As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 881 students and 72.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.2:1. There were 232 students (26.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 54 (6.1% 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 third-lowest 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.[12]
History
Ground was broken for the school in July 1959, with costs estimated at $950,000 (equivalent to $9.9 million in 2023) for construction of a facility designed to accommodate an enrollment of 800 students.[13]
Opened in September 1960 as Sterling Regional High School, the new facility served students who had previously attended Haddon Heights High School.[14]
Awards, recognition and honors
The school was the 234th-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.[15] The school had been ranked 266th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 231st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[16] The magazine ranked the school 225th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[17] The school was ranked 228th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[18] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 240th out of 367 public high schools statewide in its 2009-10 rankings 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 (HSPA).[19]
Curriculum
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered in AP English Literature, AP United States History, AP Calculus, and AP Biology. Honors courses are offered in Algebra I, Geometry, Pre Calculus, Spanish V, Calculus, and Physics. High School Plus credit with Camden County College is offered in History, Spanish, French, Biology, Software Systems, Latin, and World Civilizations. A variety of languages are offered including: Spanish, Latin, French, and Italian II.
Athletics
The Sterling High School Silver Knights[4] compete as a member school in the Colonial Conference, which is comprised of small schools whose enrollments generally do not exceed between 750 and 800 students for grades 9-12 and operates under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[20][21] With 658 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.[22] The football team competes in the Constitution Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[23][24] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 514 to 685 students.[25]
The football team won the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III state sectional championships in 1974, 1976 and 1977.[26] In 1974, Sterling won the first ever South Jersey Group III football championship determined by playoffs, defeating Woodrow Wilson High School by a score of 15–12 in a game played at the Atlantic City Convention Center.[27][28] The 1976 team won the South Jersey Group III sectional title with a 28-13 win against a Deptford Township High School team that came into the championship game undefeated.[29]
The boys' soccer team was the Group III co-champion in 1976, after a tie with Summit High School in the final game of the tournament.[30]
The softball team won the Group II state championship in 1981 (defeating Jefferson Township High School in the tournament's final game) and 2008 (vs. Kittatinny Regional High School).[31] The 1981 team finished the season with an 18-5 record after winning the Group II title at Mercer County Park with a 7-6 victory against Jefferson Township on two runs scored in the bottom of the seventh inning.[32] In 2008, the team won the New Jersey Group II state championship with a 1–0 win against Kittatinny Regional High School.[33] The softball team won the South, Group II state sectional championship in 2007 with a 9–4 win over Haddon Township High School.[34]
Sterling's wrestling program won back-to-back South Jersey Group II state titles in 1999 and 2000.[40][41] Mark Manchio won three consecutive state wrestling titles in 1999, 2000 and 2001 (125-2 career record).[42] In 2002, Ivan Wiggins won the state wrestling title at 112 lbs.[43][44]
The baseball team won the South Jersey Group II title in 2007 with a win over Gateway Regional High School.[45] In 2002 and 2003 the baseball team won back to back Diamond Classic tournaments.[46]
In 2004, Donald "Sonnie" Pollosco won the South Jersey Coach's Invitational State Title and Camden County Singles title. (112-6 career record)
In 2013, the Sterling Lady Knights volleyball team won the Group II state championship, the program's first, defeating Madison High School in the tournament final.[47][48]
In 2013, Jimmy Daniels won the Group II State Championship in the Indoor 3200m Run.[49]
In 2014, the Sterling Lady Knights soccer team won the South Jersey Group II state sectional championship, the program's first, defeating Point Pleasant Borough High School in the tournament final by a score of 3–2.[50]
Administration
Core members of the school's administration include:[51][52]
Jim McCullough, business administrator and board secretary
Jarod Claybourn, principal (assisted by two vice principals)[54]
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.[55][56]
Seats on the district's board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with four seats assigned to Stratford, three to Somerdale and two to Magnolia. The Laurel Springs district appoints a representative to serve on the Sterling board of education.[57]
^Sterling High School 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 27, 2017. "Sterling High School District is a regional district serving Hi Nella, Laurel Springs, Magnolia, Somerdale and Stratford. Sterling is a suburban residential community, approximately 7 miles southeast of Camden, NJ and part of the Philadelphia, PA metropolitan area."
^Sterling Regional High Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Sterling High School. Accessed September 2, 2020. "Purpose The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades nine through twelve in the Sterling Regional High School District. Composition The Sterling Regional High School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Somerdale."
^"Setting an Example on School Cost", Courier-Post, July 17, 1959. Accessed April 1, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Groundbreaking ceremonies Tuesday for Camden County's newest regional high school will be of more than ordinary interest to citizens of the county and in school circles generally. The school, scheduled to be opened for the beginning of the 1960-61 school year, will be located at Somerdale and will be known as Sterling Regional High School. It will accommodate pupils from Somerdale, Magnolia and Stratford. It will have an initial capacity of 800 and be capable of expansion when the pupil load makes it necessary. What is exceptionally interesting about the new school is the fact that it will cost only $945,764 to construct, although the bond issue under which it will be financed is for $1.1 million and the original estimate of the construction cost was $1.1 million."
^"3 Counties Share Classroom Expansion", Courier-Post, September 3, 1960. Accessed April 1, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Sterling Regional High School, third of the three new Camden County high schools, is located on Warwick rd. in Somerdale. It will accommodate students from Somerdale, Magnolia and Stratford who last year attended Haddon Heights High School."
