Clayton High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Clayton, in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Clayton Public Schools.
| Clayton High School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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55 Pop Kramer Boulevard , , 08312 United States | |
| Coordinates | 39°39′46″N 75°05′10″W / 39.66278°N 75.086199°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Motto | "Preparing Students for Opportunities of the Future" |
| School district | Clayton Public Schools |
| NCES School ID | 340318002498[1] |
| Principal | Joseph Visalli |
| Faculty | 35.0 FTEs[1] |
| Enrollment | 454 (as of 2022–23)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 13.0:1[1] |
| Color(s) | Navy blue gold[2] |
| Athletics conference | Tri-County Conference[3] (general) West Jersey Football League (football) |
| Team name | Clippers[2] |
| Information | Member of the NJ Interdistrict School Choice Program |
| Website | www |
As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 454 students and 35.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.0:1. There were 159 students (35.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 38 (8.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Awards, recognition and rankings
editClayton High School was named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the "Best High Schools" in New Jersey in 2012-2013.[4]
The school was the 273rd-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.[5] The school had been ranked 184th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 224th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[6] The magazine ranked the school 210th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[7] The school was ranked 244th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[8]
In the 1997-98 school year, Clayton High School was recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education as a Best Practice School for its Commercial Art program in the Public Engagement category.[9] In 2010, Clayton High School received a bronze medal as one of the Top High Schools in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.
Athletics
editThe Clayton High School Clippers[2] compete as one of the member schools in the Tri-County Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.[3] The conference is overseen by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[10] With 304 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.[11] The football team competes in the Patriot Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[12][13] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 185 to 482 students.[14]
The school participates as the host school / lead agency for a joint cooperative wrestling team with Glassboro High School, while Glassboro is the host school for co-op boys / girls swimming and boys / girls tennis teams. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[15][16][17]
In 1980, the boys' basketball team finished the season with a record of 25-3 after winning the Group I state championship, defeating Mahwah High School by a score of 86-75 in the tournament final.[18][19]
The softball team won the Group I state championship in 2021 (defeating Whippany Park High School in the tournament final) and 2022 (vs. Weehawken High School).[20]
The boys outdoor track team won the Group I state championship in 2021.[21]
The girls spring / outdoor track team won the Group I state title in 2021 and 2022.[22]
Curriculum and programs
editThe school operates "Clayton Place", a youth services program that provides counseling and tutoring for high school students.[23]
The high school's "Communications Academy", started in September 2000, provides courses in video production, mass media, journalism, and computer graphics.[23] In 2000, a cable-television sitcom created by a student in one of Clayton High School's video production classes was broadcast on Comcast's Channel 31 in the community.[24]
Clayton High School has received press coverage for offering students distance learning opportunities at Gloucester County College and elsewhere. In 1998, for instance, 15 students from the high school took a Psychology 101 course at the college via a closed-circuit television hookup.[25] In 1999, three students from the school took a Spanish III class given at West Deptford High School via closed-circuit television.[26]
Administration
editThe school's principal is Joseph Visalli. His administration team includes the assistant principal / athletic director.[27]
Notable alumni
edit- T. James Ferrell (1939–2020, class of 1959), engraver and medalist best known for his work for The Franklin Mint[28]
- Granger Hall (born 1962), former professional basketball player[29]
- Nick Rodriguez, former wrestler and current submission grappler[30]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e School data for Clayton High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c Clayton High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
- ^ a b Member Schools, Tri-County Conference. Accessed November 18, 2020.
- ^ "Clayton High School", U.S. News & World Report. Accessed December 3, 2012.
- ^ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
- ^ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 24, 2012.
- ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed December 24, 2011.
- ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
- ^ New Jersey Department of Education Best Practices Award recipients[permanent dead link], New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 18, 2007.
- ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
- ^ NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
- ^ Clayton Clippers, West Jersey Football League. Accessed September 5, 2020.
- ^ Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component."
- ^ NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
- ^ NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
- ^ NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
- ^ NJSIAA Spring Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
- ^ NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
- ^ "Mahwah Falls", The News, March 24, 1980. Accessed December 22, 2020. "Mahwah needed something extra Saturday in the Group I final of the NJSIAA state basketball tournament, but the Thunderbirds found they had left that something behind in the semifinal round. Unable to keep pace with the running and gunning of Gloucester County's Clayton, Mahwah came out on the short end of an 86-75 score at Elizabeth High's Dunn Center.... Clayton (25-3) simply mustered too much firepower."
- ^ Softball Championship History 1972–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated July 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024.
- ^ NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Boys, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
- ^ NJSIAA Girls Spring Track Summary of Group Titles, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
- ^ a b Clayton High School 2013 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 7, 2016. "In addition, Clayton Place, a school-based youth services program housed in our high school and middle school, provides counseling, tutoring, and recreation activities for students at the secondary level."
- ^ Harbach, Louise. "Star of Clayton High School cable sitcom is never actually scene", The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 13, 2000, page CH04. Accessed June 18, 2007.
- ^ McDonald, Melody. "High schoolers get a high-tech taste of higher ed / Interactive, closed-circuit TV allows Clayton High students to take a college course in psychology", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 15, 1998, page GL01. Accessed June 18, 2007.
- ^ Hobbs, Erika. "High Schoolers Attending Class Via Video \ A Network Of Cameras, Modems And Televisions \ Enables Them To Take Courses At Other High Schools - Or Colleges", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 24, 1999, page GL07. Accessed June 18, 2007.
- ^ District Administrative Team, Clayton High School. Accessed July 4, 2024.
- ^ "Across South Jersey", Courier-Post, January 6, 1995. Accessed July 4, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "T. James Ferrell, a 1959 graduate of Clayton High School, has helped design the Thomas Jefferson silver dollar for the Franklin Mint in Philadelphia."
- ^ Staff. "Hall Decks Hawks", Philadelphia Daily News, January 5, 1984. Accessed July 24, 2012. "Temple coach John Chaney first saw Granger Hall play five years ago in the Al Donofrio Memorial Tournament at Conshohocken. Hall, a relative unknown from Clayton High School in South Jersey, was playing against Tony Costner at the time and doing a good job of holding Overbrook High School's Parade All-America center to a standoff."
- ^ Clements, Averi. "The Rumors Are True: Meet The Guy Who Won 3rd At ADCC Trials After Just 6 Months Of Training", Jiu-Jitsu Times, November 6, 2018. Accessed May 28, 2020. "It takes an incredible amount of hard work and talent to get anywhere near the podium at the ADCC Trials. Most of the time, it also takes years and years of hard, consistent training. But for Nick Rodriguez, it only took six months.... Originally from South Jersey, he finished his senior year at Clayton High School with a record of 111-17 in the 170 lb weight class."