim Crow school,” he told the Long Branch Daily Record. That year the school budget was under $3,900 for 43 mostly minority students.

Liberty Street School, 1954. The school was expanded from 2 classrooms to 6 during a 1924 addition. Vincent Waxwood, became the city’s first black school leader, when he was made teacher-principal at the Liberty Street School in 1939 and full-time principal in 1946. Waxwood, who had a Columbia U graduate degree, left the city school system in June 1968
Gregory School

Gregory School at Seventh and Joline Avenues, 1940s. The facility cost $148,000 to build. Today it’s a senior citizen apartment complex.

Old Gregory School, 2000s. The eight-room brick school is named for Christopher Gregory, a city Superintendent of Schools for 32 years (1889-1921).
Catrambone Elementary School

George L. Catrambone Elementary School on Park Avenue. The K-5 school was opened in 2014. Mr. Catrambone worked in the city’s school system for nearly 40 years, starting as a special ed teacher and retiring as assistant superintendent.

Catrambone Elementary School. The 109,000-square-foot school was built by Greyhawk Construction; the cost was $43 million. It replaced the old Elberon School.

Old Elberon School on Park Avenue, 1963. The eight-classroom school opened in January 1954 and cost $379,000.
A.A. Anastasia School

Amerigo A. Anastasia School on Seventh Avenue. Opened in 2005, the grammar school cost $24 million. It was named for Dr. Anastasia, a longtime city pharmacist and school board president. The school on Morris Avenue had been the old “Anastasia School.”

Old Morris Avenue School is demolished. Long Branch Daily Record, July 1973. The school was opened in 1911.

Dedication of the Amerigo A. Anastasia Learning Center on Morris Avenue. Long Branch Daily Record, October 1973. From left: Victor Burke, school principal; Milton Hughes, city schools superintendent; Rev. C.P. Williams, city schools board president; “Doc” Anastasia; and Mayor Henry Cioffi. Construction cost of the elementary school was about $1.5 million. Anastasia served on the city’s board of education from 1946 to 1971.
Lenna W. Conrow School

Lenna W. Conrow School, 1958. The Long Branch Avenue school was opened in 1955 and 3 years later was named in honor of its retiring principal, Miss Conrow, who started teaching at the North End school in 1904.

Kindergarten graduation at the Lenna W. Conrow School, 2021. Built for $370,000 and opened in November 1955. It was K-3 with 214 students. City school’s superintendent at the time was Harmon Bradford and E.M.T. Carr was city school board president.
Joseph M. Ferraina Early Childhood Learning Center
West End School

West End School on West End Avenue. Opened as a two-classroom school in 1900, it was rebuilt after a 1921 fire. In 1950, seven classrooms were added and in 1962 it expanded again. When shut in 2014, it was the city’s oldest operating school.
Garfield School

Garfield School in ruins, April 1963. It was the city’s oldest school at the time of the fire, according to the Long Branch Daily Record. The school was built in three sections — the first in 1870, then additions came in 1886 and 1931.

The Garfield School, 1963. Parts of the school date to 1870, according to the Long Branch Daily Record.

Garfield School on fire. Long Branch Daily Record, April 1963. The 13-classroom school was insured for about $370,000.
LBHS Athletics

Long Branch Leads the Way — Chattle High School football team, 1908. Note that the team is both integrated and excellent. The squad won the East Jersey High School League “pennant” that year. W.A.D. Clark led the guys (while also serving as Chattle director of athletics from 1908 to 1915) and was assisted by H.M. Campbell. Front row, from left: Fisher, Bailey, Thomas, Throckmorton, J. Walsh, Bennett, Sylvester, and Warwick. Middle row, from left: Miller, Viracola, Burns, E. Walsh, Reisner, Tomasky, Moore, and Strollo, Top row, from left: Nathan Katz (team manager), Coach Campbell and Coach Clark.

Gridiron Greats — The 1932 Long Branch High School football team was “the greatest the school ever produced,” according to the Long Branch Daily Record in October 1948. Coached by Edison Bresett, the team went 7-0-1 (the Asbury Park game was declared a “no contest”) and captured the Central Jersey Group III title. The Green & White starting 11 were: Army Ippolito, Sam Madsen, Bruno Diamond, Marty Rafferty, Sol Juska, Frank Tokanos, Frank Anastasia, Vince Renzo, Bill Walling, Vern Woolley, and Johnny Boniello. Note: The 1961 LBHS football squad completed a perfect 9-0 season. The coach was Amedeo V. “Army” Ippolito (who also led 1951 and 1955 Wave teams to undefeated (but tied) seasons). After retiring from coaching, Ippolito was elected to the Long Branch City Council in 1965.

