Lenape Regional High School District

Lenape Regional High School District
Superintendent:		Emily Capella
Business Administrator:		James H. Hager
Address:		93 Willow Grove Road Shamong, NJ 08088
Grade Range:		7-12/9-12
School facilities:		4
Enrollment:		7,474 (as of 2007-08)
Faculty (in FTEs):		599.7
Student–teacher ratio:		12.5
District Factor Group:		GH
Web site:		http://www.lrhsd.org
Ind.	Per Pupil	District Spending	Rank (*)	7-12/9-12 Average	%± vs. Average
1	Comparative Cost	$13,881	21	$13,710	1.2%
2	Classroom Instruction	7,635	19	7,588	0.6%
6	Support Services	1,973	24	1,987	-0.7%
8	Administrative Cost	1,474	14	1,475	-0.1%
10	Operations & Maintenance	2,000	34	1,816	10.1%
13	Extracurricular Activities	655	16	749	-12.6%
16	Median Teacher Salary	57,858	19	62,000
Data from NJDoE 2009 Comparative Spending Guide. *Of 7-12/9-12 districts with any number of students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=47

The Lenape Regional High School District is a regional public high school district that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from eight municipalities in Burlington County, New Jersey. The communities in the district are Evesham Township (2,501 students), Medford Lakes (221 students), Medford Township (1,258 students), Mount Laurel Township (1,946 students), Shamong Township (445 students), Southampton Township (471 students), Tabernacle Township (493 students) and Woodland Township (57 students). The eight municipalities cover a combined area of 158,749 acres (642.43 km²) which represents roughly one-third of the entire area of Burlington County, the largest county in New Jersey. Each of the eight communities served by the Lenape District has its own elementary school district. Each elementary school district is governed by its own nine-member board of education which oversees the school budget and the education of students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

As of the 2007-08 school year, the district's four schools had an enrollment of 7,474 students and 599.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5.

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "GH", the third highest 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.

District schools

When the public school students in each of the sending districts graduate from eighth grade, they are sent to one of the four high schools that fall under the jurisdiction of the Lenape Regional High School District. The Lenape District's four high schools (with 2007-08 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are:

• Cherokee High School - located in Evesham Township. Serves 2,548 students from Evesham (Marlton)
• Lenape High School - located in Medford Township. Serves 1,961 students from Mount Laurel
• Seneca High School - located in Tabernacle Township. Serves 1,415 students from Tabernacle, Shamong, Southampton and Woodland
• Shawnee High School - located in Medford Township. Serves 1,550 students from Medford and Medford Lakes

The Lenape District also operates the Sequoia Transition Program which is housed in the former Tabernacle Intermediate School.

District belt tightening has resulted in a total per pupil cost that is well below the state average for a regional 9-12 school district.^{[citation needed]}

Two non-profit foundations support the Lenape District, raising thousands of dollars each year to support scholarships for students, facilities improvements and a state-of-the-art 1,500-seat regional performing arts center, which is home to the Cherokee's theater program. Many notable guest performers also hold events there.

History

The Lenape District was created as the result of a referendum passed on September 20, 1955. On March 21, 1957, a site in Medford Township was purchased as the site for Lenape High School. Lenape opened in September 1958 with 548 students in 9th and 10th grades only. By the 1961-1962 school year, Lenape was on double sessions with approximately 1,500 students. In July 1961, an addition to the original building was started, with a second addition dedicated on January 17, 1965.

By the mid 1960s, a new high school was needed, and in December 1967, a referendum for a new high school (to become Shawnee High School) was passed. The school opened in the southeastern end of Medford Township on November 1, 1971. By the early 1970s, enrollment had grown to nearly 4,000 students, and in September 1975, Cherokee High School opened in Evesham Township.

During the 1990s, a referendum resulted in construction of 25 classrooms, two gymnasiums, additional locker room facilities, storage areas, and an auxiliary cafeteria at Shawnee and Cherokee high schools. At Lenape, a new media center, music wing, auxiliary gymnasium, weight room, and storage areas were constructed.

In December 1997, with enrollment soaring toward the 7,000 mark, voters in all eight communities overwhelmingly approved a fourth high school. Seneca High School was dedicated on September 14, 2003, as the district's fourth facility.

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:

• Emily Capella, Superintendent
• James H. Hager, Business Administrator / Board Secretary

External links

• Lenape Regional High School District
• Lenape Regional High School District's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Lenape Regional High School District, National Center for Education Statistics