Sterling High School is a comprehensive regional public high school and school district serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from five communities in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. The district serves students from Magnolia, Somerdale, Stratford, along with students from Hi-Nella and Laurel Springs who attend as part of sending/receiving relationships. The school is located in Somerdale.
Sterling High School has been approved by the New Jersey Department of Education (2000) and has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1964.
As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 961 students and 71.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentâ€"teacher ratio of 13.4:1. There were 229 students (23.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 73 (7.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "CD", the third-lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.
Board of education
The district's board of education is made up of nine members, elected to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year. Two members are elected from Somerdale, three from Magnolia and four from Stratford. The Laurel Springs district appoints a representative to serve on the Sterling board of education.
Awards, recognition and honors
The school was the 234th-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 266th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 231st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 225th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 228th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 240th out of 367 public high schools statewide in its 2009-10 rankings which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).
Curriculum
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered in AP English Literature, AP United States History, AP Calculus, and AP Biology. Honors courses are offered in Algebra I, Geometry, Pre Calculus, Spanish V, Calculus, and Physics. High School Plus credit with Camden County College is offered in History, Spanish, French, Biology, Software Systems, Latin, and World Civilizations. A variety of languages are offered including: Spanish, Latin, French, and Italian II.
Athletics
The Sterling High School Silver Knights compete as a member school in the Colonial Conference, which is composed of small schools whose enrollments generally do not exceed between 750-800 students for grades 9-12 and operates under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 730 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 won the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III state sectional championships in 1974, 1976 and 1977. In 1974, Sterling won the first ever South Jersey Group III football championship determined by playoffs, defeating Woodrow Wilson High School by a score of 15-12 in a game played at the Atlantic City Convention Center.
The boys' soccer team was the Group III co-champion in 1976, after a tie with Summit High School in the final game of the tournament.
The softball team won the Group II state championship in 1981 (defeating Jefferson Township High School in the tournament's final game) and 2008 (vs. Kittatinny Regional High School). In 2008, the softball team won the New Jersey Group II state championship with a 1-0 win against Kittatinny Regional High School. The softball team won the South, Group II state sectional championship in 2007 with a 9-4 win over Haddon Township High School.
The girls' basketball team won with Group II state championships in 1989 (vs. Glen Rock High School), 1990 (vs. Boonton High School), 2000 (vs. West Morris Mendham High School) and 2001 (vs. Hanover Park High School). The Lady Knights basketball squad is one of only two South Jersey teams to win the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions, winning it in 2001. The other is Woodrow Wilson High School, who accomplished the feat in 2005.
Sterling's wrestling program won back-to-back South Jersey Group II state titles in 1999 and 2000. Mark Manchio won three consecutive state wrestling titles in 1999, 2000 and 2001 (125-2 career record). In 2002, Ivan Wiggins won the state wrestling title at 112Â lbs.
The baseball team won the South Jersey Group II title in 2007 with a win over Gateway Regional High School. In 2002 and 2003 the baseball team won back to back Diamond Classic tournaments.
In 2004, Donald "Sonnie" Pollosco won the South Jersey Coach's Invitational State Title and Camden County Singles title. (112-6 career record)
In 2013, the Sterling Lady Knights volleyball team won the Group II state championship, the program's first, defeating Madison High School in the tournament final.
In 2014, the Sterling Lady Knights soccer team won the South Jersey Group II state sectional championship, the program's first, defeating Point Pleasant Borough High School in the tournament final by a score of 3-2.
Administration
Core members of the school's administration include:
- Mark Napoleon, Superintendent
- Elizabeth Giambrone, Business Administrator / Board Secretary
- Matthew Sheehan, Principal
- Robynn Considine, Vice Principal
- Sean Redman, Vice Principal
Board of Education
Members of the Board of Education are:
- Louise Barikian, President - Stratford
- Paul Sims, Vice-President - Stratford
- Ken Carman, Stratford
- Bobbie Condell, Magnolia
- William Hiltner, Stratford
- Michele Miller, Somerdale
- Dan Radcliff, Magnolia
- Kevin Smith, Somerdale
Notable alumni
- Brian Broomell (born 1958; class of 1976), quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League for the Edmonton Eskimos.
- Sam Carchidi, sports columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Ken Kelley (born 1960; class of 1978), captain of Penn State's national championship football team in 1982.
References
External links
- Sterling High School
- Sterling High School's 2015â€"16 School Performance Report from the New Jersey Department of Education
- Data for Sterling High School, National Center for Education Statistics
- Sterling boosters club official website
- South Jersey Sports: Sterling HS