Oakcrest High School

Oakcrest High School
Location
1824 Dennis Foreman Drive
Hamilton Township, NJ
Information
Type Public high school
Established 1957
School district Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District
Principal Joseph Carruth
Faculty 96.4 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,088[1] (as of 2013-14)
Student to teacher ratio 11.3:1[1]
Color(s)      Royal Blue
     Gray[2]
Athletics conference Cape-Atlantic League
Team name Falcons[2]
GEHRHSD Absegami High School
Cedar Creek High School
Oakcrest High School
Community served Hamilton Township
Website School website

Oakcrest High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, operating as part of the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District. The school name was chosen based on its site on the crest of a hill amid oak trees.[3] The school serves students from Hamilton Township.[4] With the opening of Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City, students from Mullica Township, and the sending districts of the City of Port Republic and Washington Township (in Burlington County) no longer attend Oakcrest High School.[5][6]

As of the 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,088 students and 96.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.3:1. There were 471 students (43.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 91 (8.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 197th-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.[7] The school had been ranked 247th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 244th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[8] The magazine ranked the school 254th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[9] The school was ranked 232nd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[10] Schooldigger.com ranked the school as 254th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 5 positions from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[11]

The school has a variety of programs, including Special Needs, a "High School-to-Work" program, College Preparatory, Advanced Placement (AP), and Performing Arts training.

For the 2005-06 school year, Oakcrest High School was recognized with the "Best Practices Award" by the New Jersey Department of Education for its "A Proactive Approach to Guidance and Career Services" Career Education program.[12]

Oakcrest's Academic Challenge Team was successful at the Buena Regional High School and Egg Harbor Township High School competitions in spring 2006, the team finished first overall at the Gateway Toyota Academic Challenge at Monsignor Donovan High School in Toms River by defeating perennial competitor East Brunswick High School in the final round.

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 66th in New Jersey and 1,918th nationwide.[13]

Athletics

The Oakcrest High School Falcons[2] compete in the Atlantic Division of the Cape-Atlantic League, an athletic conference consisting of both parochial and public high schools located in Atlantic County, Cape May County, Cumberland County, and Gloucester County, operating under the aegis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[14] With 823 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as South Jersey, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 772 to 1,082 students in that grade range.[15]

The school offers many sports to its students including Football, Fall Cheerleading, Field hockey, Soccer, Tennis, Basketball, Winter Cheerleading, Lacrosse, Wrestling, Crew, Track and Field, Cross country running, Powerlifting and Baseball.[2]

The boys wrestling team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional championship in 1992 and 1993.[16]

The boys track team won the Group III indoor relay championships in 2011, 2012 and 2013.[17]

Marching band

In the 2005-06 school year , the high school's marching band, the Oakcrest Marching Ambassadors, took a record 37 first place trophies including a grand championship in the Cavalcade of Bands Liberty conference. The band has performed in numerous venues including the Miss America Parade in Atlantic City, the Festival of States in St. Petersburg, Florida, and a tour in Europe including Switzerland, France and Germany.

The school's marching band was Tournament of Bands Chapter One Champions in 1977 and 1988 (Group 2) and 1983-1987 (Group 1). The marching band was 1977 Atlantic Coast Champion in Group 2. They also took First Place in the Tournament of Bands Group 2A Atlantic Coast Championships in 2013.[18]

In 2015 the Ambassadors also won the Group 1A Atlantic Coast Championships. During their 2015 season the Ambassadors had an undefeated reign and also set records for the school and tournament of bands itself. The Ambassadors won New Jersey Championships, Chapter 1 Championships as well Atlantic Coast Championships. The school has the highest record ever set by a 1A band with a final score of 95.92.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[19]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 School Data for Oakcrest High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 31, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Oakcrest High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 31, 2015.
  3. ↑ History of Oakcrest, Oakcrest High School. Accessed July 10, 2011.
  4. ↑ Oakcrest High School 2013 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 28, 2015. "Oakcrest is a comprehensive high school located in Mays Landing that provides a secondary school education to Hamilton Township."
  5. ↑ Policy 5120 Assignment of Pupils, Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District. Accessed October 27, 2014. "Pupils shall attend the school located in the attendance area of their residence. The attendance areas for the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District shall be as follows: 1. Pupils who reside in Egg Harbor City shall attend Cedar Creek High School. 2. Pupils who reside in Galloway Township shall attend Absegami High School. 3. Pupils who reside in Hamilton Township shall attend Oakcrest High School 4. Pupils who reside in Mullica Township shall attend Cedar Creek High School 5. Pupils who reside in Port Republic and Washington Township shall attend Cedar Creek High School."
  6. ↑ Oakcrest High School 2010 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education, backed up by the Internet Archive as of June 14, 2012. Accessed October 30, 2014. "Oakcrest is a comprehensive high school located in Mays Landing that provides a secondary school education to four sending districts including Greenbank, Hamilton Township, Mullica Township, and Port Republic."
  7. ↑ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  8. ↑ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 12, 2012.
  9. ↑ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 1, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  11. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 16, 2012.
  12. ↑ Best Practices Award recipient for 2005-06, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 23, 2006.
  13. ↑ Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Oakcrest High School", The Washington Post. Accessed September 11, 2011.
  14. ↑ League Memberships – 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 31, 2015.
  15. ↑ 2014-2015 Public Schools Group Classification: ShopRite Cup–Basketball–Baseball–Softball for South Jersey, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of July 8, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2014.
  16. ↑ History of the NJSIAA Team Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 31, 2015.
  17. ↑ History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships, New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 31, 2015.
  18. ↑ Tournament of Bands - Chapter One History, Tournament of Bands. Accessed July 5, 2007.
  19. ↑ Administration, Oakcrest High School. Accessed December 31, 2015.
  20. ↑ Databasefootball.com, accessed May 9, 2007.
  21. ↑ McKee, Don. "10 INQUIRER GRID STARS ON SOUTH JERSEY ROSTER", The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 15, 1987. Accessed May 7, 2008.
  22. ↑ Weinberg, David. "FOOTBALL: KEITH ELIAS, JAMES JENKINS TO PASS ON EXPERIENCE AT AREA CAMPS", The Press of Atlantic City, June 17, 2001. Accessed February 1, 2011. "Jenkins who is currently in training camp with the Canadian Football League's Argonauts teamed with Kenton Brookings to form the Proskillz Football Clinic that will hold three sessions at Jenkins' alma mater Oakcrest High School in Hamilton Township."
  23. ↑ Fleming, Michael. "MISS AMERICA FINALIST FROM MULLICA FINDS SUCCESS IN GUAM DISCOTHEQUE", The Press of Atlantic City, November 15, 1990. Accessed July 10, 2011. "Lipman [sic], a 1973 Oakcrest High School graduate who studied theater at the University of Delaware, also formed Headhunters, an employment service company..."
  24. ↑ Lulgjuraj, Susan. "'The Mighty Macs,' based on Oakcrest High grad Cathy Rush, set for release today", The Press of Atlantic City, October 21, 2011. Accessed October 28, 2011. "Cathy Rush invited friends to her home in Ventnor a couple of years ago to watch an advance copy of the movie The Mighty Macs....Rush, a native of West Atlantic City in Egg Harbor Township, saw the filming of this movie.... 'My stomach dropped,' said Rush, a 1964 Oakcrest High School graduate. 'It was the most disconcerting thing because it was real.'"

External links

Coordinates: 39°27′05″N 74°40′47″W / 39.451345°N 74.679689°W / 39.451345; -74.679689

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