Palmyra High School 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., ...

that 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

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

in Burlington 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 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 the lone secondary school of the Palmyra Public Schools. High school classes began shortly after the completion of the Spring Garden Street School in 1895; this building is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

.Cooper, et al., ''Life on the Delaware - A History of Palmyra, New Jersey'' 1976. With increased enrollment, the school was moved to a former girls school, Berkeley Hall, in 1907, and to its own building in 1909. A large addition was completed in 1922. The 1909 structure was destroyed by fire in 1957, and after a vote that narrowly defeated establishing a regional high school, additions were made to the building in 1958 and 1961. As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 407 students and 33.8 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 12.0:1. There were 113 students (27.8% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the provision of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. The practice was once common in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with the ...

and 23 (5.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Palmyra 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. Students from Beverly and Riverton attend the district's high school 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. In past years, students from Cinnaminson Township, Delanco Township, Delran Township, Riverside Township, and the Delair portion of

Pennsauken Township Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County, in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and it is located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which it borders directly on the Delaware River. As of the 202 ...

had also attended Palmyra High School.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 260th-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 222nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 208th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 224th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 275th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 318th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (94.6%) and language arts literacy (97.9%) 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). In 2023, the school was awarded the Lighthouse Award by the Commissioner of Education, Angelica Allen-McMillan for "Increasing Equity in AP/IB Enrollment".

Athletics

The Palmyra High School PanthersPalmyra 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 Freedom division of the Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL), a sports association operating under the jurisdiction of the

(NJSIAA) that is comprised of public and private high schools in Burlington,

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...

and

Ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

counties in Central Jersey. With 309 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 Classic Division of the 94-team

West Jersey Football League The West Jersey Football League (or the WJFL) is a 96-school superconference that stretches from Princeton, New Jersey, to Wildwood, New Jersey, encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, th ...

superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 185 to 482 students. The school mascot is currently the Panther, but at the time of the school's inception, its teams were known as the Red Devils. This name was then changed to the Pals, which was used until the 1980s. The school colors have remained the same: red and white. Students competed in track and field as early as 1903, and in football by 1908. Palmyra's overall record in football, through the 2023 season, is 559 wins, 466 losses, and 49 ties. The team was declared the South Jersey Group II champion in 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951, and 1953; the Group III title was won in 1963, and Group I honors were won in 1971 and 1972. The team won the South Jersey Group I state sectional playoffs in 1978. The Palmyra / Burlington City High School football rivalry for the Fred Wilbert Memorial Trophy, begun in 1908, is one of the oldest in South Jersey; Palmyra leads the series 57-50-12. The game was not played in 2020; the first interruption since 1934, as Burlington City cancelled their fall sports season due to the pandemic. Palmyra won the renewal game in 2021 by the score of 25-20. The Palmyra / Riverside High School rivalry dates from 1928, and Palmyra leads that series 65-23-3; after a 50-24 victory in 2022; Palmyra has won 22 consecutive games in the series (no game was played in 2023). The Palmyra High School football stadium was built by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

in 1936 and was renovated to include lighting. The boys track team won the Group II spring / outdoor track state championship in 1942-1945, 1950, 1951, 1954-1956, and won the Group I title in 1979 and 1980. The program's 11 state titles are tied for fifth-most in the state.NJSIAA Boys Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The boys' basketball team won the 1956 Group II state title, defeating runner-up

Roselle Park High School Roselle Park High School is a four-year public high school located in Roselle Park, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Roselle Park School District. Since 2007, Roselle Park High Sch ...

by a score of 59-38 in the tournament final. The baseball team won the Group I state championship in 1973, defeating Cedar Grove High School in the tournament final.Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024

, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The Palmyra boys soccer team won their first South Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 1989 with a 1-0 win in double overtime against a

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, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondar ...

team that came into the title game undefeated. The team was the 2009 State Group I co-champion with

Jonathan Dayton High School Jonathan Dayton High School is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school serving students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades in Springfield Township, ...

after the title game ended in a 0-0 tie. The team won the South Jersey title, beating

Pitman High School Pitman High School is a comprehensive community public high school in Pitman, in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Pitman School District. ...

on penalty kicks in a 2-2 tie; they won the state semi-final in the same fashion, defeating

Metuchen High School Metuchen High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Metuchen in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Met ...

4-1 on penalty kicks in a scoreless match. The boys won the 2023 South Jersey Group I championship by defeating Schalick, 2-1. The 2006 girls' soccer team won the South Jersey, Group I state sectional title with a 1-0 win against

Woodstown High School Woodstown High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Woodstown and Pilesgrove Township, in Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary ...

in the tournament final, the team's first-ever title. The girls' basketball team won the 2007 South Jersey, Group I state sectional championship with a 46-37 win over

Wildwood High School Wildwood High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Wildwood, in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of the Wildwood Cit ...

in the tournament final. The team won their semifinal game in the Group I state championship tournament, defeating Highland Park High School 49-43, before falling to

University High School University High School may refer to: Australia * University High School, Melbourne, Victoria Canada * University Hill Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia United States Arizona * University High School (Tolleson) * University High Sc ...

in the championship game. The girls soccer team won the 2022 South Jersey Group I title, defeating

Audubon High School Audubon High School is a comprehensive six-year community public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from Audubon, in Camden County, in the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lo ...

in the tournament final by a score of 4-1 at the Palmyra stadium.

Administration

The school's principal is Daniel Licata.

Notable alumni

Al Bunge Allan J. Bunge (November 24, 1937 – November 26, 2019) is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) first round draft pick (seventh pick overall) of the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1960 NBA draft. Bunge led the Maryland Terrapins to the ...

(born 1937),

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

first round pick (seventh pick overall) of the

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden ...

in the

1960 NBA draft The 1960 NBA draft was the 14th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 11, 1960, before the 1960–61 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball pla ...

* Deron Cherry (born 1959, class of 1977), played in the NFL 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

1981-1991 and was a six-time Pro Bowler at Safety * Kelvin Harmon (born 1997),

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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 ...

* Derek Holloway (born 1961, class of 1979), retired football player, who was a

in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

for the

and the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Clarence Benjamin Jones Clarence Benjamin Jones (born January 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and the former personal counsel, advisor, draft speech writer and close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's hig ...

(born 1931, class of 1949), lawyer and former personal counsel, advisor, draft speech writer and close friend of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

The Dr. Clarence B. Jones Institute for Social Advocacy was dedicated in his honor in June 2017 * Quron Pratt (born 1991, class of 2010), signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in 2014 * Ernest F. Schuck (1929-2009), politician who served for seven years as mayor of

Barrington, New Jersey Barrington is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,075, an increase of 92 (+1.3%) from the 2010 United ...

and eight years in 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 ...

, from 1974 to 1982, where he represented the 5th Legislative District * Hal Wagner (1915-1979, class of 1934), MLB catcher from 1937-1949Nowlin, Bill
Hal Wagner

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

. Accessed September 19, 2018. "Hal Wagner seems to have attended both Riverton High School and Palmyra High, graduating from Palmyra High in 1934, with letters in baseball and basketball."

References

External links

Palmyra High SchoolPalmyra Public Schools
*
Data for the Palmyra Public Schools

Online Alumni Community
{{Authority control Palmyra, New Jersey Beverly, New Jersey Riverton, New Jersey 1895 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1895 Public high schools in Burlington County, New Jersey