Hammonton High School Explained

Hammonton High School
Established:1925
Grades:9-12
District:Hammonton Public Schools
Type:Public high school
Principal:Thomas Ramsay
Enrollment:1,357 (as of 2022–23)
Faculty:92.6 FTEs
Ratio:14.7:1
Us Nces School Id:340657000136
Teamname:Blue Devils
Conference:Cape-Atlantic League (general)
West Jersey Football League (football)
Colors: Royal Blue and
white
Address:566 Old Forks Road
City:Hammonton
County:Atlantic County
State:New Jersey
Zipcode:08037
Country:United States
Pushpin Map:USA New Jersey Atlantic County#USA New Jersey#USA

Hammonton High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Hammonton, in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Hammonton Public Schools.

Students from Folsom Borough and Waterford Township attend Hammonton High School as part of sending/receiving relationships with the Folsom Borough School District and the Waterford Township School District.[1] [2] [3]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,357 students and 92.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.7:1. There were 338 students (24.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 101 (7.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[4]

History

The first school building was constructed in 1925 and used as a middle school building starting in 1966 when a new facility was completed on Liberty Street.[5]

Opened in 2002, Hammonton High School is the newest school facility of the Hammonton Public Schools.[6] The school's 196000square feet facility on a campus covering was constructed at a cost of $33 million and opened with 1,200 students from Hammonton, as well as those from Waterford Township who shifted to Hammonton High School after the Lower Camden County Regional School District was dissolved.[7] [8]

Awards, recognition and rankings

Hammonton High School's boys' swimming and diving team was recognized with the Boys Gold Award by the 2005-06 NISCA/Kiefer Scholar Team Award.[9]

The school was the 229th-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.[10] The school had been ranked 288th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 233rd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[11] The magazine ranked the school 239th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[12] The school was ranked 233rd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[13] Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 175th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 44 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (81.2%) and language arts literacy (92.4%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[14]

Athletics

The Hammonton High School Blue Devils[15] compete in the Cape-Atlantic League, an athletic conference comprising public and private high schools in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester counties, that operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[16] The school, a founding member of the Cape-Atlantic League in 1949, had been a member of the Tri-County Conference from 2014 to 2020, returning to the Cape-Atlantic League for the 2020-21 school year.[17] With 1,071 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.[18] The football team competes in the Memorial Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[19] [20] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 893 to 1,296 students.[21]

The softball team won the Group I state championship in 1980 (defeating Roselle Park High School in the tournament final) and the Group II title in 1986 (vs. Jefferson Township High School).[22] After losing in the finals in both 1977 and 1979, the 1980 team used seven runs scored in the second inning to carry them to the program's first state title with a 7-2 victory in the Group I championship game against Roselle Park played at Mercer County Park.[23] The 1986 team finished the season with a 30-3 record after taking the Group I title with a 4-1 win in extra innings against Jefferson Township in the championship game.[24] The team won the 2007 South, Group III state sectional championship with a 6-5 win over Central Regional High School.[25]

The football team won the NJSIAA South Jersey Group II state sectional championship in 1985, 1993, 1994 and 1996, won the South Jersey Group III sectional in 2009 and the Central Jersey Group IV title in 2019.[26] In its seventh year in the playoffs, the 1985 team won the program's first title after defeating Haddon Heights High School in the South Jersey Group II championship game to end the season with a 9-2 record.[27] The team won the 2009 South Jersey Group III sectional championship with a 23-17 win over Timber Creek Regional High School, the program's first Group III title.[28] The 2019 team won the Central Jersey Group IV title with a 28-12 win against Jackson Memorial High School.[29]

The girls' field hockey team won the South Jersey Group II state sectional title in 1996 and lost to West Essex High School in the Group II finals.[30]

The wrestling team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional championship in 2009[31]

Marching band

The school's marching band was Chapter One champions in 1973-1979 (Group 3), 1980-1981 (Group 4), 1983 (Group 3), 1989-1990 (Group 2) and 1998 (Group 1). The marching band was Atlantic Coast Champion in Group 3 every year from 1974 to 1979 and again in 1983.[32] The band was the All-State Champion in 2002 and 2005, and the State Champion in 2004 in USSBA competition. The band also won state championships in 2008 USSBA competition as well as in 2016.[33]

Administration

Thomas Ramsay is the school's principal. His administration team includes two assistant principals. [34]

