Camden High School (New Jersey)
| Camden High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
  Camden High School Show map of Camden County, New Jersey  Camden High School Show map of New Jersey  Camden High School Show map of the US | |
1700 Park Boulevard Camden, NJ 08103 United States | |
| Coordinates | 39°56′03″N 75°05′54″W / 39.934195°N 75.0982°W / 39.934195; -75.0982Coordinates: 39°56′03″N 75°05′54″W / 39.934195°N 75.0982°W / 39.934195; -75.0982 |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | 1891 |
| School district | Camden City Public Schools |
| Principal | Scott E. Shanklin |
| Faculty | 45.0 FTEs[1] |
| Enrollment | 689 (as of 2015-16)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 15.3:1[1] |
| Color(s) | Purple and Gold[2] |
| Athletics conference | Olympic Conference |
| Team name | Panthers[2] |
| Website | School website |
Camden High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the city of Camden, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. The school is part of the Camden City Public Schools, which is classified as an Abbott District.[3] The school, established in 1891, celebrated its centennial in 1991.[4] The school was originally known as the Camden Manual Training and High School, admitting its first class of 48 boys in 1891, with girls entering the school three years later.[5] The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1929.[6]
As of the 2015-16 school year, the school had an enrollment of 689 students and 45.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.3:1. There were 412 students (59.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and none eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
In 2003, Bonsall Family School, Camden High School and East Camden Middle School were identified as three of the seven "persistently dangerous" high schools in New Jersey.[7]
Contents
1 Awards, recognition and rankings
2 Performance and building condition
3 Athletics
4 Notable alumni
5 References
6 External links
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 339th-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 287th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 322nd and lowest in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[9] The magazine ranked the school 316th in 2008 as the lowest out of 316 schools.[10] The school was ranked 314th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[11]
Performance and building condition
A report indicated that in the city of 80,000, only three high school students posted SAT scores deemed "college ready."[12]
Athletics
The Camden High School Panthers compete in the Olympic Conference,[2] an athletic conference consisting of public and private high schools located in Burlington County, Camden County and Gloucester County.[13] The Olympic Conference operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[14] With 778 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as South Jersey, Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 496 to 778 students in that grade range.[15] The football team competes in the Constitution Division of the 95-team West Jersey Football League superconference[16] and was classified by the NJSIAA as South Jersey Group II for football for 2017-18.[17]
Previously, the athletic teams at Camden High School were called/known as the "Purple Avalanche," a fitting name for the large football teams (60 or more players) on the sideline at the start of their games in the 1960s and 1970s.[18] As of 2009, Camden High had won over 41 South Jersey Championships, and appeared in over 20 state championship games, winning 11 of them.[citation needed]
The school and their crosstown rival, Woodrow Wilson High School, still play the traditional Thanksgiving Day football game each year. The Thanksgiving Day game in 1979 was suspended after rival gangs started shooting at each other, resulting in at least 14 injuries and dozens of arrests.[19]
The school operates as the host school / lead agency for a cooperative wrestling program with Woodrow Wilson High School, under an agreement that expires at the end of the 2017-18 school year.[20]
The boys' basketball team went undefeated in both 1959 and 1960, winning state championships each year. The team won a total of seven state championships in the 1970s and 1980s. USA Today ranked the 1986 team as number one nationwide. Curtis Walls, Lee Wall, Louis Banks, Sean Turner, Larry Cohen, Reggie Lawrence, Kevin Smith, Dennis Brown, Davis Nieves, and Vic Carstarphen all played on this team.[21]
The 2000 boys' basketball team won the South Jersey Group III state championship as the seventh-seeded team, with an 89–64 win against top seed Lakewood High School, as Dajuan Wagner topped all scorers with 43 points. Camden High went on to win the State Group III title against Malcolm X Shabazz High School. From there they moved on to the Tournament of Champions, which pits each state champion against each other to determine one overall champion. Camden defeated Seton Hall Preparatory School in the championship game.[22][23]
Notable alumni
Arthur Barclay (born 1982, class of 2000), politician who has represented the 5th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2016; Barclay was captain of the basketball team that won the 2000 Tournament of Champions.[24]
Cindy Birdsong (born 1969), singer who replaced Florence Ballard in The Supremes.[4]
