Lenape Regional High School District

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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 (2,432 students), Medford Lakes (215 students), Medford Township (1,229 students), Mount Laurel Township (1,868 students), Shamong Township (447 students), Southampton Township (437 students), Tabernacle Township (500 students) and Woodland Township (64 students). The eight municipalities comprise an area of 158,749 acres which represents roughly one-third of the entire area of Burlington County, the largest county in New Jersey. Enrollment as of September 2005 is 7,500 students, making it the second-largest 9-12 district 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.

1 District schools
2 History
3 Administration
4 External links

[edit] District schools

When the public school students in each of these 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 2003-04 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are:

Cherokee High School - located in Evesham Township. Serves 2,355 students from Evesham (Marlton)
Lenape High School - located in Medford Township. Serves 1,999 students from Mount Laurel
Seneca High School - located in Tabernacle Township. Serves 898 students from Tabernacle, Shamong, Southampton and Woodland
Shawnee High School - located in Medford Township. Serves 1,755 students from Medford and Medford Lakes

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

Despite the many challenges associated with state aid funding cutbacks and enrollment increases, a dedicated board of education, administration, faculty and support staff continually find ways to do more with less. This belt tightening has resulted in a total per pupil cost that is well below the state average for a regional 9-12 school district.

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 1500-seat regional performing arts center, which is home to the Cherokee's theater program. Many notable guest performers also hold events there.

[edit] 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 of 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 1960's, 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 1990's, 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 districts fourth facility.