Notable alumni

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.nj.gov/education/pr/1415/narrative/01/1960/000.html Hammonton Public Schools 2015 Report Card Narrative
  2. http://www.townofhammonton.org/schools/ Schools
  3. Puko, Timothy. "Sending Towns Feeling Pinched by Hammonton", The Press of Atlantic City, March 13, 2007. Accessed June 29, 2011. "The two school districts that send students to Hammonton are disputing tuition adjustments that would allow Hammonton School District to avoid a tax hike this year but cause large tax hikes in the sending districts. The school budgets for Hammonton and its sending districts Waterford and Folsom could hang in limbo well past next month's school board elections, and Waterford and Folsom could be left with budget fights and massive cuts, sending district superintendents said."
  4. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3406570&ID=340657000136 School data for Hammonton High School
  5. Donio, Gabriel J. Hammonton, p. 61. Arcadia Publishing, 2002.. Accessed May 9, 2023. "Built in 1925, Hammonton High School was almost brand new when this photograph was taken. High school students attended classes at the corner of Central Avenue and Vine Street for four decades, finally leaving the building for a new facility, built in 1966 on Liberty Street The 1925 building was then used as a middle school."
  6. http://www.townofhammonton.org/schools/ Schools
  7. Mark, Jason. "Students arrive for the first day of Spirits high at Hammonton High opening", Courier-Post, September 6, 2002. Accessed April 3, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Kopakowski's 'new car' is a 196,000-square-foot, $33 million facility on 116 acres of farmland on the White Horse Pike. The school is home to more than 1,200 students from Hammonton and Waterford in Camden County. After the dissolution of the Lower Camden County School District last year, Waterford was stuck with tough decisions: send its students to Winslow Township High School (formerly Edgewood) or build a high school of its own. Or it could join Hammonton in Atlantic County and contribute to the building of the new school, which is what the township chose."
  8. https://townofhammonton.org/hammonton-school-district/ Schools
  9. http://www.inswim.net/acallamerteam06.html 2005-2006 NISCA/Kiefer Scholar Team Award
  10. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  11. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 12, 2012.
  12. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 1, 2011.
  13. http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"
  14. http://www.schooldigger.com/schoolrank.aspx?Level=3&findschool=0657000136 New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011
  15. https://www.njsiaa.org/schools/hammonton-high-school Hammonton High School
  16. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/2020-2021-lc-officers-schools.pdf League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021
  17. McGarry, Mike. "Hammonton High School to rejoin Cape-Atlantic League in 2020-21", The Press of Atlantic City, November 16, 2019. Accessed November 18, 2020. "Hammonton High School is back where it belongs. The Atlantic County school will rejoin the Cape-Atlantic League in 2020-21 for all sports except football.... Hammonton was one of the CAL’s six founding members when the league began in 1949.... Hammonton left the CAL for the Tri-County Conference in 2014."
  18. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/general-classifications-2018-2020.pdf NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020
  19. https://www.gridironnewjersey.com/schoolDetail.aspx?schoolid=104 Hammonton Blue Devils
  20. https://www.westjerseyfootball.com Home Page
  21. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-08/Football%20%2722%20%26%20%2723.pdf NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024
  22. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-02/Softball%2023.pdf Softball Championship History 1972–2023
  23. Driscoll, Mary Ellen. "7-run inning paces Hammonton's win", Courier-Post, June 18, 1980. Accessed March 14, 2021. "A seven-run outburst in the second inning carried Hammonton High School to a 7-2 win over Roselle Park in the state Group 1 softball championship game at Mercer County Park here yesterday. The victory was the first-ever state championship for Hammonton. The Blue Devils reached the state finals twice in the last three years before taking this win."
  24. Mayer, John. "Eastern's defense throttles Ridgewood", The Record, June 8, 1986. Accessed January 5, 2021. "Nelly Cruz and Carolyn Lucca each stroked run-scoring singles as Hammonton scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to post a 4-1 victory over Jefferson in the NJSIAA Group 2 final. Barbara Sbarra (24-3) threw a two-hitter for the Blue Devils (30-3)."
  25. http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=220864&tclass=South%2C%20Group%20III 2007 Softball - South, Group III
  26. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-football.pdf NJSIAA Football History
  27. Viggiano, Bob. "Hammonton ends jinx, tops Heights for title; Crown had eluded Blue Devils 6 times", Courier-Post, December 8, 1985. Accessed February 21, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Hammonton High School's football team, keyed by a bizarre nine-second sequence in the third period, wiped away years of playoff frustration yesterday when it captured the South Jersey Group 2 championship with a stunning 30-20 victory over Haddon Heights. The Blue Devils, finishing the season at 8-3, finally won the championship that has eluded them in six other playoff appearances, and in the process snapped a nine-game Heights' winning streak as the Garnets finished 9-2."
  28. McGarry, Michael. "Hammonton beats Timber Creek 23-17 for South Jersey Group III football title", The Press of Atlantic City, December 5, 2009. Accessed September 4, 2011. "The Hammonton High School football team needed 2 yards on fourth down in the fourth quarter to help clinch its first South Jersey championship in 13 years Friday night.... Top-seeded Hammonton, No. 2 in The Press' Elite 11, staved off a Timber Creek comeback to win the South Jersey Group III championship 23-17."
  29. Roland, Casey. "Hammonton defeats Jackson Memorial in CJG4 final, wins 1st sectional in 10 years", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 23, 2019. Accessed October 5, 2020. "Fortunately for Hammonton, junior Jaiden Abrams made several big plays both on the ground and through the air, rushing for two touchdowns and catching another to lead top-seeded Hammonton to a 28-12 victory over second-seeded Jackson Memorial to give the Blue Devils their first sectional championship since 2009."
  30. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-girls-field-hockey_0.pdf History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships
  31. https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-04/2021-wrestling-history.pdf NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History
  32. http://www.tob-info.net/accchampions/accchampions.html Atlantic Coast Champions by Year
  33. http://www.tob1.org/history.html Tournament of Bands - Chapter One History
  34. https://hhs.hammontonschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=424187&type=d Administration
  35. https://umterps.com/sports/football/roster/tehuti-miles/5631 Tehuti Miles
  36. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-journal-elizabeth-eckhardt-may/124304322/ "Personals"
  37. [George Anastasia|Anastasia, George]
  38. https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-of-atlantic-city-anthony-siscone-o/124304942/ 'Hamm'ton Seniors Get Colleges' OK"
  39. Guglietti, Kristin. "Full-Day Pre-K coming?", The Hammonton Gazette, January 10, 2022. Accessed January 10, 2022. "Lyons then congratulated Hammonton High School’s Class of 1993 alumnus, Michael Torrissi (R) who was elected to the New Jersey State Assembly, District 8."

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