Overbrook High School (New Jersey)
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. School colors are orange and blue.
As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 656 students and 62.6 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 10.5:1. There were 277 students eligible for free lunch and 84 eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
History
The school was 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 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.
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. 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. The magazine ranked the school 276th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 278th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. The school was later ranked 237th in the magazine's 2016 issue out of 337.Athletics
The Overbrook High School Rams compete as 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. With 533 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. The football team competes in the Colonial Division of the 95-team West Jersey Football League superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as South Jersey Group II for football for 2017-18.The school offers fall, winter, and spring season sports. For fall, the school offers boys'/girls' cross country, girls' tennis, boys'/girls' soccer, girls' cheerleading, girls' field hockey and boys' football. Winter sports are boys'/girls' basketball, boys'/girls' bowling, girls' dance, boys'/girls' indoor track, and boys' wrestling. For spring, there are boys'/girls' track, girls' softball, boys'/girls' golf, boys' tennis and boys' baseball. In the 2017-2018 school year, Overbrook High School introduced a program called Unified Sports which is offered in all three seasons.
The boys' soccer team won the Group III state title in 1977 as co-champion with Summit High School.
The wrestling team won the South Jersey Group III sectional championship in 1980 and 1981. Overbrook has had four state wrestling champions in the school's history: Erik Saunders, Damien Covington, Kip Covington and Mark Peiffer.
The football team won the South Jersey Group III title in 1990 and the South Jersey Group IV title in 1998. The Overbrook Rams were undefeated in football in 1998, winning the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association South Jersey Group IV title, defeating Shawnee High School 21–14 in a game played at Rutgers Stadium and ending the season with a perfect 12–0 record. The win marked the program's first state sectional title since they won in Group III in 1990.
As of September 9, 2006, Overbrook High School's varsity football field was renamed as the Larry Mauriello Varsity Football Complex.
The school and their crosstown rival, Lindenwold High School, play a traditional Thanksgiving Day football game each year.
On December 27, 2016, before the finals of the Overbrook Holiday Christmas Tournament, the Overbrook High School Athletics Department dedicated their first ever wrestling room after former wrestling coach Paul Mauriello, in his honor, naming it the "Coach Paul E. Mauriello Wrestling Room".
Extracurricular activities
The clubs offered at Overbrook are African American Culture Club, Book Club, Band Choir, Stage Crew, Sports, Academic Challenge, Interact Club, Leo Club, National Honor Society, Science League, Student Government, Yearbook Committee, and Model United Nations.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...- The Overbrook Jazz Band has won the NJIAJE state championship in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2004.
- The Overbrook Jazz Band has been accepted into the NJIAJE State Finals for nearly all of the past 24 years.
- The Overbrook Jazz Band won their division in the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival in 1999, 2004, 2005, 2008 and was one of the top high school jazz bands nationally in 1996.
- The Overbrook Marching Band Percussion Group Won the Tri-State Title of Best Percussion in the season 2004–05 with a score of 19.4/20.0, and won the State Best Percussion Title October 28, 2006 with a score of 19.4/20.0
- The Overbrook Marching Band Percussion Group and Color Guard won the Tri-State title of Best Percussion and Best Color Guard in the season of 2013–2014.
- The Overbrook Marching Band Percussion Group also achieved an undefeated season for the season of 2013–2014.
- The Overbrook Overtones Honors Choir performed the National Anthem at a Philadelphia Phillies game in June 2011 and 2013.
- The Overbrook Overtones Honors Choir placed third in the B101 Christmas Choir Contest in December 2011.
- The Overbrook Overtones Honors Choir was invited to and performed at the Kimmel Center with Dr. Christopher B. Thomas and Rowan University's Concert Choir in 2012.
- For the years 2010-2014, the Overbrook Choir has had at least 9 students audition and participate in the NJ All-State Choir.
Recent Spring musicals include Little Shop of Horrors, Guys and Dolls, The Pirates of Penzance, Once on This Island, Les Misérables, Pippin, Beauty and the Beast, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
The Performing Arts Program has helped Overbrook to become a "Choice School" for the Performing Arts for the 2013–14 school year.
Administration
The school's principal is Adam Lee. His administration team includes two assistant principals.Notable alumni
- Damien Covington, linebacker who played for three seasons for the Buffalo Bills.
- Ron Dayne, Division I all-time rushing yards leader and 1999 Heisman Trophy winner, who played in the NFL for the Houston Texans as a running back.
- LaMarr Greer former professional basketball player who transferred from Overbrook after his sophomore year.
- Jermaine Jones, who competed on the eleventh season of American Idol.
- Tim Lenahan, head men's soccer coach at Northwestern University and member of the South Jersey Soccer Hall of Fame.
- Eric Lewis, jazz piano player, who has worked with the likes of Wynton Marsalis.