Paulsboro High School is a comprehensive community six-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 ...

that serves students in

seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

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 ...

from Paulsboro, 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 ...

. It is the sole secondary school of the

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

. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 359 students and 30.6 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 11.7:1. There were 134 students (37.3% 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 none eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Paulsboro 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. Students in grades 9-12 from Greenwich Township attend Paulsboro High School as part of a

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 ...

with the Greenwich Township School District.

History

The district's first high school program began in 1907. Paulsboro High School was dedicated in May 1917 and constructed at a cost of $60,000 (equivalent to $ in ).

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 309th-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 278th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 265th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 277th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 264th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.

Athletics

The Paulsboro High School Red RaidersPaulsboro 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 a member school in the Colonial Conference, which is comprised of small schools in Camden 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 whose enrollments generally do not exceed between 750-800 students for grades 9-12, and operates under the supervision of the

(NJSIAA). With 286 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. The football team competes in the Diamond 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. The football team won the South Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1992-1997, 2000-2002, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2016 and 2017. The 1980 team won the South Jersey Group I state sectional title with a 16-6 victory against

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 ...

to finish the season at 9-2. The 1984 team used a touchdown pass in the last minute of play to win the South Jersey Group I championship game by a score of 34-26 to finish the season with a record of 9-1-1. The 1984 team beat Glassboro 40-8 in front of 4,000 spectators to win the South Jersey Group I state title. The 1986 team finished the season with a 10-1 record after winning the South Jersey Group I state sectional title with a 10-0 win against

Haddonfield Memorial High School Haddonfield Memorial High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Haddonfield, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary schoo ...

in the championship game, avenging the team's only loss in the regular season. With their quarterback setting state records for career points and touchdowns scored. the 1995 team won the program's fourth consecutive South Jersey Group I title with a 50-0 win against

Gloucester City Junior-Senior High School Gloucester City High School is a comprehensive four-year community public high school that is based in Gloucester City, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school serves students from seventh through twelfth grade as the lo ...

in the playoff finals to run their record to 11-0. In 2000, the team finished the season 11-0, defeating previously unbeaten

by a score of 21-15 in the finals to win the South Jersey Group I title. The 2001 team finished the season 12-0 after winning the South Jersey Group I state sectional title with a 55-6 win against Gloucester City in the tournament final. In 2016, the team won the 18th sectional title in program history, defeating Salem High School by a score of 29-26 in the South Jersey Group I state sectional tournament final. The 2017 team won the program's 19th overall championship, its third title in four seasons and finished the year with a 10-2 record, defeating

Penns Grove High School Penns Grove High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Carneys Point Township and Penns Grove in Salem County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Penn ...

by a score of 34-24 in the playoff final of the South Jersey Group I state sectional tournament.

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to a report in ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore r ...

listed the rivalry between Paulsboro and Woodbury High School at number 20 in their 2017 list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football", with Paulsboro leading the series between the two teams with a 56-43-3 record. Head coach Glenn Howard entered the 2020 season with 15 sectional championships and an overall career record of 300-68 in his 34 years leading the team, ranked fourth in wins among all active football coaches. The boys' basketball team won the Group I state championship in 1996 (defeating Science Park High School in the final game of the tournament) and 2015 (vs. University High School). The 1996 team won the Group I state title with a 53-51 win against Science Park of Newark in the championship game played at the

Rutgers Athletic Center Jersey Mike's Arena, commonly known as the RAC (an initialism for Rutgers Athletic Center, its former official name), is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Piscataway, New Jersey on Rutgers University's Livingston Campus. The building is shape ...

. The boys track team won the Group I spring track state championship in 1998. The girls' outdoor track and field team won the Group I state championship in 2004 and 2019. The boys tennis team won the Group I state championship in 2019, defeating runner-up

Malcolm X Shabazz High School Malcolm X Shabazz High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Newark Public Schools. Founded as South Side High School in 1912, the school was renamed in 197 ...

in the final match of the tournament.

Wrestling dynasty

The wrestling team won the South Jersey Group I state sectional championship every year from 1980 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2014, and won the Group I state championship from 1983-2007, 2009-2011 and 2016-2020; the 40 sectional titles, 33 group championships and the 25 consecutive group titles are the most of any school in the state

1,000 wins

On February 2, 2011, Paulsboro became just the third high school in history to accumulate 1,000 wins. It joined Granite City High School (

Granite City, Illinois Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and Southern Illinois regions, ...

) and

Vacaville High School Vacaville High School is an American public high school in the Vacaville Unified School District located in the city of Vacaville, California, serving the north side of the city and the far northern unincorporated communities of Allendale, Buckt ...

(

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it ...

) in the 1,000-win club. Head coach Paul Morina, who is still the coach as of the 2016–17 season, reached his 606th victory as coach with a win against

in January 2015, breaking the South Jersey record; From the time he became coach in 2016 until he set the win record, Morina had won 28 sectional titles and went on to win 25 group championships.