Lasting Talent — LBHS Football Head Coach Frank Glazier, Jr. (c) with team co-captains, George Balina (l) and Sam Mills (r), 1975. Mills went on to pro football glory. Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022 — he played 12 seasons in the NFL mostly with the Carolina Panthers (the team retired his jersey number 51). A five-time Pro-Bowl linebacker, he died of cancer in April 2005. Glazier then in his first season at LBHS was paid $1,700 for coaching duties. Although he never achieved the Sam Mills-level of splendor in Long Branch, the football coaching camp he founded in 1976, Glazier Clinics, still operates today. Coach Glazier died in 1993.

Coach “Army” Ippolito is carried off the field at LBHS after a win, 1960 (APP Photo). Head coach for 20 years before being ousted in April 1964 — at that time the Long Branch Daily Record considered the Montclair native, “Mr. Football in Long Branch.”

Title Wave — Coach Jack Levy celebrates a championship. Some city football fans laud the 1986 LBHS squad as “best ever.” The team also complied a perfect season at 11-0 and were Central Jersey Group III champs. Jack Levy led with a quiet intensity and Bob Biasi guided the vaunted defense. Coach Levy — who took the LBHS job at age 24 in September 1978 — was a two-time MVP in football at Springfield College in Massachusetts. After resigning as Long Branch coach in May 1991, Jack left the district — serving ably as AD at Shore Regional High School in West Long Branch from 1992 to 2010. His untimely death in March 2022 sadden his many fans.

Bresett Stadium at LBHS (2,000 capacity), 2019. Named in honor Edison E. “Ted” Bresett, a longtime Long Branch coach and teacher, who started his Athletic Director duties at Chattle High in 1924. The dedication was in October 1966. Bresett coached the first LBHS football game played on this field in fall 1927.

Pride & Success — Dan George, LBHS football Head Coach at his final game at Bresett Stadium, Thanksgiving Day 2021. During his 23-year tenure, Dan guided the Green Wave to three state championships, seven division titles and 152 victories in the Shore Conference. Coach George graduated from LBHS in 1983. Both his father and grandfather, William, Sr. and Jr., played football at LBHS.

Long Branch High School Relay-Running Champs, April 1938. One of the finest coaches in LBHS history was Melvin Rahn — the 400-meter oval at the high school is named in his honor. Producing fast runners was his specialty — as the school’s longtime track & field coach. During the 1930s his teams won 66 consecutive dual meets and seven state titles in a row. He founded the Long Branch Relays in 1933 and help found and was president of the NJSIAA. Born in Palm, Pa., Coach Rahn passed away in January 1951.

“Best Ever” — 1976-77 Long Branch High School varsity basketball team. Gerry Matthews coached the guys squad to an undefeated 30-0 season and a NJSIAA Group III state championship. That Green Wave team included two future NBA players, Clinton Wheeler and Alex Bradley. They have some competition, though. The 1969-70 LBHS team led by Coach Bob Walsck turned the same trick — perfection (26-0) and a title. Plus, they did what no other Monmouth County high school team had ever done, complete an undefeated season. Plus, they won the first state title in school history.

Long Branch High School Marching Band performs during half time of a New York Jets-Boston Patriots AFL game played at Shea Stadium in NYC, October 1968. Director of the 185-member band was Dominic Soriano and Nancy Bronson was Head Majorette.
And religious education in Long Branch …

Star of the Sea Lyceum, 1910. Dedicated in March 1901, the Catholic elementary school was at Chelsea and Third Avenues
More Info
Long Branch High School Archives — HERE
$1,269 — Average salary for a Long Branch teacher in 1922, Long Branch Daily Record.
Does anyone have any information on temporary schools that operated in the early days of the Baby Boom? Around 1952-53, there was a school for a couple of grades (maybe kindergarten and first grade) operating in a subdivision that I think was in the area around Garrett Drive, between West End Ave and High St near Norwood. I’d like to know exactly where it was and what it was called, and I’d like to know for sure what grades were taught there, how long it operated. Can anyone help?
West End School was under construction when I was in 2nd grade. Our combined 1st and 2nd grades were in an old house on 2nd Avenue off of Indiana. Our teacher was Mrs. Levine.
For 3rd grade, we were sent to a synagogue in Elberon. There was at least one other class there. I think my teacher that year was Miss White.