Salem High School (New Jersey)


Salem High School is a comprehensive community four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Salem City, in Salem County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Salem City School District. Students from Elsinboro Township, Lower Alloways Creek Township, Mannington Township and Quinton Township attend the school as part of sending/receiving relationships with the respective districts.
As of the 2017-18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 334 students and 46.0 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 7.3:1. There were 182 students eligible for free lunch and 16 eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
The district participates in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, having been approved on November 2, 1999, as one of the first ten districts statewide to participate in the program. Seats in the program for non-resident students are specified by the district and are allocated by lottery, with tuition paid for participating students by the New Jersey Department of Education.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 308th-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 265th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 277th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 284th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 245th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.

Athletics

The Salem High School Rams compete in the Classic Division of the Tri-County Conference, which operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. With 252 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as South Jersey, Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 78 to 478 students in that grade range. The football team competes in the Diamond Division of the 95-team West Jersey Football League superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as South Jersey Group I for football for 2017-18.
The boys' basketball team won the Group II state championship in 1963 against Mountain High School and won the title in 1986 with a win against Central High School in the tournament final. The 1963 boys' basketball team won the New Jersey Group II state championship led by Jerry Dickerson. The team won back to back Tri-County Conference and South Jersey Group II championships during the 1980–81 and 81-82 seasons. Each season ended in a loss to Clifford Scott High School of East Orange in the state finals. The Salem Rams boys' basketball team won the Tri-County Conference Championship 1951, 60, 61, 62, 63, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 2007, 08 and 09. Coach George "Lou" Schantz was the first coach in New Jersey high school basketball history to reach the milestone of 600 wins. The 1986 boys' basketball team won the Tri-County Conference Royal Division, South Jersey Group II and New Jersey Group II state championships; Salem defeated Central High School in the state finals 77-63 led by the school's all-time leading scorer Keith Jackson. The team won the South Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 2008, defeating Paulsboro High School 64-59 in the final game of the tournament. The team defeated Academy Charter High School 63-48 in the first round of the Group I state tournament, but fell to Science Park High School 77-58 in the finals.
The track & field team, under Coach Nathan Dunn Jr. won the Tri-County Conference Championship in 1960, 1961, 1968 and 1969. Coach Dunn also started the Boy's Cross-Country program at Salem in 1962 and won the Tri-County Conference Championship in 1966 and 1967.
The baseball team, under Coach Wendell Lloyd, won the 1965 Tri-County Conference Championship, then captured the South Jersey Group II championship in 1967. Salem beat Clearview Regional High School and Merchantville High School in the first two rounds of the tournament before defeating Cinnaminson High School in the final game to win the title.
The 1983 football team won the Tri-County Conference and South Jersey Group II Championships led by Anthony "AB" Brown with 2,012 yards rushing. The 1973 football team was awarded the South Jersey Group II state sectional title.
The boys' track and field team won the Salem County, Tri-County Conference, South Jersey Group II and the state Group II championships in 1987. Coached by Hall of Famer Lee Bacon, the 1987 team finished the season ranked #1 in South Jersey, earning them the Courier-Post Cup. Team championships also included the Lakewood, Woodbury and Bridgeton Relays. The 1989 boys track and field team won the Salem County, Tri-County and State Group II titles. Bacon previously guided the Rams track team to the 1976 Tri-County Championship.
The girls' basketball team won the 2005 South, Group I state sectional championship, defeating Penns Grove High School 77-54 in the first round and Point Pleasant Beach High School 60-53 in the semifinals, before taking the title with a 57-52 win versus Gloucester City Junior-Senior High School. The team also won the 2006 South Jersey Group I state sectional championship.
The softball team earned the South Jersey Group I state title in 2006 with a 5-4 win over Penns Grove High School.
The boys' soccer team earned its first Tri-County Conference Title in team history in 2007 while on its way to its first playoff berth in program history. The team defeated Maple Shade High School 5-0 in the first round of the South Jersey Group I Tournament prior to losing to Arthur P. Schalick High School 3-1 in the semifinal game. The following year the boys won their second Tri-County conference earning a number one seed in the Tournament and fighting their way to a South Jersey Group I title and a berth in the State Group I semi-final match before losing to South River High School.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are: