Palmyra High School (New Jersey)

Palmyra High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from Palmyra in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Palmyra Public Schools. High school classes began shortly after the completion of the Spring Garden Street School in 1895; this building is on the National Register of Historic Places.[3] With increased enrollment, the school was moved to a former girls school, Berkeley Hall, in 1907, and to its own building in 1909. A large addition was completed in 1922. The 1909 structure was destroyed by fire in 1957, and after a vote that narrowly defeated establishing a regional high school, additions were made to the building in 1958 and 1961.

Palmyra High School
Address
311 West 5th Street

Palmyra
,
Burlington County
,
New Jersey
08065

United States
Coordinates40.002526°N 75.02759°W / 40.002526; -75.02759
Information
TypePublic
Established1895
School districtPalmyra Public Schools
NCES School ID3412390[1]
PrincipalLisa Sabo
Faculty39.3 FTEs[1]
Grades7-12
Enrollment468 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio11.9:1[1]
Color(s)  Red and
  white[2]
Athletics conferenceBurlington County Scholastic League
Team namePanthers[2]
Websitewww.palmyraschools.com/o/phs

As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 468 students and 39.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.9:1. There were 133 students (28.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 30 (6.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Students from Beverly and Riverton attend the district's high school as part of sending/receiving relationships.[4] In past years, students from Cinnaminson Township, Delanco Township, Delran Township, Riverside Township, and the Delair portion of Pennsauken Township had also attended Palmyra High School.[3]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 260th-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 222nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 208th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[6] The magazine ranked the school 224th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[7] The school was ranked 275th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[8]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 318th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (94.6%) and language arts literacy (97.9%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[9]

Athletics

The Palmyra High School Panthers[2] compete in the Freedom division of the Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL), a sports association operating under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) that consists of public and private high schools covering Burlington County, Mercer County and Ocean County in Central Jersey.[10] With 225 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 Freedom Division of the 95-team West Jersey Football League superconference[12][13] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2018–2020.[14]

The school mascot is currently the Panther, but at the time of the school's inception, its teams were known as the Red Devils.[15] This name was then changed to the Pals, which was used until the 1980s. The school colors have remained the same: red and white.[2]

Students competed in track and field as early as 1903, and in football by 1908. Palmyra's overall record in football, through the 2018 season, is 549 wins, 447 losses, and 49 ties. The team was declared the South Jersey Group II champion in 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951, and 1953; the Group III title was won in 1963, and Group I honors were won in 1971 and 1972. The team won the South Jersey Group I state sectional playoffs in 1978.[16] The Palmyra / Burlington City High School football rivalry for the Fred Wilbert Memorial Trophy, begun in 1908, is one of the oldest in South Jersey; Palmyra leads the series 56-48-12.[3] The game was not played in 2020; the first interruption since 1934, as Burlington City cancelled their fall sports season due to the pandemic. The Palmyra / Riverside High School rivalry dates from 1928, and Palmyra leads that series 63-23-3, after a 35-12 victory in 2020; Palmyra has won 20 consecutive games in the series.[17] The Palmyra High School football stadium was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1939, and recently renovated to include lighting.

The boys track team won the Group II spring track state championship in 1942-1945, 1950, 1951, 1954-1956, and won the Group I title in 1979 and 1980. The program's 11 state titles are tied for fifth-most in the state[18]

The boys' basketball team won the 1956 Group II state title, defeating runner-up Roselle Park High School by a score of 59-38 in the tournament final.[19][20]

The baseball team won the Group I state championship in 1973, defeating Cedar Grove High School in the tournament final.[21]

The Palmyra boys soccer team won their first South Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 1989 with a 1-0 win in double overtime against a Haddonfield Memorial High School team that came into the title game undefeated.[22] The team was the 2009 State Group I co-champion with Jonathan Dayton High School after the title game ended in a 0-0 tie.[23] The team won the South Jersey title, beating Pitman High School on penalty kicks in a 2-2 tie; they won the state semi-final in the same fashion, defeating Metuchen High School 4-1 on penalty kicks in a scoreless match.[24]

The 2006 girls' soccer team won the South Jersey, Group I state sectional title with a 1-0 win against Woodstown High School in the tournament final, the team's first-ever title.[25][26]

The girls' basketball team won the 2007 South Jersey, Group I state sectional championship with a 46-37 win over Wildwood High School in the tournament final.[27] The team won their semifinal game in the Group I state championship tournament, defeating Highland Park High School 49-43, before falling to University High School in the championship game.[28]

Administration

The school's principal is Lisa Sabo.[29]

