Clayton High School is a comprehensive community

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

that serves students in

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

s from Clayton, in Gloucester County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, operating as the lone secondary school of the

Clayton Public Schools Clayton Public Schools form a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from the town of Clayton, in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020–21 school ...

. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 441 students and 41.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 10.8:1. There were 125 students (28.3% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the providing of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. It was once a common tradition in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with the ...

and 11 (2.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Clayton High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

. Accessed December 1, 2022.

Awards, recognition and rankings

Clayton High School was named by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the "Best High Schools" in New Jersey in 2012-2013. The school was the 273rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey. The magazine was started in 1976. It is based in Morristown. In addition to articles of general interest, the publication fe ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. 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. The magazine ranked the school 210th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 244th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. In the 1997-98 school year, Clayton High School was recognized by the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

as a Best Practice School for its Commercial Art program in the Public Engagement category. 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

The Clayton High School ClippersClayton High School

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed October 20, 2020. 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 Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay fro ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, Gloucester and

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

counties.Member Schools
Tri-County Conference. Accessed November 18, 2020. The conference is overseen by the

(NJSIAA). 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. The football team competes in the Patriot Division of the 94-team

West Jersey Football League The West Jersey Football League is a 94-school superconference that stretches from Princeton, New Jersey to Wildwood, New Jersey encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conferenc ...

superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 200 to 463 students. The school participates as the host school / lead agency for a joint cooperative wrestling team with

Glassboro High School Glassboro High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Glassboro, in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of the Glassboro ...

, 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. 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 Mahwah High School (MHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students from Mahwah in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the only secondary school of the Mahwah Town ...

by a score of 86-75 in the tournament final. The softball team won the Group I state championship in 2021 (defeating

Whippany Park High School Whippany Park High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Hanover Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, operating as one of the two secondary schools of ...

in the tournament final) and 2022 (vs.

Weehawken High School Weehawken High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Weehawken in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Weehawken School District. The sch ...

).NJSIAA Softball Championship History

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The boys outdoor track team won the Group I state championship in 2021. The girls spring / outdoor track team won the Group I state title in 2021 and 2022.NJSIAA Girls Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023.

Curriculum and programs

The school operates "Clayton Place", a youth services program that provides counseling and tutoring for high school students. The high school's "Communications Academy", started in September 2000, provides courses in video production, mass media, journalism, and computer graphics.Clayton High School 2013 Report Card Narrative

. 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." 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. Clayton High School has received press coverage for offering students distance learning opportunities at

Gloucester County College Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) is a public community college with two campuses in New Jersey, including one in Sewell (Gloucester Main Campus) and one in Vineland and Millville (Cumberland Branch Campus). The college was established in ...

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. In 1999, three students from the school took a Spanish III class given at West Deptford High School via closed-circuit television.

Administration

The school's principal is Joseph Visalli. His administration team includes the assistant principal / athletic director.

Notable alumni

* Granger Hall (born 1962), former professional basketball player. *

Nick Rodriguez Nicholas "Nick" Rodriguez, commonly known as Nicky Rod (born August 30, 1996) is an American professional submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) athlete. A former amateur wrestler, Rodriguez won in 2018 the ADCC West Coast Trials t ...

, former wrestler and current submission grappler.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."

References

External links

Clayton High SchoolClayton Public Schools
*
School Data for the Clayton Public Schools

South Jersey Sports: Clayton HS
{{Authority control Clayton, New Jersey Public high schools in Gloucester County, New Jersey