Mainland Regional High School is a regional public high school and school district serving students in grades nine through twelve from the communities of Linwood, Northfield and Somers Point in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving a total population of over 25,000 in the three communities. The high school is located in Linwood. Mainland Regional High School has been recognized by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, the highest honor that an American school can achieve. The school is the only facility of the Mainland Regional High School District. As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,181 students and 110.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1. There were 191 students (16.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 34 (2.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. The school is fully accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education. The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "DE", the fifth-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.

History

In December 1958, a plan for a $2.1 million (equivalent to $ million in ) school building was cut to $1.5 million after a review of the proposal by a pair of state agencies. In September 1959, the three constituent districts were notified by the Ocean City School District that overcrowding would mean that it would no longer be able to continue accepting students from the communities at Ocean City High School starting in the 1959-60 school year. The school opened for the 1961-62 school year, with rising seniors from Linwood and Somers Point given the option to complete their schooling at Ocean City High School and those from Northfield to finish up at Pleasantville High School.

Awards, recognition and rankings

For the 1997-98 school year, Mainland Regional High School was formally designated by the United States Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon School. In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 26th in New Jersey and 910th nationwide. In Newsweek's May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Mainland Regional High School was listed in 719th place, the 14th-highest ranked school in New Jersey. The school ranked as number 310 in Newsweek magazine's 2005 listing of "America's Best High Schools". The Washington Post writer Jay Mathews ranked Mainland sixth in New Jersey and 111th in the nation in his book, Class Struggles: What's Wrong (and Right) with America's Best Public High Schools, based on the school's efforts at exposing students to challenging course work. In New Jersey Monthly's September 2002 issue, Mainland was ranked fifth among high schools in South Jersey. The school was the 95th-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. The school had been ranked 81st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 139th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 116th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 104th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 111th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 47 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (86.1%) and language arts literacy (96.0%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

Athletics

The Mainland Regional High School Mustangs compete in the American Division of the Cape-Atlantic League, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester counties, operating under the aegis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 936 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range. The football team competes in the United Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 695 to 882 students. The field hockey team won the South II sectional championship in 1973 and won both the South Jersey Group III sectional title and the overall Group III state championship in 1975. The 1973 team won the Group III title against West Essex High School on a tiebreaker following a 0-0 tie after regulation in the championship game. The football team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional title in 1980, 1996, 1997 and 2002, and won the South Jersey Group IV title in 2008. The 1980 team scored two touchdowns in the span of 76 seconds to stage a comeback and win the South Jersey Group III state sectional championship by a score of 12-7 against an Overbrook High School team that had come into the finals undefeated. In 1996, the team won the South Jersey Group III title with a 14-7 win in the championship game against Pennsauken High School at The College of New Jersey. The team won the 2002 South Jersey Group III state championship, defeating Delsea Regional High School 21-7 in the final. In 2008, the football team won their first South Jersey Group IV sectional championship with a 21-14 win against Southern Regional High School, going 12-0 for the first time. The football team had won the 1995 South Jersey Group III title with a 42-14 victory over top-seeded Woodrow Wilson High School, but the title was later vacated by the NJSIAA due to the use of an ineligible player who had played despite being suspended. The boys' basketball team won the 1981 Group III state championship, defeating Randolph High School by a score of 61-47 in the title game. The boys track team won the indoor track state championship in Group III in 1996. The boys track team won the Group III state indoor relay championship in 1996. The boys tennis team won the Group III state championship in 1997, winning the tournament's final against Princeton High School. The boys cross country running team won the Group III state championship in 2001 and 2002, and won the Group IV title in 2003. The team won the Meet of Champions in 2002 and 2003. The two MoC titles are tied for fifth-most of any school in the state. In 2003, the team made history when fifth man Alex Palmentieri crossed the finish line to clinch the team's second consecutive Meet of Champions title. The team's average time of 16:19, was a second off of the record set by Christian Brothers Academy in 1982 for the state championship course in Holmdel Township, New Jersey. In 2002, the golf team won the state championship, giving them the #1 ranking in the state for the 2003 season. In 2010, Mainland's Kylie Strijek won the girls' state Tournament of Champions. The boys' swimming team has won the Public B state championship in 2003 and 2016-2019. In 2003, the boys' swim team won Mainland's first ever swimming state championship by beating Princeton High School 91-79 in the Public B state final. The boys' swimming team finished the season with a 15-0 record and won its second Public B title in 2016, with a 99-71 win against Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in the tournament final The team won its second consecutive title in 2017 with a 103-67 victory over Soctch Plains-Fanwood. In 2007, the girls' soccer team won the Cape-Atlantic League American Conference for the first time in Mainland's history. A 1-0 win over Oakcrest High School guaranteed that Mainland would take the Cape-Atlantic League American Conference title in 2009. In 2018, the boys' lacrosse team won their first Cape-Atlantic League Championship in Mainland's history, beating Ocean City 7-6. In 2007, the boys' rowing team won the state championship with the Varsity and Second Varsity Eight. In 2008, the JV girls rowing team, won the National Championships. The girls tennis team won the Group III state championship in 1990, defeating Ramapo High School by 4-1 in the tournament final. In 2015, the team won the South Jersey Group II title with a 4-1 win in the tournament final against Seneca High School. The baseball team were 2014 South Jersey Group III champions and won the Group III state championship with a 5-3 win in the tournament final against Mount Olive High School. The girls' basketball team won the Group III state championship in 2019 (vs. Chatham High School) and 2024 (vs. Chatham). The team won the 2019 Group III title with a 42-35 win against runner-up Chatham High School in the finals of the tournament at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena. The team advanced to the Tournament of Champions as the sixth seed, falling to Manchester Township High School by a score of 74-44 in the quarterfinal round, to finish the season with a 28-4 record.