^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."
^Ostrum, Gus. "S. Jersey Playoffs A Hit From The Start", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 17, 1989. Accessed December 29, 2011. "It now is 15 years since Sterling and Brick Township won the first South Jersey sectional football championships to be decided on the playing field. Sterling topped Woodrow Wilson, 15-12, on Dec. 7, 1974, to win the South Jersey Group 3 title before 5,000 fans at Atlantic City Convention Hall and a statewide television audience."
^Vogeding, John. "Sterling settles down, rolls to Group 3 crown", Courier-Post, December 6, 1976. Accessed February 21, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Sterling High School center Stan Pandza had a ready explanation for the 27 points scored in the first 13 minutes of Saturday's South Jersey Group 3 championship football game here.... For the record, Sterling regained the Group 3 title it had won in 1974 with a 28-13 triumph over previously-unbeaten Deptford High."
^"Sterling's late rally stuns Jefferson, 7-6", Herald News, June 7, 1981. Accessed January 4, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Sterling High School rallied behind Lori Lomas' two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning to trim the Falcons, 7-6. and capture the state Group 2 softball crown at Mercer County Park Saturday."
^Staff. "Sterling takes second softball crown", The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 8, 2008. Accessed June 26, 2011. "After two consecutive postseason comeback wins, Sterling rode the arm of righthander Sammi Giambri to yesterday's 1-0 win over Kittatinny for the state Group 2 softball championship at Toms River East."
^Mayer, John. "Quest for crown ends for Boonton", The Record, March 11, 1990. Accessed December 16, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "It was the Jackie Donovan show for the second consecutive year Saturday in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 2 girls basketball final. The 5-foot-10 senior guard tallied 27 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, and six steals in leading Sterling to a 60-53 victory over previously undefeated Boonton at Monmouth College."
^A compendium of epic battles over the years - Philly.com. "2001: For the first time in history, a South Jersey team won the Tournament of Champions girls' basketball title. Group 2 state champ Sterling, seeded fourth, upset third-seeded and Group 4 state champ Columbia, 48-40, to bring home the crown. Jessica Copskey scored 34 points to help give retiring coach Bill Ulrich a going-away present." Accessed February 17, 2008.
^Livingston, John Earle. "Sterling ends Point Boro's dreams of a title", Asbury Park Press, February 18, 2000. Accessed June 26, 2011. "Last night, before Point Boro's South Jersey Group II final at defending champion Sterling, Hoffmaster declared this Panther wrestling team to be harder-working than any other Point Boro team."
^Staff. "South Jersey pins down a record nine titles", The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 11, 2002. Accessed October 27, 2011. "Paulsboro's Tom Curl and Cherry Hill West's Ryan Cunningham successfully defended their titles, and Sterling's Ivan Wiggins and Camden Catholic's Bob Stinson avenged heart-breaking losses to claim their first titles..."
^Greco, Richard. "Girls volleyball: Sterling walks away as state champions", The Star-Ledger, November 16, 2013. Accessed May 3, 2015. "The junior outside hitter has been on Sterling's varsity squad since she was a freshman and, even though her teams reached the NJSIAA/Star-Ledger Group 2 final in her first two seasons, the Camden County school never claimed a state championship.That changed Saturday when Kriebel slammed down a pass from senior setter Lori Gorczynski for her sixth kill of the match to give fourth-seeded Sterling its first state title in a 25-18, 25-22 triumph over second-seeded Madison at William Paterson University in Wayne."
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Sterling High School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed December 22, 2024. "The School District is a Type II district located in the County of Camden, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education (the 'Board'). The Board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that three member's terms expire each year. The Superintendent is appointed by the Board to act as executive officer of the School District. The purpose of the School District is to educate students in grades nine through twelve who reside in the boroughs of Laurel Springs and Hi-Nella attend the School District on a tuition basis." See "Roster of Officials" on page 11.
^Anastasia, Phil. "Jim Combs, 82, was a South Jersey football coaching legend", The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 25, 2010. Accessed May 3, 2015. "Brian Broomell, a star quarterback at Sterling and Temple, said Mr. Combs' attention to detail was a key to his success. 'We would go over it, go over it, until we got it right,' said Broomell, a 1976 Sterling grad."
^"Meet Donovan Casey", LA Dodger Talk, June 5, 2021. Accessed November 15, 2023. "The native of Stratford, New Jersey attended Sterling High School in Somerdale in his home state."
^General Officer Management Office (January 22, 2021). "Biography, Major General Steven Ferrari". National Guard.mil. Arlington, Virginia: Army National Guard Senior Leader Management Office. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
^Finally, Lee earns Big Ten recognition. "Members of the team, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, expected to attend include quarterback Todd Blackledge, tailback Curt Warner, wide receivers Kenny Jackson and Gregg Garrity, linebacker Scott Radecic and team captains Walker Lee Ashley and Ken Kelley." Accessed February 11, 2009.
^Nelson, Sophia A. "High school teacher was Sterling example of someone who made a difference", Courier-Post, September 21, 1997. Accessed April 20, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The writer, a 1985 graduate of Sterling High School in Somerdale, and a former candidate for Camden County freeholder and Congress, works on Capitol Hill as an investigative counsel for the Government Reform and Oversight Committee."