Gloucester City High School

Gloucester City High School
Address
1300 Market Street Gloucester City , Camden County , New Jersey 08030 United States
Coordinates	39°53′14″N75°06′41″W / 39.887342°N 75.111282°W / 39.887342; -75.111282
Information
Type	public high school
NCES School ID	340600001494 [1]
Principal	Sean Gorman
Faculty	48.5 (on an FTE basis) [1]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	702 (as of 2022–23) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	14.5:1 [1]
Color(s)	Navy blue and gold [2]
Athletics conference	Colonial Conference (general) West Jersey Football League (football)
Team name	Lions [2]
Website	www.gcsd.k12.nj.us/Domain/10

Gloucester City High School is a comprehensive four-year community public high school that is based in Gloucester City, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school serves students from ninth through twelfth grade as the lone secondary school of the Gloucester City Public Schools, one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke ^[3] which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. ^{[4] [5]}

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 702 students and 48.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.5:1. There were 339 students (48.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 76 (10.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. ^[1]

Students from Brooklawn attend the high school for grades 9-12 as part of a sending/receiving relationship. ^[6]

History

A new high school facility, completed at a cost of almost $2 million (equivalent to $20.4 million in 2023) was opened to students in February 1961. ^[7]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 270th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. ^[8] The school had been ranked 179th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 194th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. ^[9] The magazine ranked the school 190th in 2008 out of 316 schools. ^[10] The school was ranked 247th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. ^[11]

Athletics

The Gloucester City High School Lions ^[2] compete as a member school in the Colonial Conference, which is comprised of public high schools in Camden and Gloucester counties, and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). ^{[12] [13]} The school had been a member of the Tri-County Conference since it was established in 1928, and joined the Colonial Conference for the 2020-21 school year. ^[14] With 480 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2022–24 school years as Group II South for most athletic competition purposes. ^[15] The football team competes in the Colonial Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference ^{[16] [17]} and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 480 to 674 students. ^[18]

Girls' championships include: ^[19]

• 1996 Field hockey South Jersey Group I champion ^[20]
• 1999 Cross country South Jersey Group I champion ^[21]
• 1999 Field hockey Tri-County and South Jersey Group I champion ^[20]
• 2000 Field hockey Tri-County and South Jersey Group I champion ^[20]
• 2000 Softball Tri-County and Group I state champion (defeating Saddle Brook High School) ^[22]
• 2001 Cross Country South Jersey Group I champion ^[21]
• 2001 Softball Group I state champion (defeating Emerson Junior-Senior High School by a score of 11-4 in the finals) ^{[22] [23]}
• 2002 Field Hockey South Jersey Group I champion ^[20]
• 2003 Cross Country Tri-County, South Jersey and Group I state champion ^[21]
• 2004 Cross country Tri-County and South Jersey Group I champion ^[21]
• 2004 Field hockey Tri-County and South Jersey Group I champion ^[20]
• 2005 Softball Group I state champion (vs. Verona High School in the final) ^[22]
• 2007 Softball Tri-County and South Jersey Group I champion
• 2009 Basketball Tri-County and South Jersey Group I champion
• 2009 Softball Tri-County, South Jersey and Group I state champion with a 3-0 win vs. Saddle Brook High School ^{[22] [24]}
• 2014 Bowling Tri-County, South Jersey Group I champion

Boys' championships include: ^[19]

• 1967 Basketball Group II state champion with a 70-47 win vs. Shore Regional High School in the school's first final, to finish the season with a record of 25-1 ^{[25] [26]}
• 1971 Baseball Group I state champion vs. Hackettstown High School ^[27]
• 1998 Baseball Tri-County champion
• 1998 Basketball Tri-County champion
• 1998 Football Tri-County champion
• 1999 Baseball Tri-County champion
• 2000 Bowling Olympic Conference champion
• 2001 Bowling Olympic Conference National Division champion
• 2002 Football Tri-County champion
• 2004 Baseball Tri-County champion
• 2012 Football Tri-County champion

Administration

The school's principal is Sean Gorman. The school's core administration team includes three assistant principals. ^[28]

Notable alumni

• Edward Durr (born 1963), politician and truck driver who has represented the 3rd Legislative district in the New Jersey Senate since 2022. ^[29]
• Lucinda Florio (1947–2022), teacher and advocate for education and literacy, who, as the wife of former New Jersey Governor James Florio, served as the First Lady of New Jersey ^[30]

