Oakcrest High School is a comprehensive four-year

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 ...

located in Hamilton Township, in

Atlantic County Atlantic County is a county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 274,534.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 ...

, United States. The school is part of the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District, which includes three secondary schools that serve students from

Egg Harbor City Egg Harbor City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 4,396, an increase of 153 from the 2010 Census.Galloway Township, Hamilton Township and Mullica Township, together with students from Port Republic and Washington Township (in Burlington County) who attend as part of

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

s. The school serves students from Hamilton Township, though students from elsewhere in the district are eligible to apply to attend magnet programs hosted at Oakcrest. With the opening of Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City in 2010, students from Mullica Township, Port Republic and Washington Township no longer attend Oakcrest High School. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 952 students and 87.8 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 397 students (41.7% 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 112 (11.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Oakcrest 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.

History

The district was established with the passage of a referendum in January 1957 by the five constituent municipalities of Egg Harbor City, Egg Harbor Township, Galloway Township, Hamilton Township and Mullica Township by a 5-1 margin that allocated $1.7 million (equivalent to $ million in ) for the construction of what would be come Oakcrest High School. The school, initially named Egg Harbor Regional High School opened in September 1960, with 150 students from Hamilton Township shifted out of

Vineland High School Vineland High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Vineland, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as part of the Vineland Public Schools. The now reunifie ...

. The school was renamed as Oakcrest High School. The school name was chosen based on its site on the crest of a hill amid oak trees.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 197th-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 247th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 244th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 254th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 232nd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school as 254th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 5 positions from the 2009 rank) 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 The High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA, pronounced "hess-pah" (/ˈhɛspə/) or sometimes just "H-S-P-A") was a standardized test that was administered by the New Jersey Department of Education to all New Jersey public high school students in ...

(HSPA). The school has a variety of programs, including Special Needs, a "High School-to-Work" program, College Preparatory,

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

(AP), and Performing Arts training. For the 2005-06 school year, Oakcrest High School was recognized with the "Best Practices Award" 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 ...

for its "A Proactive Approach to Guidance and Career Services" Career Education program. Oakcrest's Academic Challenge Team was successful at the

Buena Regional High School Buena Regional High School is a comprehensive regional public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from communities in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Buena Region ...

and

Egg Harbor Township High School Egg Harbor Township High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Egg Harbor Township in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school ...

competitions in spring 2006, the team finished first overall at the Gateway Toyota Academic Challenge at

Monsignor Donovan High School Donovan Catholic High School, (formerly Monsignor Donovan High School) located in Toms River, New Jersey, Toms River, is the only Catholic school, Roman Catholic Secondary education in the United States, high school in Ocean County, New Jersey, ...

in Toms River by defeating perennial competitor

East Brunswick High School East Brunswick High School is a comprehensive public high school serving students in tenth through twelfth grades in East Brunswick Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of East Brunswick Public Schools. ...

in the final round. In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', the school was ranked 66th in New Jersey and 1,918th nationwide.

Athletics

The Oakcrest High School FalconsOakcrest 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 in the Atlantic Division of the

Cape-Atlantic League The Cape-Atlantic League (CAL) is an athletic conference consisting of both public high schools and non-public high schools located in Atlantic County, Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jers ...

, an athletic conference that includes public and private high schools located in Atlantic,

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 ...

and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

counties, operating under the aegis of the

(NJSIAA). With 577 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2022–24 school years as Group II South for most athletic competition purposes. The football team competes in the Colonial 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 II South for football for 2022–2024. School colors are royal blue and gray. The school offers many sports to its students including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, fall

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, winter cheerleading,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involve ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. The wrestling team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional championship in 1992 and 1993. The girls outdoor track and field team won the Group III state championships in 1997. The boys track team won the Group III indoor relay championships in 2011, 2012 and 2013 The boys outdoor track and field team won the Group IV state championships in 2011 and the Group III title in 2012.

Marching band

In the 2005-06 school year, the high school's marching band, the Oakcrest Marching Ambassadors, took a record 37 first place trophies including a grand championship in the Cavalcade of Bands Liberty conference. The band has performed in numerous venues including the Miss America Parade in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

, the Festival of States in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, and a tour in Europe including

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The school's marching band was

Tournament of Bands The Tournament of Bands (TOB) is one of the largest competitive band organizations in the United States and is one of several major circuits in the mid-Atlantic states (other circuits include Cavalcade of Bands and USBands). TOB was founded in 1972 ...

