The Pennsauken Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Pennsauken Township, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Pennsauken Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Pennsauken Township Schools, updated September 2014. Accessed December 13, 2024. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through twelve in the Pennsauken School District. Composition: The Pennsauken School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Pennsauken."
As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of 10 schools, had an enrollment of 4,828 students and 415.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.6:1.District information for Pennsauken Township Board Of Education School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
History Constructed at a planned cost of $3.5 million (equivalent to $ million in )"Pennsauken School Job to Start In Sept.", Courier-Post, May 10, 1957. Accessed May 7, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "Work on the new $3.5 million Pennsauken High School is expected to start in September, according to a report by John W. Whitecar, of the board of education. Whitecar, chairman of the new buildings committee, said the board should be ready to go to the State Board of Education in July for approval of plans for the school." the school opened in September 1959 with students in ninth and tenth grades.Collie, Eleanor E. "New Pennsauken High School; Best in Area, Pupils Say", Courier-Post, September 18, 1959. Accessed May 7, 2026, via Newspapers.com. Prior to the completion of the high school, Pennsauken students had been sent to schools outside the township at Merchantville High School.Neville, James N. "Work Starts In Nov. on High School", Courier-Post, October 8, 1957. Accessed May 7, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "Ground will be broken for the new Pennsauken High School around Thanksgiving Day, a candidate for the Township Committee revealed Monday night.... 'It cost $110 for sending pupils to Merchantville and other high schools, compared with more than $400 today.'""Pennsauken High classes of 1962-'65 to share reunion", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 22, 2018. Accessed May 7, 2026. "Pennsauken joined the ranks of towns to have its own high school in 1959. Prior to that, local students would have attended Merchantville High School."
Students from Merchantville had attended the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship that began in 1972, when the borough's high school was closed.Florio, Gwen. "Looking Beyond The School Decision Time To Make Up, Officials Say, After A Decade Of Fussing.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 21, 1992. Accessed May 7, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "Ever since its own high school closed in 1972, the Borough of Merchantville has been sending its public school students to Pennsauken High School." For years, the Merchantville district had sought to end the relationship with the Pennsauken district."Expert report on the Termination of the Sending-receiving Agreement Between the Merchantville School District and the Pennsauken Public Schools", Merchantville School District, March 2013. Accessed December 14, 2014. In the wake of a 2015 decision by the New Jersey Department of Education, Merchantville students began attending Haddon Heights High School starting in the 2015–16 school year, as part of a transition that was fully in place in the 2018–19 school year.Merchantville School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 1, 2016. "In the Spring of 2015, Merchantville School won a ruling to start a send/receive relationship with Haddon Heights. We continue to work closely with Haddon Heights High School to ensure that our students are well prepared to meet their expectations. We will continue to phase in one grade level at a time into Haddon Heights High School until all high school students are enrolled for the 2018-2019 school year."Romalino, Carly Q. "Merchantville students head to Haddon Heights", Courier-Post, April 14, 2015. Accessed June 1, 2016. "An administrative law judge in March ruled in favor of Merchantville's request to end its student send-receive agreement with Pennsauken High School.... Hespe's signature, issued Friday, severs the relationship and allows for Merchantville to establish a five-year sending-receiving agreement with Haddon Heights School District."
In the 2021-22 school year, Burling Elementary School (K-5) began its transition into Roosevelt STEM School. By 2023, Roosevelt was a K-6 school, expanding to K-8 in the 2024-25 school year.Sinatra, Frank. "Pennsauken STEM School Ranked One Of New Jersey’s Best", All Around Pennsauken, May 25, 2023. Accessed June 18, 2026.
The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "CD", the sixth-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 Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 13, 2024.
Governance In 1996 the district stated that a parent survey on school uniforms showed 68% of respondents favoring them.Coulombis, Angela. "Survey Finds Pennsauken Parents Favor Mandatory School Uniforms Sixty-eight Percent Of Households With Elementary School Students Approved." (Archive), The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 11, 1996. Accessed November 29, 2015.
Schools Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education StatisticsSchool Data for the Pennsauken Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. February 1, 2024.) are:About, Pennsauken Township Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. "The Pennsauken Public School District serves over 5,000 students from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 in one early childhood center, four elementary schools, an intermediate school, a middle school, an alternative high school and a comprehensive high school."School Performance Reports for the Pennsauken Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2025.New Jersey School Directory for the Pennsauken Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024. Preschool Baldwin Early Childhood Learning CenterBaldwin Early Childhood Learning Center, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. (with 139 students in PreK) Danielle McGowan, principalAbout Us, Baldwin Early Childhood Learning Center. Accessed December 13, 2024. Elementary schools G. H. Carson Elementary SchoolG. H. Carson Elementary School, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. (359; K–3) Diane D. Joyce, principalPrincipal's Message, Carson Elementary School. Accessed December 13, 2024. Delair Elementary SchoolDelair Elementary School, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. (269; K–3) Rosalyn Lawrence, principalSchool Information, Delair Elementary School. Accessed December 13, 2024. George B. Fine Elementary SchoolGeorge B. Fine Elementary School, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. (285; PreK–3) Thomas Honeyman, principalPrincipal's Message, George B. Fine Elementary School. Accessed December 13, 2024. Benjamin Franklin Elementary SchoolBenjamin Franklin Elementary School, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. (373; PreK–3) Susan P. Galloza, principalPrincipal's Message, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. Accessed December 13, 2024. Pennsauken Intermediate SchoolPennsauken Intermediate School, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. (645; 4–5) Tanya Harmon, principalPrincipal's Message, Pennsauken Intermediate School. Accessed December 13, 2024. Roosevelt STEM SchoolRoosevelt STEM School, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed June 18, 2026. (K-8) Chad Deitch, principalMeet the Principal, Roosevelt STEM School. Accessed June 18, 2026. Middle school Howard M. Phifer Middle SchoolHoward M. Phifer Middle School, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. (1,010; 6–8) Jon Reising, principalPrincipal's Message, Howard M. Phifer Middle School. Accessed December 13, 2024. High schools Pennsauken High SchoolPennsauken High School, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. (1,558; 9–12) Richard Bonkowski, principalPrincipal's Message, Pennsauken High School. Accessed December 13, 2024. Alfred E. Burling Alternative High SchoolAlfred E. Burling Alternative High School, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. (35; 6–12) Michael McCoach, principalPrincipal's Message, Alfred E. Burling Alternative High School. Accessed December 13, 2024.
Administration Core members of the district's administration are:Staff, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024.New Jersey School Directory for Camden County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024. Caroline Steer, acting superintendentSuperintendent, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024. John Ogunkanmi, business administrator and board secretaryBusiness Office, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024.
Board of education The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Pennsauken Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed May 6, 2024. "The School District is a Type II district located in the County of Camden, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education (the 'Board'). The Board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that three member's terms expire each year. The Superintendent is appointed by the Board to act as executive officer of the School District. The purpose of the School District is to educate students in grades Pre-K through 12 at its ten schools." See "Roster of Officials" on page 14.Board Members, Pennsauken Public Schools. Accessed December 13, 2024.
References
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External links Pennsauken Public Schools
School Data for the Pennsauken Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics