Pennsauken High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Pennsauken Township, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Pennsauken Public Schools.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,588 students and 103.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.4:1. There were 1,026 students (64.6% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 152 (9.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Pennsauken High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
History Constructed at a planned cost of $3.5 million (equivalent to $ million in )"Pennsauken School Job to Start In Sept.", Courier-Post, May 10, 1957. Accessed March 12, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Work on the new $3.5 million Pennsauken High School is expected to start in September, according to a report by John W. Whitecar, of the board of education. Whitecar, chairman of the new buildings committee, said the board should be ready to go to the State Board of Education in July for approval of plans for the school." the school opened in September 1959 with students in ninth and tenth grades.Collie, Eleanor E. "New Pennsauken High School; Best in Area, Pupils Say", Courier-Post, September 18, 1959. Accessed March 12, 2022, via Newspapers.com. Prior to the completion of the high school, Pennsauken students had been sent to schools outside the township at Merchantville High School.Neville, James N. "Work Starts In Nov. on High School", Courier-Post, October 8, 1957. Accessed March 12, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Ground will be broken for the new Pennsauken High School around Thanksgiving Day, a candidate for the Township Committee revealed Monday night.... 'It cost $110 for sending pupils to Merchantville and other high schools, compared with more than $400 today.'""Pennsauken High classes of 1962-'65 to share reunion", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 22, 2018, updated January 30, 2019. Accessed March 12, 2022. "Pennsauken joined the ranks of towns to have its own high school in 1959. Prior to that, local students would have attended Merchantville High School."
Students from Merchantville had attended the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship that began in 1972, when the borough's high school was closed. In 1992 Merchantville considered severing its send-receive relationship with Pennsauken School District so Merchantville could send them to Haddonfield Memorial High School instead, on the grounds that Merchantville saw Pennsauken High as outdated and Haddonfield Memorial as having superior facilities. Merchantville officials publicly stated in the 1980s and 1990s that they felt Pennsauken High had too many students and was too large. John Ellis, the New Jersey State Commissioner of Education, blocked Merchantville leaving the partnership on the grounds that it would cause more white students to leave Pennsauken High and turn Pennsauken High into a majority minority school. The Pennsauken District sought to recommit to ties with Merchantville.Florio, Gwen. "Looking Beyond The School Decision Time To Make Up, Officials Say, After A Decade Of Fussing.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 21, 1992. Accessed July 10, 2008. "Ever since its own high school closed in 1972, the Borough of Merchantville has been sending its public school students to Pennsauken High School." - Clipping from page S1 and from page S6 from Newspapers.com
In the wake of a 2015 decision by the New Jersey Department of Education, Merchantville students began attending Haddon Heights Junior/Senior High School starting in the 2015–2016 school year, as part of a transition that was fully in place in the 2018–2019 school year.Merchantville School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 1, 2016. "In the Spring of 2015, Merchantville School won a ruling to start a send/receive relationship with Haddon Heights. We continue to work closely with Haddon Heights High School to ensure that our students are well prepared to meet their expectations. We will continue to phase in one grade level at a time into Haddon Heights High School until all high school students are enrolled for the 2018-2019 school year."Romalino, Carly Q. "Merchantville students head to Haddon Heights", Courier-Post, April 14, 2015. Accessed June 1, 2016. "An administrative law judge in March ruled in favor of Merchantville's request to end its student send-receive agreement with Pennsauken High School.... Hespe's signature, issued Friday, severs the relationship and allows for Merchantville to establish a five-year sending-receiving agreement with Haddon Heights School District." Merchantville School District leaders argued that their decision to switch was due to low Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) rates at Pennsauken High. Dissatisfaction with Pennsauken High had, in the 2010s, created a campaign to have Merchantville borough merged into Cherry Hill, which would have also taken students from the borough area out of the Pennsauken High attendance zone.Colimore, Edward. "Merchantville board votes to send students to Haddon Heights High", Philadelphia Inquirer, January 14, 2012. Accessed April 15, 2021.
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 298th-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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 310th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 298th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 290th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 2, 2011. The school was ranked 292nd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
Athletics The Pennsauken High School IndiansPennsauken High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. participate in the Burlington County Scholastic League,Member Schools, Burlington County Scholastic League. Accessed June 2, 2017. which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Burlington County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 944 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the Liberty Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferencePennsauken Indians, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.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." and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 890 to 1,298 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The football team won the South Jersey Group IV state sectional championships in 1980, 1984, 1986 and 2011.NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023. In 1980, the team finished the season with a 10-1 record after winning the South Jersey Group IV state sectional championship with a 14-0 victory against Willingboro High School.Anastasia, Phil. "Pennsauken defense tops Willingboro", Courier-Post, December 7, 1980. Accessed January 26, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "A relentless defense led Pennsauken to a 14-0 victory over Willingboro in the championship game of the South Jersey Group 4 football tournament. The win secured the first sectional title for Pennsauken, the No. 1 team in the Top Ten Poll, and improved the Indians' record to 10-1." The 1986 team finished with an 11-0 record after earning the South Jersey Group IV title with a 27-0 win against Cherokee High School in the tournament final.Benevento, Don. "Issue settled as Pennsauken thumps Cherokee", Courier-Post, December 2, 1984. Accessed February 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The football teams from Pennsauken and Cherokee high schools spent an entire season playing in each other's shadow.... And Pennsauken scored a one-sided 27-0 victory over the Chiefs to capture the South Jersey Group 4 championship.... The victory enabled Pennsauken, the No. 1-ranked team in the Top 10 Poll, to finish its season at 11-0, marking coach Vince McAneney's first undefeated season in his 15-year career at the school." The 1986 team finished the season with an 11-0 record and was ranked 15th in the nation by USA Today after winning the South Jersey Group IV state sectional title with a 29-6 win against previously unbeaten Toms River High School South in front of 5,000 spectators in Toms River.Viggiano, Bob. "No. 1 Pennsauken wins to finish undefeated; Rips Toms River South 29-6 as McNair scores 3", The Record, December 7, 1986. Accessed January 14, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "With a crowd of close to 5,000 crammed into Detwiler Stadium here, Pennsauken, the top-ranked team in South Jersey, put the finishing touches on its fantastic season by thoroughly whipping previously unbeaten Toms River South, 29-6, in the South Jersey Group 4 championship game.""Year-by-year final football rankings", USA Today, June 20, 200. Accessed January 30, 2021.
The girls' bowling team was the 1994 overall state champion.History of NJSIAA Girls Bowling Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
The girls' track team won the indoor track Group IV state championship in 2000.Girls Winter Track and Field Championship History: 1922-2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated November 2023. Accessed February 1, 2024.
The boys' basketball team won the Central, Group IV state sectional championship in 2004 with an 83-59 victory in the championship game against Steinert High School.2004 Boys Basketball - Central, Group IV, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 6, 2007.
The boys' track team won the Group III spring / outdoor track state championship in 2016 and 2021.NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Boys, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
The boys' track team won the Group III state indoor relay championship in 2018 (as co-champion).History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships , New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
Marching band