Maple Shade High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from Maple Shade Township, in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Maple Shade School District.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 944 students and 84.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1. There were 416 students (44.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 86 (9.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Maple Shade High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
History Prior to the school's opening in 1972, the township's students had attended Merchantville High School in neighboring Camden County for 40 years. With the loss of Maple Shade students, the Merchantville School District closed its high school after the end of the 1971–72 school year and started sending its students to Pennsauken High School for grades nine through twelve.McPherson, Gary. "Looking back through the Maple Shade archives", The Central Record, December 8, 2010. Accessed September 2, 2014. "With the then brand new Maple Shade High School slated to open its doors in 1972, Merchantville residents were faced with a dilemma. Keep the high school open and support a 200 student building or close the school and send local students to Pennsauken High School instead."
Constructed at a cost of $4.6 million (equivalent to $ million in ), the school for grades 7-12 was built on a site and designed to accommodate a maximum enrollment of 1,350 students.Ross, Adele. "Maple Shade High School to Debut in Fall", Courier-Post, April 14, 1972. Accessed April 11, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The school, under construction now on 29 acres, will serve about 1,350 pupils in grades seven through 12.... Cost of the modern one-story complex will be about $4,610,000. The students now attend Merchantville High School and Steinhauer Junior High School, which was originally built to be an elementary school. Because Maple Shade students comprise about 75 per cent of Merchantville High's enrollment, that school will close its doors in June and Merchantville teenagers will attend Pennsauken High School."
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 267th-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 281st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 301st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 4, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 271st in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 13, 2011. The school was ranked 253rd 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. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 189th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 19 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the two components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), mathematics (80.0%) and language arts literacy (91.9%).School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2003-11 HSPA results, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 10, 2012.
Academics Students complete a quarterly assessment each marking period. The test scores make up twenty percent each of the student's final grade, with each academic quarter constituting twenty percent each.2016-17 Student Handbook, Maple Shade High School. Accessed December 27, 2016. Academic awards are given as Principal's Honor Roll (4.0-5.2; nothing below 90)and Honor Roll (3.4-3.999; nothing below 80). For entrance into National Honor Society students must have a cumulative average of 3.8. In 2008, the MSHS school board approved a new honors program that would allow eighth grade students to begin taking high school courses. Acceptance into the honors program is based on not just on grades, but also more subjective criteria including student interviews, essays, and parent nominations. MPHS students have the opportunity to earn college credits through Burlington County College for taking certain courses at the school. The credits are potentially transferable to a student's future institution of higher education.
Athletics Maple Shade High SchoolMaple Shade High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 30, 2020. compete in the Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL) a sports association under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), comprised of public and private high schools covering Burlington, Mercer and Ocean counties in Central Jersey.Member Schools, Burlington County Scholastic League. Accessed September 15, 2022.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 419 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.NJSIAA General Classifications - Public Schools 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022. The football team competes in the Freedom Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferenceMaple Shade Wildcats, 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 I South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 185 to 482 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The mascot of Maple Shade is the Wildcat; the school's colors are royal blue and gold.
The boys cross country running team won the Group I state championship in 1993 and 1997.NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
The girls cross country team won the Group I state championship in 1995.NJSIAA Girls Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
The boys' baseball team won the South Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 2008 against Pitman High School, their first sectional title victory since 1982.Staff. "Maple Shade beats Pitman in sectional baseball final", The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 31, 2008. Accessed May 31, 2011. "Pitman, 5-4, in this South Jersey Group 1 sectional final at Maple Shade. It was the Wildcats' first sectional title since 1982."
The boys' soccer team reached the South Jersey Group I sectional finals in 2010 but lost 3–0 against Pitman High School.McPherson, Gary. "Wildcats fall to Pitman in finals", Maple Shade Progress, November 12, 2010. Accessed May 31, 2011. "The Wildcats fell 3-0 to top seed Pitman in the South Jersey Group 1 Championship game on Thursday, ending their dream run through the postseason." The boys' 2011 soccer team again reached the South Jersey Group I finals, this time losing to eventual state champion Haddon Township High School by a score of 3–2.McPherson, Gary. "Maple Shade soccer gets handed heartbreak in Haddon Township", The Progress, November 17, 2011. Accessed September 2, 2014.
The field hockey team won the Central Jersey Group I state sectional title in 2012.History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
Administration The school's principal is Rebecca Metzger. Her administrative team includes three assistant principals and the athletic director.Staff Directory, Maple Shade High School. Accessed August 29, 2026.2025-2026 Student Handbook, Maple Shade High School. Accessed October 2, 2025.
References
External links Maple Shade High School Maple Shade School District
Data for the Maple Shade School District, National Center for Education Statistics