John Brown (born 1939) former American football tackle who played 10 seasons for two NFL teams.[25]
Mary Keating Croce (1928-2016, class of 1946), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly for three two-year terms, from 1974 to 1980, before serving as the Chairwoman of the New Jersey State Parole Board in the 1990s.[26]
Angelo Errichetti (born 1928), former Mayor of Camden and New Jersey State Senator.[4]
George Hegamin (born 1973), former offensive lineman in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[27]
Andy Hinson (born c. 1931, class of 1949), retired American football head coach of the Bethune–Cookman University Wildcats football team from 1976 to 1978 and of the Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Wolves from 1979 to 1984, who coached at Camden HS in the 1970s.[28]
Leon Huff (born 1942), part of the Gamble and Huff songwriting team for Philadelphia International Records.[29]
Lee B. Laskin (born 1936, class of 1954), attorney, politician and judge who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature before being appointed to serve on the New Jersey Superior Court.[30]
Robert S. MacAlister (1897–1957), Los Angeles City Council member from 1934 to 1939.[31]
Aaron McCargo Jr. (born c. 1971), television chef.[32]
Charles Payton (born 1960), former professional basketball player.[33]
Jim Perry (1933–2015), former television host who was a basketball player in the early 1950s.[citation needed]
Derrick Ramsey (born 1956), NFL player who played tight end for nine seasons for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, New England Patriots and Detroit Lions.[34]
Art Still (born 1955), second overall player taken in NFL draft 1978, played for Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills and was selected for the Pro Bowl four times.[34]
Billy Thompson (born 1963), former small forward for the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers.[21]
Nick Virgilio (1928-1989), haiku poet.[35]
Dajuan Wagner (born 1983), NBA basketball player and winner of the 2001 Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award.[21]
Milt Wagner (born 1963), former point guard for the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, and father of DaJuan Wagner.[21]
References
^ abcd School data for Camden High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 12, 2018.
^ abc Camden High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 4, 2015.
^ Abbott School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 15, 2016.
^ abc Ott, Dwight. "Camden High School Turns 100", The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 6, 1991. Accessed July 1, 2011. "The school, once predominantly Jewish and Italian and now largely black and Hispanic, has produced other well-known alumni: Superior Court Judges Isaiah Steinberg and Theodore Davis; former Camden Mayor Angelo J. Errichetti; record producer Leon Huff; former Camden County Prosecutor Samuel Asbell; former Supremes singer Cindy Birdsong; basketball player Billy Thompson of the Miami Heat, and physician and civic leader Charles Brim."
^ History, Camden High School. Accessed July 1, 1011. "Camden High School (CHS), originally known as Camden Manual Training and High School was located at 123 Federal Street in 1891. Forty-eight boys entered and were taught by the male principals of the city. In 1894, a group of girls were admitted and ordinary teachers were assigned to the school."
^ Camden High School Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine., Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools. Accessed July 1, 2011.
^ List of dangerous schools, CNN, September 25, 2003. Accessed July 25, 2007.
^ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
^ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 10, 2012.
^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed July 1, 2011.
^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
^ Via Associated Press. "Only 3 students scored college-ready in Camden", NJ.com, December 18, 2013. Accessed August 27, 2014. "The new school superintendent in Camden says it was a 'kick-in-the-stomach moment' when he learned that only three district high school students who took the SAT this year scored as college-ready."
^ Member Schools, Olympic Conference. Accessed July 30, 2017.
^ League Memberships – 2016-2017, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 10, 2017.
^ General Public School Classifications 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of December 15, 2015. Accessed December 12, 2016.
^ Divisions, West Jersey Football League. Accessed September 25, 2017.
^ NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2017-2018, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, finalized August 2, 2017. Accessed September 25, 2017.
^ Callahan, Kevin. "Frambes was go-to guy for S.J. sports history", Courier-Post, July 6, 2008. Accessed July 19, 2012. That was because often unbeaten seasons and championships were on the line when the Purple Avalanche (Camden's old nickname) played the Panthers of Collingswood."
^ Staff. "14 Hurt at Camden Stadium As Gangs Exchange Gunfire; 37 Taken Into Custody", The New York Times, November 23, 1979. Accessed July 1, 2011. "Three separate volleys of shots, perhaps a dozen in all, set off a stampede of hundreds of an estimated total of 3,600 football fans and led to the suspension of the Thanksgiving Day game between Camden and Woodrow Wilson High School, which are traditional rivals."