37-year conference unbeaten streak

Paulsboro High School's

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 ...

team had a streak of 307 consecutive victories against Colonial Conference opponents. The streak started in 1971 when

Haddon Township High School Haddon Township High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in Haddon Township, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary sc ...

had handed them their last conference loss. It would be nearly four decades until

Collingswood High School Collingswood High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Collingswood in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of Collingswood ...

was responsible for halting the streak on January 16, 2008, with a 28–22 decision over the Red Raiders. Paulsboro had won 25 consecutive state championships in Group I until 2008 when they lost early in the state tournament. According to the

National Federation of State High School Associations The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Indi ...

, that streak was the longest in the entire nation at the time, and only three other teams have won more state championships overall than Paulsboro.

'The Streak'

Paulsboro High School owns the New Jersey state record for consecutive football victories with 63 running from 1992 and until September 26, 1998, when they lost to longtime rival Woodbury High School by a score of 14-13. The 63 consecutive wins is still the state record, surpassing the next closest streak in South Jersey by 20 games, and besting the previous state record holder by nine.

Controversy

Principal Lucia Pollino was suspended after an incident in which three students were allegedly

strip search A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or al ...

ed while on a senior trip to Walt Disney World in April 2007. A lawsuit has been filed by an attorney representing one of the students asking for $250,000 in damages related to the incident. Superintendent of Schools Frank Scambia said that Pollino would be reassigned to become director of assessments, a position for which she would be compensated with the same salary she had received as principal. The district reached a settlement with Pollino after she sued the district, charging that she had been the victim of gender discrimination and that she had never approved the strip search. The current principal, Paul Morino, also served as the CEO of

Hometown International Hometown International () was an American holding company, best known for operating Your Hometown Deli, a delicatessen in Paulsboro, New Jersey. It attracted attention in 2021 for having a market capitalization of over US$100 million despite the de ...

, a publicly listed company with a market cap of $113M despite owning one deli. Morina, according to SEC filings, held 1.5 million shares of Hometown common shares, which on paper had been worth more than $20 million, given the current share price. Morina was also involved in Mantua Creek Group, which owns the building that Your Hometown Deli operates in. Christine Lindenmuth, who is a math teacher and administrator at Paulsboro High School, was also an executive at Hometown International.

Popular culture

A special premiere of the 2004

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

film '' Jersey Girl'' was held at the school, which had been the location of several scenes in the film. A street leading out of the school was named Kevin Smith Way.

Administration

The school's principal is Paul Morina. His core administration team includes the assistant principal

Notable alumni

* Willie Lee "Flipper" Anderson Jr. (born 1965, class of 1983), former professional wide receiver who set the NFL record of most receiving yards in a game, with 336 yards *

John J. Burzichelli John J. Burzichelli (born November 14, 1954) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2022, where he represented the 3rd Legislative District. He served as the Deputy Speaker of the A ...

(born 1954, class of 1972), politician, mayor of Paulsboro and member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

. * Russell Carter (born 1985, class of 2003), a First Team All-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

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 ...

player at Notre Dame in 2006-2007. *

Julién Davenport Julién Raymond Davenport (born January 9, 1995) is an American football offensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Bucknell Bison football, Bucknell and was drafted by the Hou ...

(born 1995),

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. *

Gerald Hodges Gerald Davon Hodges Jr. (born January 17, 1991) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Penn State. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round, 120th overall, of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years ...

(born 1991, class of 2009), former NFL

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. *

Isaac Redman Isaac Redman (born November 10, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland. Early years Re ...

(born 1984, class of 2003),

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

who played in the NFL for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. * Kevin Ross (born 1962, class of 1980), Former NFL defensive back who played for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

for eleven seasons * Larry Sharpe (born 1951), retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, manager and trainer. *

Alex Silvestro Alexander Allen Silvestro (born November 15, 1988) is a former American football tight end/defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rutgers Scarlet Knights football, Rutgers. Prior to Rutgers, ...

(born 1988, class of 2007),

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played in the NFL for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. *

Edwin H. Simmons Edwin Howard Simmons (August 25, 1921 – May 5, 2007) was a United States Marine Corps brigadier general. He was a career officer who served in combat during three wars — including landing at Inchon and fighting at the Chosin Reservoir in ...

(born 1921, class of 1938), highly decorated

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

officer. *

Chazz Witherspoon Chazz Witherspoon (born September 16, 1981) is an American former professional boxer. The second cousin of former boxing champion Tim Witherspoon, he emerged as a talented boxer in the 2000s. He won the 2004 National Golden Gloves finals in Kansas ...

(born 1981, class of 1999),

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

.Weinberg, David
"Paulsboro's Chazz Witherspoon back in ring Saturday in A.C."
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'', Marc 9, 2018. Accessed September 26, 2021. "Witherspoon, a former basketball standout at Paulsboro High School and a Saint Joseph’s University graduate, is 6-0 with six knockouts since suffering a third-round TKO loss to former prospect Seth Mitchell at Boardwalk Hall in 2012."

References

External links

Paulsboro High SchoolPaulsboro High School
*
School Data for the Paulsboro Public Schools

South Jersey Sports: Paulsboro HS
{{Authority control 1907 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1907 Greenwich Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey Paulsboro, New Jersey Public high schools in Gloucester County, New Jersey Public middle schools in New Jersey