Chapter One Champions in 1977 and 1988 (Group 2) and 1983-1987 (Group 1). The marching band was 1977 Atlantic Coast Champion in Group 2. They also took First Place in the

Group 2A Atlantic Coast Championships in 2013. In 2015 the Ambassadors also won the Group 1A Atlantic Coast Championships for

. With the show "Scheherazade", modeled after the Santa Clara Vanguard's show of the same name, during their 2015 season the Ambassadors had an undefeated reign and also set records for the school and tournament of bands itself. The Ambassadors won New Jersey Championships, Chapter 1 Championships as well Atlantic Coast Championships. The school has the highest record ever set by a 1A band with a final score of 95.92. In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, shows titled "Ascension" and "A Dream Come True" won both NJ State and Region 1 Championships in the 1 Open class, again in

. The 2018 season was a season of success. The Ambassadors had moved up a group to 2A. With a show titled "Uncaged", they had had another undefeated season, followed by another State and Region 1 Championship victory, with an Atlantic Coast Championship victory for 2A, scoring a 95.810,the highest score achieved in group 2A. This was the second highest achieved in any A class by any band in

, second only to their 2015 show.

Administration

Michael McGhee is the principal. His administration includes two assistant principals and five departmental supervisors

Notable alumni

* Brandon Bell (born 1995, class of 2013), linebacker for the

Penn State Nittany Lions football The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 afte ...

team. * Colin Bell (born 1981, class of 1999), member of the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

who represented the 2nd Legislative District. * Cory Bird (born 1978, class of 1996),

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who played in the NFL for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. *

Darhyl Camper Darhyl “DJ” Camper (born May 25, 1990), also known by his stage name Hey DJ, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Career Camper was born May 25, 1990 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At the age of six, he began playing the piano ...

(born 1990, class of 2008), singer-songwriter and record producer. * Carmen Cincotti (born 1992, class of 2011),

competitive eater Competitive eating, or speed eating, is an activity in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions c ...

. *

Darren Drozdov Darren Adrian Drozdov (born April 7, 1969), professionally known as Droz, is an American essayist, former National Football League (NFL) football player and former professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from ...

(born 1969), former NFL player for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and wrestler in the then WWF (now

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

). *

Ronnie Faisst Ronnie Faisst (born June 22, 1977) is an American professional freestyle motocross and snow bikecross rider. Faisst is a four-time Moto X bronze medalist and an original member of the Metal Mulisha. Faisst became a born-again Christian in 2006. ...

(born 1977, class of 1995), professional

freestyle motocross Freestyle motocross (also known as FMX) is a variation on the sport of motocross in which motorcycle riders attempt to impress judges with jumps and stunts. The two main types of freestyle events are: *Big air (also known as "best trick"), in whi ...

and snow bikecross rider. *

Day Gardner Day Deborah Rica Lipford, now known as Dr. Day Gardner, is a former Miss Atlantic City, (1974) who served as Miss Delaware 1976 and made history by becoming the first African American contestant to place as a top ten semi-finalist at the Miss Americ ...

, crowned

Miss Delaware The Miss Delaware competition is the pageant that selects the representative of Delaware in the Miss America pageant. The event takes place annually in the month of June and has previously been held in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware at Convention ...

1976, she became the first black woman to place as a semi-finalist in the Miss America Pageant. * Shameka Marshall (born 1983, class of 2001),

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er who won the gold medal at the 2007 NACAC Championships in Athletics. *

Cathy Rush Cathy Rush (born Cathy Cowan; April 7, 1947) was the head women's basketball coach at Immaculata from 1972 to 1977. She led Immaculata to three consecutive AIAW national titles from 1972–1974. She led the Mighty Macs to six consecutive fina ...

(born 1947), former women's

program

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Immaculata University Immaculata University is a private Roman Catholic university in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The university is composed of 1,427 traditional undergraduate and ad ...

who led the team to three consecutive

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

national titles from 1972-1974. *

Cody Stashak Cody William Stashak (born June 4, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the San Francisco Giants organization. He played college baseball for Cumberland County College and St. John's University. Stashak was drafted by the Minne ...

(born 1994), professional baseball pitcher for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Notable faculty

* Doug Colman (born 1973), former NFL linebacker who began his coaching career at Oakcrest. *

Bill Manlove William B. Manlove Jr. (born February 5, 1933) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Widener University from 1969 to 1991, at Delaware Valley College from 1992 to 1995, and at La Salle University from 1997 ...

(born 1933),

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

head coach who coached the Oakcrest team in 1965 and 1966."Former Widener Football Coach Bill Manlove Elected to College Football Hall of Fame"

Widener Pride football The Widener Pride football team represents Widener University in college football. The football team has had recent success winning the MAC championship in 2012 and an "Elite 8" appearance in the Division III Playoffs, the ECAC Southwest Bowl in ...

, May 24, 2011. Accessed September 27, 2017. "Manlove began his coaching career as an assistant at Gloucester City High School from 1957-59 before becoming head coach for five years. He moved to Oakcrest High School as head coach and was an assistant at Lafayette College from 1967-68 before taking the job at Widener."

References

External links

Oakcrest School websiteGreater Egg Harbor Regional High School District
*
School Data for the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District

South Jersey Sports: Oakcrest HS
{{Authority control 1960 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1960 Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey Public high schools in Atlantic County, New Jersey