The Lower Cape May Regional High School (LCMRHS) is a four-year comprehensive

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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located in Lower Township, in

Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on the Cape May peninsula, bound by the Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic ...

, 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 so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, operating as part of the

Lower Cape May Regional School District The Lower Cape May Regional School District (LCMR School District) is regional public school district headquartered in Lower Township, New Jersey, Lower Township, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that serves students in seventh grade, seventh th ...

. LCMRHS 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 (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

s from four communities in

as part of the

, which includes Lower Township,

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 and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...

, West Cape May, and Cape May Point; students from Cape May Point attend the district 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 ...

. As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 723 students and 61.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 11.8:1. There were 238 students (32.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 59 (8.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Lower Cape May Regional High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed December 15, 2024.

History

LCMRHS replaced the former Cape May High School, which closed effective December 22, 1960. The Cape May superintendent, Paul W. Schmitdtchen, decided to create a new high school, and therefore he is considered the "father" of the school. In December 1958 the voters of Cape May City, West Cape May, and Lower Township approved borrowing $1.4 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to build a new high school in Lower Township. Construction began in November 1959. The school district hired employees in April 1960. LCMRHS opened in 1961. The first class to graduate from LCMRHS was that of 1961. In 2002, the school held a groundbreaking for a $12 million (the value of $ million in ) addition covering , which included a new auditorium, as well as renovation of of area. The school's

field house Field house or fieldhouse is an American English term for an indoor sports arena or stadium, mostly used for college basketball, volleyball, or ice hockey, or a support building for various adjacent sports fields, e.g. locker room, team room, coac ...

opened in 2017.

Campus

The LCMR district describes its facilities as being in Erma, with the postal address being "Cape May, New Jersey"; the schools are not in the Erma

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

. - The airport is not in the CDP as per the physical location. The ''

Cape May County Herald The ''Cape May County Herald'' is a weekly newspaper in Rio Grande, New Jersey. - See also: Also identical in the 1990 U.S. Census: - Rio Grande CDP is on page25an26 History It has been serving residents and visitors of Cape May County, ...

'', and the ''

Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, New Jersey, Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The Designated marke ...

'' describe the school as being in Erma. The school has a capacity of 1,266 students.Johnson, Virgil; and Kirtland, James L
"A Feasibility Study to Reconfigure the Lower Cape May Regional School District"
Statistical Forecasting LLC, June 2013. Retrieved on May 16, 2021.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 236th-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 New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 243rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 236th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 205th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 185th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.

Athletics

The Lower Cape May Regional High School Caper TigersLower Cape May Regional 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, New Jersey, Atlantic County, Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County, Cumberland County, N ...

, an athletic conference comprised of both parochial and public high schools located in

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, Cape May,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and

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

counties, and operates under the aegis of the

(NJSIAA). With 594 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 Royal Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 514 to 685 students. The boys' wrestling team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional championship in 1982. In 2015, the girls' basketball team won the South Jersey Group II state sectional title with a 58-55 overtime win over Sterling High School, earning the program's first state championship.

Administration

The school's principal is Lawrence Ziemba. His core administration team includes two vice principals.LCMR General Information
Lower Cape May Regional School District. Accessed April 13, 2012.

Student body

In 2012 there were 85 students of LCMR High living in Cape May City. In 2013 this number fell to 65.

Notable alumni

* Bob Andrzejczak (born 1986, class of 2004), politician, 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 f ...

. * Thomas Cannuli, (born 1992, class of 2010), professional

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

player, known for finishing 6th place in the 2015 WSOP Main Event and winning a WSOP bracelet in the $3,333 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em High Roller. * Chris Jay (born 1978, class of 1996), musician, screenwriter, actor and member of the band,

Army of Freshmen Army of Freshmen is an American rock band formed in Ventura, California in 1997. They have performed over 1,500 shows in 13 countries and 43 US states. The band have released three albums and four singles since their first release in 2001. They ...

. * Bill Pilczuk (born 1971, class of 1989), former 1998 World Champion swimmer and present head swim coach at

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the United ...

. * Matt Szczur (born 1989, class of 2007), former Major League Baseball player who played for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Notable faculty

* Ed Rubbert (born 1964), former football coach who played quarterback for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. * Erik K. Simonsen, school athletic director who represents the 1st Legislative District in the

.Assemblyman Erik K. Simonsen

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

. Accessed January 16, 2021. "Director of Athletics and Activities, Lower Cape May Regional School District"

References

External links

Lower Cape May Regional High School
** *
Data for the Lower Cape May Regional High School District

South Jersey Sports: Lower Cape May HS
{{Authority control Cape May, New Jersey Cape May Point, New Jersey Lower Township, New Jersey Public high schools in Cape May County, New Jersey West Cape May, New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1961 1961 establishments in New Jersey