Gateway Regional High School (New Jersey)

Gateway Regional High School is a regional school district and public high school serving students in seventh through twelfth grades from the boroughs of National Park, Wenonah, Westville and Woodbury Heights, four communities in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[5][6]

Gateway Regional High School District
Address
775 Tanyard Road
Woodbury Heights
, Gloucester County, New Jersey, 08096
United States
Coordinates39.819012°N 75.139791°W / 39.819012; -75.139791
District information
Grades7-12
Established1964
SuperintendentShannon Whalen
Business administratorDonna Contrevo
Schools1
Students and staff
Enrollment851 (as of 2021–22)[1]
Faculty82.9 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio10.3:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupCD
Websitewww.gatewayhs.com
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		7-12
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$23,62840$18,89125.1%
1Budgetary Cost16,8713314,58615.7%
2Classroom Instruction8,986248,3397.8%
6Support Services3,198422,11451.3%
8Administrative Cost1,414101,561−9.4%
10Operations & Maintenance1,986251,79810.5%
13Extracurricular Activities9823167345.9%
16Median Teacher Salary67,3682365,769
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of 7-12 districts with any number of students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=47
Gateway Regional High School
Location
Information
TypePublic high school
NCES School ID340582002554[1]
PrincipalJeffrey Pierro
Faculty82.9 FTEs[1]
Grades7-12
Enrollment836 (as of 2021–22)[1]
Student to teacher ratio10.1:1[1]
Color(s)  Royal blue
  White[3]
Athletics conferenceColonial Conference (general)
West Jersey Football League (football)
Team nameGators[3]
NewspaperThe Chomp[4]

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 836 students and 82.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.1:1. There were 184 students (22.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 41 (4.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "CD", the sixth-highest 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.[7]

History

The name "Gateway Regional High School District" was chosen by a study committee in April 1962, using the term "gateway" that had been applied to that portion of the county. The committee was established after the Woodbury Public Schools notified the four sending communities of National Park, Wenonah, Westville and Woodbury Heights—which all had existing K-8 school districts—that their students could no longer be accommodated at Woodbury High School for grades 9-12 after the 1963-64 school year.[8] The district's original plan called for creation of a regional junior high school for grades 7-9 while students already enrolled would continue to attend Woodbury High School for grades 10-12.[9] After a June 1962 referendum was rejected in three of the four municipalities, the district was formally established after a second proposal was passed each of the four communities in December 1962, leading to the establishment of the first board of education.[10][11]

Voters overwhelmingly approved a May 1963 referendum for $1.6 million (equivalent to $15.5 million in 2022) to buy the land and construct of a facility on a plot covering 38 acres (15 ha) that was designed to accommodate an enrollment of 800 to 1,000 students.[12]

The school opened for the 1964-65 school year.[6]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 195th-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.[13] The school had been ranked 141st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 197th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[14] The magazine ranked the school 151st in 2008 out of 316 schools.[15] The school was ranked 176th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[16] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 181st out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 29 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (78.7%) and language arts literacy (93.9%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[17]

Athletics

The Gateway Regional High School Gators[3] compete in the Colonial Conference, which is comprised of public high schools in Camden and Gloucester counties, and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[18][19] With 405 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2022–24 school years as Group I South for most athletic competition purposes.[20] The football team competes in the Royal Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[21][22] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 200 to 463 students.[23]

The school participates as the host school / lead agency for joint cooperative cross country running, co-ed swimming and wrestling teams with Woodbury Junior-Senior High School. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[24][25]

The field hockey team was the South II sectional champion in 1971 and won the South Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 2001.[26]

The 1978 softball team ran their record to 18-3 after winning the Group II state championship by a score of 6-2 in the final of the tournament against a Queen of Peace High School that came into the game undefeated.[27][28]

The 1992 boys' soccer team finished the season with a record of 21-3 after winning the Group II state championship, defeating Harrison High School by a score of 2-0 in the tournament final.[29][30]

The boys' baseball team won the 2009 South Jersey Group I NJSIAA state sectional Title, advancing to the Group I tournament where they lost to David Brearley High School 6–2 in the semi-final round.[31]

Administration

Core members of the district and school administration are:[32]

  • Shannon Whalen, superintendent
  • Donna Contrevo, business administrator and board secretary
  • Jeffrey Pierro, principal

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[33][34] Seats on the district's board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with three seats assigned to Westville (the largest community in the district) and two each to National Park, Wenonah and Woodbury Heights.[35]

