The grass is always greener on the other side; for prospective CHS students, this is the homey, unified environment to be found in the school. CHS proclaims to have an atmosphere where all of its students coexist in harmony as best friends. Despite these assurances, the reality of CHS once a student is accepted doesn’t always live up to all that they dreamed it would be.

A common misconception from those outside of CHS is that students are always able to enjoy school and are certain of their direction in life, simply by applying to the vocational school. According to Niche, a school ranking website, CHS ranks 51 among 406 New Jersey public high schools in best college prep. Such intense focus on education can take quite a toll on the students.

“I do have some regrets, like leaving my old friends behind, missing out on a genuine high school experience,” said sophomore Chloe Nguyen of Eatontown.

Nguyen is not alone in this feeling. Some of her peers don’t enjoy the dynamic of CHS; while others see the school as a safe space, resulting from the small population and close-knit community, others just want to experience the stereotypical high school experience.

“I haven’t even been to a real high school party yet,” said freshman Skylar Conner-Bennett of Ocean Township. “I think the students are close…it’s just because the students don’t know what a real party is.”

There were around 85 students in the Class of 2025 who were accepted into CHS. However, five students dropped out, making it one of the largest drop-out rates of any freshmen class. While circumstances and reasoning vary from student to student, many of these students converged on common points as to their decision not to attend CHS.

“I feel that CHS was missing – educationally – the…practice through worksheets and activities to memorize information on a topic,” said freshman Fabian Waters of Ocean Township. “And socially, a student body with diverse interests and mindsets.”

Waters is one of the five Class of 2025 freshmen to decide CHS was not the right school for them. One of the major factors for Waters was that his parents wanted him to attend. Waters was given an ultimatum to go to CHS for the first half of the year and, if he did not like it, then he could return to Ocean Township High School.

The bare bones of CHS is for the students and staff to act like a community where everyone knows each other, especially considering that there are only about 315 students and 26 teachers. However, the small student population can also create a lack of variety in mindsets, which creates an environment where students that feel they do not have a place in CHS can feel trapped on the outside.