As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 330 students and 35.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.4:1. There were 50 students (15.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 7 (2.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
History
The district created its first high school program in 1922, before which students were sent to either Glassboro High School or Woodbury High School. In June 1926, a group of 50 students became the first graduates of the high school.[6] A new Pitman High School opened in September 1926, having been constructed at a cost of $225,000 (equivalent to $3.7 million in 2022).[7] That building was repurposed as a middle school after the current high school building was completed in 1972.[6]
Members of the class of 2020 sit with their parents at a special graduation ceremony held during the COVID-19 pandemic
The school was the 198th-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.[10] The school had been ranked 100th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 119th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[11] The magazine ranked the school 102nd in 2008 out of 316 schools.[12] The school was ranked 122nd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[13] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 157th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 45 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (82.6%) and language arts literacy (93.6%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[14]
Athletics
The Pitman Panthers run across Davis Field after defeating the Clayton Clippers at the 2020 Thanksgiving football game
The Pitman High School Panthers[2] compete as one of the member schools in the Tri-County Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.[3] The conference is overseen by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[15] With 239 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.[16] The football team competes in the Royal Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[17][18] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 200 to 463 students.[19]
The boys track team won the Group I spring / outdoor track state championship in 1942.[20]
The field hockey team won the South II and overall state championship in 1974, defeating West Essex High School, won the South Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 1981-1983 and 2013, and won the Group I state title in 1981 (vs. Whippany Park High School), 1982 (vs. Belvidere High School) and 1983 (as co-champion with Chatham Township High School).[21] The 1974 team defeated Collingswood High School in the semifinals before a 3–2 win against West Essex in the tournament final to earn the overall state title.[22]
In 1989, 1993 and 1995, the girls' soccer team lost the Group II state tournament to Morris Catholic High School, the team that won the title for eight consecutive years from 1988 to 1995.[23]
The boys' basketball team won the Group I state championship in 1997 (defeating runner-up Science Park High School in the finals of the tournament), 1998 (vs. Bloomfield Tech High School) and 2014 (vs. Bloomfield Tech).[24] Led by 31 points from Joe Crispin and 24 from brother Jon, the 1997 team won the Group I title with a 73–67 win against Science High School of Newark in the championship game played at the Atlantic CityConvention Hall.[25] In 2014, the team won their third Group I title with a 59–48 win against Bloomfield Tech.[26]
The girls tennis team won the South I state championship in 1971 and 1972, and won the Group I state title in 2006 (vs. Verona High School).[27] The team won the South Jersey Group I state tournament in 1999, topping Pennsville Memorial High School 4–1 in the final match.[28] The team repeated the title in 2000 with a 4–1 win against Haddon Township High School.[29] The team won the 2006 South, Group I state sectional championship with a 4–1 victory over Point Pleasant Beach High School in the tournament final.[30] The team won the 2006 Group II state title at Mercer County Park, topping Highland Park High School 5–0 in the semifinals and Verona High School by a score of 3–2 to take the championship.[31][32]
In 2010, the girls' track and field team scored 40 points to tie Westwood for the Group I state championship.[34][35] The team had won the 2010 Group I sectional title after they defeated Lindenwold High School by less than one point.[36]
In 2010, the boys' baseball team won its first state title with a 5–0 win over Whippany Park in the state championship game. The team had won the South Jersey Group I state sectional title from 1963 to 1966.[37]
The girls cross country running team won the Group I state championship in 2013.[38]
The Pitman Panther Marching Band won the USSBA NJ state championships in 2006.
With their 2007 show, Spanish Fire, The PHS Marching Band won the 2007 USSBA Group 3A All States Championships in Allentown, PA on November 11, 2007.[41] The win launched the band in to the Open Class of the division where the more seasoned and established programs compete, along with an invitation to the 2008 USSBA Championships in Annapolis, MD at the United States Naval Academy.
Jazz ensemble
The jazz ensemble began competing in the NJAJE Competitions in the 2010 school year. In 2010 the band earned a Bronze Rating at Preliminary Finals and a Silver Rating in 2011.
In the Cavalcade of Bands circuit in 2010 the Trumpet section was awarded a best section award at Cavalcade of Bands Jazz Championships hosted at Souderton High School.
Competing in the NJ division of Cavalcade of Bands in 2011 the Pitman Jazz Ensemble received awards for Best Trumpet Section, Best Trombone Section, Soloist Award for T.J. Hayden, and was named the Independence Division Champions for the State of New Jersey. In the Cavalcade of Bands Finals for the season the band placed 3rd overall.