Notable alumni

References
  1. School data for Palmyra High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  2. Palmyra High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. Cooper, et al., Life on the Delaware - A History of Palmyra, New Jersey 1976.
  4. High School Sending Districts, Burlington County Library System. Accessed January 24, 2008.
  5. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  6. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 29, 2012.
  7. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 13, 2011.
  8. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  9. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed May 22, 2012.
  10. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  11. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  12. Divisions, West Jersey Football League. Accessed September 5, 2020.
  13. Minnick, Kevin. "Football: Entering 10th season, a new leader for state’s second-largest conference", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 8, 2019. Accessed September 5, 2020. "The WJFL was created in 2010 as a way to help teams play a full schedule and face opponents of similar size, ability and geographical location.... The league is comprised of 16 divisions and includes better than 90 high schools."
  14. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2018–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, finalized August 2019. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  15. Athletics, Palmyra Public Schools. Accessed August 29, 2012. "In 1907 the Red Devils, Palmyra's football team, began its rivalry with Burlington City. This is the oldest school rivalry in Burlington County. Now we are known as the Palmyra Panthers, but the rivalry still exists as does Palmyra High School's fierce determination and drive to achieve both scholastic and athletic excellence."
  16. NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  17. Lewis, John A. "High school football scouting report", Burlington County Times, November 12, 2020. Accessed November 21, 2020. "Palmyra at Riverside, 6 p.m.... This will be the 89th meeting of these teams, who battle annually for the Fred Wilbert Memorial Trophy. Palmyra has won the last 19 games and holds a 62-23-3 lead in the series."
  18. NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Boys, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  19. NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  20. Burrows, Walt. "Palmyra Lone S.J. Team to Carry Off State Court Title, Jars Roselle Park; Captures First Group 2 Crown Easily, 59-38", Courier-Post, March 19, 1956. Accessed January 30, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Displaying real championship class, Palmyra High School captured its first state title in Group 2 here last Saturday night when it blasted Roselle Park by a 59-38 count in a game played at the University gym."
  21. NJSIAA Baseball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  22. Carchidi, Sam. "Palmyra Wins Soccer Title In A Stunner Stops Haddonfield, 1-0, In Group 1 Play", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 11, 1989. Accessed August 18, 2014. "After nearly 90 tense, scoreless minutes, yesterday's South Jersey Group 1 boys' soccer final appeared headed toward the dreaded penalty-kick shootout.... And Palmyra, on a stunning goal by Shaun Iversen with 30 seconds left in the second overtime, got its first soccer championship in the school's history, shocking previously undefeated Haddonfield, 1-0."
  23. NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  24. Chappine, Phil; and Lewis, John A. "Defense does its share as Panthers make history, Burlington County Times, November 22, 2009. Accessed May 22, 2012. "NJSIAA Group 1 Boys Soccer Championship: Palmyra 0, Jonathan Dayton 0. Stat of the Game: Palmyra went over 220 minutes without allowing a goal to end the season."
  25. Rimback, Tom. "4 county teams earn S.J. soccer titles Shawnee executes perfectly; Palmyra captures first crown", Burlington County Times, November 11, 2006. Accessed August 18, 2007. "Chelsea Grace took a pass from Rachel Minton and scored from 25-yard out to give the Palmyra Panthers all the offense they would need to secure their first South Jersey Group 1 girls soccer crown. Palmyra (14-4-3 record) went on to beat Woodstown."
  26. 2006 Girls Soccer Tournament - South, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 18, 2007.
  27. 2007 Girls Basketball - South, Group I, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 18, 2007.
  28. 2007 Girls Basketball - Public Group Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 18, 2007.
  29. 2019-2020 Student Handbook, Palmyra High School. Accessed April 28, 2020.
  30. Kenney, Bob. "'Pop' Vernon clinics still going strong", Courier-Post, March 28, 1982. Accessed August 17, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "He took a lanky youngster from nearby Delanco, Allen Bunge, and helped him become a star. The 6-9 Bunge led Riverside's biggest rival, Palmyra, to a state title in '56 and later was an All-American at Maryland and a first round NBA draft choice."
  31. Deron Cherry Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Database Football. Accessed January 24, 2008.
  32. Henry, Larry. "PHS graduate Kelvin Harmon excelling for North Carolina State Football", The Palmyra Sun, September 20, 2017. Accessed October 28, 2018. "In 2015, Kelvin Harmon was a senior at Palmyra High School taking the football field for one final season before his high school graduation."
  33. Derek Holloway profile Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, database Football. Accessed August 6, 2007.
  34. Johnson, Thomas A. "Man in the News", The New York Times, April 29, 1971. Accessed December 9, 2017. "When Mr. Jones was a boy the family moved to Palmyra, N. J., and he Went to Palmyra High School."
  35. Invitation to Dedication of the Dr. Clarence B. Jones Institute for Social Advocacy Archived December 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Palmyra High School. Accessed December 9, 2017. "Clarence Benjamin Jones was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 8, 1931 and attended Palmyra High School in New Jersey from 1945 to 1949."
  36. Callahan, Kevin. "Palmyra native Quron Pratt ready to live dream with Eagles", Courier-Post, August 8, 2014. Accessed June 27, 2015. "Pratt was a four-year letter winner at Palmyra High School where he set the school's record with 22 interceptions as a defensive back."
  37. Staff. "Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey: 1979 edition", p. 221. Fitzgerald's, 1979. Accessed September 30, 2016. "Assemblyman Schuck was born in Bridgeboro, March 1, 1929. He was graduated at Palmyra High School and attended Rutgers University College."
  38. Nowlin, Bill. Hal Wagner, Society for American Baseball Research. Accessed September 19, 2018. "Hal Wagner seems to have attended both Riverton High School and Palmyra High, graduating from Palmyra High in 1934, with letters in baseball and basketball."
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