Notable alumni

References
  1. School data for Gateway Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. Gateway Regional High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  4. The Chomp, Gateway Regional High School. Accessed March 24, 2022.
  5. Gateway Regional High School District 2016-17 School Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 14, 2018. "Gateway Regional High School is located in Woodbury Heights, approximately 15 miles from Philadelphia, Pa. It consists of four sending districts - Wenonah, Woodbury Heights, Westville, and National Park. Gateway is currently a choice district which allows students from outside our district to attend without any charge to the parents."
  6. Shryock, Bob. "Plans are in the works for Gateway's 50th anniversary", Gloucester County Times, March 22, 2012, updated January 18, 2019. Accessed March 25, 2022. "The 50-year milestone is based on Gateway opening in the fall of 1964 when four sending districts (Woodbury Heights, Westville, National Park and Wenonah) split from Woodbury and sent seventh, eighth and ninth graders to the new school on Egg Harbor Road in Woodbury Heights."
  7. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 9, 2014.
  8. "June Balloting Sought On New Regional High In Gloucester County", The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 12, 1962. Accessed March 25, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Plans are under way for a June referendum to set up a new Gateway Regional High School District which would include Westville, Wenonah, Woodbury Heights and National Park.... The study committee was formed after Woodbury High, School, which has been receiving pupils from the four districts in grades nine to 12 tor many years, gave written notice last Sept. 13 that it would be unable to accept ninth grade pupils from the four districts as of September 1963.... The name 'Gateway Regional High School District' was formally adopted by the Regional Study Committee. It was thought that this name will indicate the geographical location, since 'Gateway' has been used for many years for the northern Gloucester county area."
  9. "Poll Slated In Creation Of District", Courier-Post, June 6, 1962. Accessed March 25, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Board of Education said it will hold a special election on June 28 to ask voters to create a regional school district for National Park, Westville, Woodbury Heights and Wenonah. The district will be known as the Gateway Regional District for grades 7 through 12.... The boroughs now send their 9th through 12th grade pupils to Woodbury High School which will not accept 9th grade pupils after September. The Gateway proposal calls for the construction of a regional junior high school serving grades 7 through 9. Pupils in the three upper classes will continue to attend Woodbury High School."
  10. "Ask Referendum Again on School", Courier-Post, October 6, 1962. Accessed March 25, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Members of a regional school district study committee representing four Gloucester County communities have agreed to recommend a second referendum on the proposed Gateway Regional Junior-Senior High School District Dec. 5. The decision to ask for the referendum was made at a special meeting in National Park. The school district would include Westville, National Park, Woodbury Heights and Wenonah.... All four communities now have kindergarten to eighth grade school systems."
  11. Waters, Ann S. "Henderson Elected As First President Of Gateway Board", Courier-Post, December 15, 1962. Accessed March 25, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Their proposal that the Gateway district he formed and a junior high school built was first defeated 830-721 at a June 28 referendum.... At the Dec. 5 election the vote results approving the question were: Wenonah 304-185; Woodbury Heights, 236-75; National Park, 236-81; and Westville, 384-202."
  12. "4 Towns Approve School", Courier-Post, May 29, 1963. Accessed March 25, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Less than 7 per cent of the 12,912 registered voters in the four-borough Gateway Regional High School district approved by a 3-1 margin Tuesday the land acquisition and construction of the proposed $1.6 million junior high school. Authorization for the regional board to purchase a 38-acre site known as Rizzuto Farm was given by residents of Westville, National Park, Woodbury Heights and Wenonah, along with authority to issue $1 million of bonds to build and equip the school.... Superintendent of Schools John M. Lelko explained that the proposed junior high will have a functional capacity of 800 students and would accommodate 1,000. Special areas such as gymnasiums and cafeterias will be designed to ultimately provide for junior-senior high when necessary to include senior students. Plans call for 23 academic classrooms, and laboratories, administration and office areas, library, lockers, showers, a 600-seat auditorium and a 350-student cafeteria."
  13. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  14. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 9, 2012.
  15. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed September 9, 2012.
  16. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  17. School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2003-11 HSPA results, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 7, 2012.
  18. Schools, Colonial Conference. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  19. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  20. NJSIAA General Classifications - Public Schools 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  21. Gateway Gators, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  22. 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."
  23. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  24. NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  25. NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  26. History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  27. History of the NJSIAA Softball Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  28. "Schalick wins softball by beating Cedar Grove", The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 4, 1978. Accessed March 3, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Gateway (18-3) also picked up a State championship, whipping Queen of Peace 6-2 in Group Two and handing the North Jersey champs, now (19-1), their first loss of the season."
  29. NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  30. Toll, Matt. "Gateway tops Harrison, 2-0, to take state Group 2 crown; Goalie Steve Kunz led the Gators to their first state championship by stopping everything in sight. Tom Lyons and Chris Humes took care of the scoring.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 20, 1992. Accessed March 11, 2021. "His Gateway boys' soccer team had looked shoddy in its scrimmages. The coach wasn't sure the Gators would manage a .500 record. Last night at Trenton State College, they became state champions. Gateway shut down Harrison, 2-0, to win the Group 2 state title, the first in the school's history.... As usual, Tom Lyons and Chris Humes took care of the scoring they've combined for 42 of the team's 64 goals this season as the Gators ran their record to 20-3."
  31. 2009 Baseball Tournament - Public Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 25, 2009.
  32. Staff Directory, Gateway Regional High School. Accessed September 15, 2022.
  33. New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
  34. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Gateway Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed September 3, 2020. "The Gateway Regional High School District is a Type II District located in the County of Gloucester, State of New Jersey. As a Type II District, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The Board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the District is to educate students in grades 7-12."
  35. Board Members, Gateway Regional Board of Education. Accessed September 15, 2022.
  36. Callahan, Kevin. "Versatile Helbig excels in classroom, on track and now with pole vault", Courier-Post, January 9, 2003. Accessed July 24, 2012. "Grace Helbig strives to do really well in the classroom, so it is not surprising the senior at Gateway High School wants to do well on the athletic field."
  37. Mars Exploration: ZIP Code Mars. Accessed June 13, 2007.
  38. O'Connell, Kaelin. "Going for the gold", Today's Sunbeam, February 24, 2008. Accessed February 28, 2008. "In 2001 Tim Squyres, a Gateway Regional High School graduate and a Wenonah native, was nominated for his editing work on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
  39. Tanaka, Wendy. "Mastermind behind high-concept eateries Since '95, Stephen Starr has built a restaurant empire.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 26, 2002. Accessed December 26, 2017. "He grew up in Woodbury Heights, the son of a television repairman. At Gateway Regional High School, he became known for promoting concerts - a fledgling business back in the late 1960s."
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