Joe Crispin (born 1979, Class of 1997), Gloucester County's all-time leading scorer for boys' high school basketball (2,651 career points) who played in the NBA for the Lakers and Suns. Played collegiately at Penn State and ranks second on the all-time scoring charts (1,986 points). Won the national three-point competition after his senior season at PSU.[47][48]
Jon Crispin (born 1981, Class of 1999), Gloucester County's fourth all-time leading boys' scorer (2,319 career points) in high school. Played collegiately for two seasons at Penn State with brother Joe, then transferred and spent last two seasons with the UCLA Bruins.[49]
^ abDistrict Profile, Pitman Public Schools. Accessed March 14, 2022. "The original Pitman High School was built in 1922. Prior to that, students attended high school in Glassboro and Woodbury. The first graduating class of Pitman High School consisted of fifty students in June 1926.... The original High School became Pitman Middle School after the completion of Pitman High School in 1972."
^"Pitman", Courier-Post, September 12, 1923. Accessed March 14, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "When Pitman's new high school erected at a cost of $225,000 was thrown open to the public Monday evening the Mothers' Club and Parent-Teachers' Association held their first meeting in the auditorium of the building."
^"Mantua Eyes Regional High School Plans", Courier-Post, April 5, 1957. Accessed March 14, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Board of Education announced Thursday it is considering Joining with Harrison Township in the construction of a regional high school.... Mantua has been notified by Pitman's Board of Education that it will not accept freshmen from Mantua and Wenonah beginning September of 1958, Simmerman said.... Harrison now sends its high school students to Glassboro, but has been notified that 'procedure will not be feasible in another two years.'"
^"Pitman Board Adds $71,880 In '61 Budget", Courier-Post, December 15, 1960. Accessed April 27, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Additionally, Pitman loses $38,000 in tuition from Mantua Township. At present 165 Mantua pupils bring in $72,000 in tuition to Pitman's coffers, but Mantua will only send 90 pupils to Pitman High next year since it is one of the districts in the new Clearview Regional High School."
^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."
^Viggiano, Bob. "Shoe on Other Foot, But Pitman Girls Make It Title Fit", Courier-Post, November 25, 1974. Accessed February 3, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The game hanging in the balance and all Bunny could think of was last Tuesday, when her Pitman High School's girls' field hockey team came from nowhere late in the game to upset Collingswood.... Now it was Bunny's turn to squirm and have her stomach chum into small knots as her Pitman girls tried desperately to stave off a late rally by West Essex. But the frisky Panthers never lost their composure and held off West Essex for a 3-2 victory to capture the 1974 NJSIAA championship."
^Minnick, Kevin. "Boys' Basketball: Determined Joe Crispin willed Pitman to a state title in 1997", Courier-Post, March 16, 2014. Accessed February 3, 2021. "The year was 1997 and the Pitman High School boys’ basketball team was on a wild ride. The Panthers had reached the South Jersey Group 1 final in each of the previous two seasons, but were derailed by Burlington City and Paulsboro.... Crispin scored 31 points and dished out seven assists that memorable Sunday, leading Pitman past Newark Science 73-67 at the old Atlantic City Convention Center. Younger brother Jon would collect 24 points and seven rebounds, while Myers had 13 points and 19 boards."
^Staff. "State Basketball: Linden, Pitman, Newark Tech, Newark Eastside claim crowns", USA Today High School Sports, March 16, 2014. Accessed November 20, 2020. "Pitman 59, Bloomfield Tech 48: With Darnell Foreman exploding for 16 of his 18 points in the second half and Tim Delaney turning in a performance worthy of being a Villanova recruit, the Panthers defeated Bloomfield Tech to win the Group I title at Rutgers University. It’s the first state title since Pitman (25-7) won back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998."
^Armbruster, Lauren. "Champions at Last; Pitman wins 1st crown, lives up to team's motto", Courier-Post, October 20, 2006. Accessed January 20, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "That was the slogan displayed on the back of the shirts worn by the Pitman High School girls' tennis team since the beginning of the season. The Panthers probably had no idea what the motto meant in early September, but they had it figured out Thursday afternoon as the squad won its first state crown with a 3-2 victory over Verona in the NJSIAA Group 1 state final at Mercer County Park... After the win, Beato dumped the team's water cooler over the head of coach Debbie Slenkamp, whose team advanced to the final by beating Highland Park 5-0 in the semifinals."
^"Pitman girls track edges out Lindenwold for S.J. Group I title", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 22, 2010, updated August 26, 2019. Accessed September 9, 2020. "The difference between fifth place and fourth place, or third place and second place meant everything to the Pitman High School girls track team. Every point did. The Panthers won the NJSIAA Group I Sectional title Saturday at Egg Harbor Township, edging Lindenwold by less than a point. Pitman finished with 73.75 points, while Lindenwold had 73."