References

1. School data for Gloucester City High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
2. Gloucester City Jr-Sr High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
3. What We Do: History, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022. "In 1998, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in the Abbott v. Burke case that the State must provide 100 percent funding for all school renovation and construction projects in special-needs school districts. According to the Court, aging, unsafe and overcrowded buildings prevented children from receiving the "thorough and efficient" education required under the New Jersey Constitution.... Full funding for approved projects was authorized for the 31 special-needs districts, known as 'Abbott Districts'."
4. What We Do, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022.
5. SDA Districts, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022.
6. Graham, Kristen A. "Brooklawn Considers Finding New District For High School Pupils", The Philadelphia Inquirer , March 16, 2001. Accessed June 19, 2008. "The tiny Brooklawn system, comprising just over 300 students and one school, sends about 80 ninth through 12th graders to the neighboring Gloucester City district, which has more than 2,000 students and four schools."
7. "3 Counties Share Classroom Expansion", Courier-Post , September 3, 1960. Accessed April 1, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Gloucester City's New Junior Senior high school is located on the south side of Market st. west of Rt. 130. During the summer school officials were making plans to utilize part of the $1,980,000 structure this fall, but have now set February for the switch."
8. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly , September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
9. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2012.
10. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2010. Accessed August 14, 2012.
11. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly , September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
12. Schools, Colonial Conference. Accessed September 13, 2022.
13. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
14. Friedman, Josh. "Gloucester, a founding member of the Tri-County Conference, joins the Colonial Conference", Courier-Post , June 19, 2020. Accessed November 18, 2020. "Gloucester High School is leaving the Tri-County Conference after nearly a century in the organization. Gloucester, a founding member of the TCC in 1928, has been accepted into the Colonial Conference, taking the place of Overbrook, which is moving back to the TCC after leaving in 2008.... The move wasn’t supposed to occur until 2021, but because Overbrook and Gloucester are essentially switching places, both conferences agreed it made more sense to expedite the process."
15. NJSIAA General Classifications - Public Schools 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
16. Gloucester City Lions, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.
17. Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component."
18. Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024,  New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
19. Gloucester City HS Sports Page Archived August 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine . Accessed August 28, 2007.
20. History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
21. NJSIAA Girls Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
22. Softball Championship History 1972–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated July 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024.
23. "Grear's single lifts Haddon Heights", Asbury Park Press , June 10, 2001. Accessed December 27, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "In Group I Gloucester High 11, Emerson 4: After trailing by three runs after the first inning, Gloucester High School (20-4) made up the deficit and more to defend its Group I state softball title with an 11-4 victory over Emerson."
24. Iezzi, Bill. "Chain finds corners; Lions win Group 1 over Falcons", The Philadelphia Inquirer , June 8, 2009. Accessed August 23, 2014. "The adrenaline paid off for Chain as she struck out 18 and allowed two hits in a 3-0 victory, wrapping up Gloucester's first state crown since 2005. The Lions (29-1), ranked No. 2 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, also won state titles in 2000 and 2001."
25. NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
26. "Midnight Struck Early for Shore's Cinderella Team", Asbury Park Press , March 19, 1967. Accessed March 12, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Gloucester City High School's won the Group II state basketball championship yesterday, thoroughly beating Shore Regional the Shore area's 'Cinderella' team, 70-47, in the final. The game was a big one for both schools, being the first trip to the N.J. State Interscholastic Athletic Association finals for Gloucester City and the first for Shore Regional, a school only five years old.... John McCarthy, who coached the Gloucester Lions to a 25-1 season and the school's first state championship, summed up the game when he said after the title was secure, 'We kept going and they started folding.'"
27. NJSIAA Baseball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
28. About Us, Gloucester City Public Schools. Accessed May 8, 2023.
29. Legislative webpage, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 11, 2022. "Education: GED, Gloucester City Junior-Senior High School"
30. Turner, Elizabeth. "Meet Lucinda Florio", Asbury Park Press , April 22, 1990. Accessed July 24, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "At Gloucester High School, Mrs. Florio was an honor student and a member of the Future Teacher's Club."

External links

• Official website
• Gloucester City Public Schools
• School Performance Report for Gloucester City High School , New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Gloucester City Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• South Jersey Sports: Gloucester HS