^ 2017 - 2019 Co-Operative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed February 12, 2018.
^ abcd Strauss, Robert. "In Person; Hoop Dreams Revisit Camden", The New York Times, February 13, 2000. Accessed September 26, 2017. "Camden High has been winning state basketball championships for more than four decades now. It went undefeated all the way to the title in 1959 and 1960. Its 1986 team was ranked best in the nation by USA Today. And there were seven other state championships in the 1970's and 1980's.... Legends have grown up around its stars, from the Sunkett brothers and Itchy Smith in the 1960's to Billy Thompson and Milt Wagner, teammates in the early 1980's, both of whom went on to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.... On game day, the gym is usually filled and attention is almost always focused on one young man, DaJuan Wagner, son of Milt, touted by the top high school junior in the nation.
^ Narducci, Marc. "Wagner Powers Camden To S.j. Title With 43 Points; The Super Junior Took Advantage Of A Man-to-man Defense By Lakewood. The Result Was An 89-64 Camden Romp.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 8, 2000. Accessed August 19, 2007.
^ Public Sectionals - South, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 19, 2007.
^ Anastasia, Phil. "Camden's Dajuan Wagner aims to play again in NBA", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 9, 2014. Accessed August 18, 2016. "Wagner last played in the NBA in November 2006.... Camden city councilman Arthur Barclay, a teammate of Wagner's at Camden and Memphis, said his old friend's return to the court would be a thrill."
^ John Brown player profile Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine., database Football. Accessed August 16, 2007.
^ Naedele, Walter F. "Mary DiSabato; headed N.J. State Parole Board", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 23, 2016. Accessed October 27, 2016. "Born in Camden, Mrs. DiSabato graduated from Camden High School in 1946 and served as a Sixth District Assemblywoman, covering parts of Camden and Burlington Counties from 1974 to 1980, son Stephen Croce said."
^ George Hegamin Archived 2007-10-22 at the Wayback Machine., database Football. Accessed September 30, 2007.
^ via Associated Press. "Cheyney Selects New Grid Coach", Hanover Evening Sun, August 3, 1979. Accessed January 21, 2018. "Andy Hinson, former Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coach of the year, has been named head football coach at Cheyney State College, a spokesman announced today.... The 1949 graduate of Camden, N.J., High School, was New Jersey scholastic football coach of the year following his first of three seasons there in 1973."
^ Burney, Melanie. "A homecoming in Camden for an R&B songsmith Leon Huff was half of a duo instrumental in the Sound of Philadelphia. His alma mater honored him yesterday.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 28, 2002. Accessed July 1, 2011. "When Mayor Gwendolyn Faison decided her city should have an official song, she called on popular songwriter and native son Leon Huff. Huff wrote Camden, New Jersey last year in honor of the city where he began his music training more than 50 years ago playing piano for his church choir. Yesterday, the city paid tribute to Huff at his alma mater - Camden High School - where the soon-to-open Fine Arts and Communications Academy will bear his name."
^ Staff. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey; 1990 Edition, p. 208. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1990. Accessed September 28, 2016. "Mr. Laskin was born June 30, 1936, in Atlantic City. He was graduated from Camden High School in 1954."
^ Los Angeles Public Library reference file
^ Callahan, Kevin. "Competitor stirs love of cooking", Courier-Post, June 8, 2008.
^ Staff. "Payton's a Surprise", The Dispatch, March 6, 1979. Accessed August 27, 2014. "Turner talked Payton into coming out for basketball his junior year at Camden High."
^ ab Biddle, Joe. "Florida: Kentucky Players Nearly Went to Bethune-Cookman", Daytona Beach Morning Journal, November 12, 1977. Accessed July 1, 2011. "Kentucky, winner of seven straight and 8-1 overall, is anchored by defensive end Art Still and quarterback Derrick Ramsey, former teammates at Camden, N. J., High School."
^ Sokolic, William. "Approval sought for Writer's House", Courier-Post, December 14, 2014. Accessed August 3, 2017. "A vibrant person who graduated Camden High School, Virgilio visited Rutgers University–Camden in search of Chinese poetry and discovered Japanese poetry instead."
External links
- Camden High School
- Camden City Public Schools
Camden City Public Schools's 2015–16 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
School Data for the Camden City Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
- South Jersey Sports: Camden HS
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