Marching band

The Mainland Marching Mustangs, a founding TOB member, were named Tournament of Bands Chapter One Champions in 1979 (Group 2), 1980 and 1984 (Group 3) and 1989 (Group 1). The marching band also won the USSBA New Jersey state championship in 2005 and 2006, and were named Northern All-State Group 1A Champions in 2008. The Mainland Regional Marching Band's color guard won Best Color Guard, Best Visual and had a score of 95.738 at USBands National Championships for group 2A in 2012 and captured the Region 1 and State Championships in both 2014 and 2015. The band currently competes in USBands Group 2 Open. The Mustangs achieved an undefeated season in 2019 and won Atlantic Coast Championships for the first time in circuit history and received the highest score in Mainland Regional history with a score of 95.54 while winning captions for Best Music and Best Visual. The Mustangs achieved a second undefeated season in 2023 and won the USBands National Championships in 2023 for the first time in school history with a score of 94.40 and winning all major captions in Best Music, Best Visual, and Best Effect. In both Tournament of Bands and USBands, the Mustangs have captured numerous championships under Ratcliffe. The band has been named: Tournament of Bands State Champions in 2019, USBands State Champions in 2023, Tournament of Bands Region 1 Champions in 2019 and 2022, and USBands Ludwig Musser Classic Champions in 2021 and 2023. In additional captions at championships: The band's color guard won Best Color Guard at the 2023 Ludwig Musser Classic. The band's percussion section has won Best Percussion at Region 1 Championships in 2019, 2021, and 2022, Atlantic Coast Championships in 2021, the 2023 Ludwig Musser Classic, and National Championships in 2023.

Mock trial and drama

Mainland's mock trial team won the Vincent J. Apruzzese Mock Trial Competition covering the whole state of New Jersey in 2003 and went on to compete in the National High School Mock Trial Championship in New Orleans. On March 31, 2009, the Mainland "mockers" won the state championship in New Brunswick, New Jersey. They went undefeated (11-0) to get there, after winning county and regional tournaments and went on to participate in the American Mock Trial Invitational. In 2019, the school won the Looby Cup for the eighth consecutive time, the state title of the New Jersey Drama and Forensic League, which includes competitions in various aspects of theater and speech. Not only did Mainland come home again with the Looby Cup and first place, several members of the team garnered state champion status in their categories.

Controversy and incidents

2006 graduation controversy

In Mainland Regional High School's graduation of 2006, valedictorian Kareem Elnahal gave an unauthorized speech instead of the approved one. In his speech he criticized Mainland saying "the education we have received here is not only incomplete, it is entirely hollow." After delivering his speech, Elnahal received an ovation from some of the students in the audience. Kareem then left the graduation ceremonies before receiving his diploma.

2008 graduation controversy

During the 2008 graduation ceremony, Salutatorian Jennifer Chau's speech was cut off, after she strayed from her approved text and issued a criticism of the school's administration. Students and parents in the audience protested the cut off, requesting that she be allowed to finish her remarks. Chau's issue revolved around a decision by the school board to not let her receive credit for a freshman honors class, which allowed another student (Rebecca Ojserkis), the child of one of the Board of Education members (Janice Colton Ojserkis), to be chosen as valedictorian.

October 2006 bomb threats

Mainland experienced several bomb threats during the beginning of the 2006–2007 school year. A series of four written threats in a five-school day time span were left by students throughout the school. After several school lockdowns, evacuations, and the installation of cameras with government funding throughout the school, it seems the problem has been resolved. Two girls held responsible were placed on probation and face fines of up to $11,000 to cover costs incurred by police departments from Linwood, Somers Point, Northfield, The State Police, Prosecutors Office, Atlantic City Bomb Squad, Egg Harbor Township K-9 units and Cape May County, who responded to the incidents. This includes the Atlantic County Emergency Response Units' vehicle. The two girls also must provide hours of community service and various other forms of restitution. School officials have implied that the students arrested will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Five Mainland students were arrested for making bomb threats and also two Mainland students are arrested for causing a fire in the girls' bathroom.

Death of four football players in 2011

In August 2011, four players from the school's football team were killed in a crash on the Garden State Parkway on their way to an annual team breakfast lost control, when the SUV they were driving in overturned and crashed.

2013 chemical spill

In May 2013, incorrectly mixed pool chemicals caused chlorine vapors to spread through the school's hallways. The school was promptly evacuated and 30 students and staff were treated at area hospitals for symptoms related to exposure to the fumes. School sessions resumed after the weekend once the chemical fumes had been vented successfully.

Administration

Core members of the district's / school's administration are:

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. Seats on the board of education are allocated based on population, with four seats assigned to Somers Point, three to Northfield and two to Linwood.

Notable alumni