The Union County Magnet High School is a magnet public high school located in Scotch Plains on the Union County Vocational Technical Schools Campus, serving the vocational and technical educational needs of students in ninth through twelfth grades throughout Union County, New Jersey, United States. The school's goal is to prepare students for college/vocational training utilizing technology through problem solving, project-based learning, and interdisciplinary education. Students must apply to enter the school and the school turns away approximately two thirds of applicants.As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 290 students and 22.7 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 12.8:1. There were 17 students eligible for free lunch and 5 eligible for reduced-cost lunch.Awards, recognition and rankingsUnion County Magnet High School was recognized by Governor Jim McGreevey in 2003 as one of 25 schools selected statewide for the First Annual Governor's School of Excellence award.Union County Magnet High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive, during the 2004-05 school year. In September 2013, the school was honored for a second time when it was one of 15 in New Jersey to be recognized by the 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 honoring schools that "represent examples of educational excellence".
