Overbrook High School (New Jersey)

Overbrook High School
Location
1200 Turnersville Road
Pine Hill, NJ 08021
Information
Type Public
School district Pine Hill Schools
Principal Adam Lee
Assistant principals Doug Endee
Karim Fisher
Faculty 62.0 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 716[1] (as of 2012–13)
Student to teacher ratio 11.55:1[1]
Color(s)      Burnt Orange
     Navy Blue
Athletics conference Colonial Conference
Team name Rams
Website School website

Overbrook High School is a comprehensive community four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Pine Hill, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Pine Hill Schools. The high school also serves the communities of Berlin Township and Clementon through sending/receiving relationships with their respective school districts.[2] Its colors are burnt orange and navy. The principal of Overbrook is Adam Lee.

As of the 2012–13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 716 students and 62.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.55:1. There were 217 students (30.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 59 (8.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 282nd-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.[3] The school had been ranked 253rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 300th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[4] The magazine ranked the school 276th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[5] The school was ranked 278th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[6]

History

The school was originally founded as Lower Camden County Regional High School in 1939, in Lindenwold. It served students from up to ten municipalities at one point. The population soon began to grow, however, and Edgewood Regional High School (now Winslow Township High School) was founded in Winslow Township. The school took the name Overbrook Regional Senior High School in the 1950s, and joined its sister school Edgewood as part of Lower Camden County Regional High School District #1.

Soon, the student population became too large for the now 60+ year old building to handle, and the current building was erected in 1969 in Pine Hill. The former building became known as Overbrook Regional Junior High School.

Overcrowding again became an issue in the late 90s, as Overbrook Junior High School was serving Berlin Township, Clementon, Lindenwold, Pine Hill, and portions of Winslow Township.

In 1999, each of the individual school boards voted to dissolve LCCRHSD. Lindenwold would build its own high school and take over the old junior high building to make it the district's middle school. Edgewood Regional Junior High became Winslow Township Middle School, and Edgewood Senior High became Winslow Township High School. Pine Hill would build Pine Hill Middle School in the forested area next to the school.

Over the next decade, the population at Overbrook slowly faded from a high of over 1700 students to a new low of just under 800 students.

After 28 years at Overbrook, Paul J. Harmelin retired as principal following the 2012–13 school year. His replacement starting in the 2013–14 school year was Don Borden. Adam Lee was hired as the Principal in July 2015. Lee was a social studies teacher and then an Assistant Principal before being named the Principal.

Athletics

Overbrook High School is a member of the Colonial Conference, which includes high schools in Camden County and Gloucester County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[7] With 528 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014–15 school year as South Jersey, Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 748 students in that grade range.[8]

Extracurricular activities

The clubs offered at Overbrook are African American Culture Club, Band (including Concert Band, Lab Jazz Band, Jazz Band, and Marching Band) Choir (including Concert Choir, Chambers Singers, Overtones Honors Choir and After-School Choir), Stage Crew, Sports (see above), Academic Challenge, Interact Club, Leo Club, National Honor Society, Science League, Student Government, Yearbook Committee, and Model United Nations (MUN).

Performing arts

The Performing Arts at Overbrook High School is a well established program consisting of band, choir and theatre. All 3 programs combined make up about 1/3 of the entire school's population. These programs are some of the most well recognized in the state. Some recent achievements include...

Recent Fall Plays include – You Can't Take It with You (2009), Murder's in the Heir (2010), Noises Off! (2011), Romeo and Juliet (2012), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (2013)

Recent Spring Musicals include – Little Shop of Horrors (2007), Guys and Dolls (2008), The Pirates of Penzance (2009), Once on This Island (2010), Les Miserables (2011), Pippin (2012), Beauty and the Beast (2013), and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2014)

The Performing Arts Program has helped Overbrook to become a "Choice School" for the Performing Arts for the 2013–14 school year.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[12]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 School Data for Overbrook Senior High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ Superintendent's Message, Pine Hill Schools, backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 3, 2009. Accessed March 3, 2011. "Our facilities consist of the Overbrook High School (with the attendance area encompassing the communities of Pine Hill, Clementon, and Berlin Township), Pine Hill Middle School, Dr. Albert Bean Elementary School, and John Glenn Elementary School."
  3. ↑ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  4. ↑ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2012.
  5. ↑ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 3, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  7. ↑ League Memberships – 2014–2015, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ 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 November 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ Brown, Scott. "Brown Directs Overbrook To Title Td Pass Lifts Rams In Group 4", The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 7, 1998. Accessed July 15, 2011. "The play that netted a Group 4 South Jersey football title for Overbrook and capped the school's first perfect season since 1966 was all improvisation. In other words, it was vintage Byron Brown. Brown threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Jon Scialabba with 27 seconds remaining yesterday as Overbrook beat resilient Shawnee, 21–14, in a spine-tingling game at Rutgers Stadium. The Rams' sectional title was the first by a Camden County school since Overbrook won a Group 4 title in 1990."
  10. ↑ Narducci, Marc. "Overbrook's Group 4 Title A Boost For Camden County The Rams Own The County's Only Two Crowns This Decade. Gloucester County Has Won 12 In That Time.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 8, 1998. Accessed July 15, 2011. "Overbrook's thrilling 21–14 victory over Shawnee in the South Jersey Group 4 final not only clinched The Inquirer's No. 1 ranking for the Rams, but it also brought some long-due redemption for Camden County football. Overbrook is the only Camden County public school to win a sectional title this decade. In addition to winning this year's Group 4 crown, the Rams won the 1990 Group 3 title."
  11. ↑ Davis, G. "Pine Hill Schools District Dedicates the Overbrook High School Football Field to the Larry Mauriello Varsity Football Complex", SouthJerseySports.com, September 9, 2006. Accessed July 15, 2011. "On Friday and Saturday, September 8 and 9, the Pine Hill Board of Education and Overbrook Varsity Club held a Dinner and Dedication Ceremony in honor of Coach Larry Mauriello. As of September 9th, the Overbrook High School Varsity Football Field will become the Larry Mauriello Varsity Football Complex."
  12. ↑ Administration, Overbrook High School. Accessed August 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ Damien Covington, Database Football. Accessed February 9, 2009.
  14. ↑ Rose Bowl Legends: Ron Dayne. Accessed December 25, 2006.
  15. ↑ "Catching up with All-USA Class of 1995", USA Today. Accessed July 25, 2007.
  16. ↑ All-Time players listing at NFL.com
  17. ↑ Staff. "LENAHAN READY FOR NEW CHALLENGE AT NORTHWESTERN", The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 18, 2001. Accessed March 3, 2011. "As far as builders go, Tim Lenahan has earned the reputation as the Bob Vila of men's college soccer. A 1977 graduate of Overbrook High School, Lenahan has turned struggling programs at Richard Stockton and Lafayette into big winners. He's now about to take on his biggest challenge."
  18. ↑ Staff. "TWO NATIVE-SON JAZZMEN SET FOR RETURN ENGAGEMENTS \ PIANIST ERIC LEWIS IS A YOUNG LION ON RISE", The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 24, 1997. Accessed March 3, 2011. ""Lewis grew up a loner. Slightly overweight and with few close friends he was often the last to be picked in sports. From seventh grade on he traveled almost 35 miles a day to attend Overbrook Senior High School in Pine Hill where the music instruction was better."

External links

Coordinates: 39°46′36″N 74°57′57″W / 39.776712°N 74.965858°W / 39.776712; -74.965858

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