As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 723 students and 61.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1. There were 238 students (32.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 59 (8.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]
History
LCMRHS replaced the former Cape May High School, which closed effective December 22, 1960. The Cape May superintendent, Paul W. Schmitdtchen, decided to create a new high school, and therefore he is considered the "father" of the school. In December 1958 the voters of Cape May City, West Cape May, and Lower Township approved borrowing $1.4 million (equivalent to $14.8 million in 2023) to build a new high school in Lower Township. Construction began in November 1959. The school district hired employees in April 1960. LCMRHS opened in 1961.[5] The first class to graduate from LCMRHS was that of 1961.[6]
In 2002, the school held a groundbreaking for a $12 million (the value of $20.3 million in 2023) addition covering 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2), which included a new auditorium, as well as renovation of 24,381 square feet (2,265.1 m2) of area.[7]
The school has a capacity of 1,266 students.[14]: 17
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 236th-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.[15] The school had been ranked 243rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 236th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[16] The magazine ranked the school 205th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[17] The school was ranked 185th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[18]
Athletics
The Lower Cape May Regional High School Caper Tigers[3] compete in the Atlantic Division of the Cape-Atlantic League, an athletic conference comprised of both parochial and public high schools located in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester counties, and operates under the aegis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[19] With 594 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2022–24 school years as Group II South for most athletic competition purposes.[20] The football team competes in the Royal Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[21][22] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 514 to 685 students.[23]
The boys' wrestling team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional championship in 1982.[24]
In 2015, the girls' basketball team won the South Jersey Group II state sectional title with a 58-55 overtime win over Sterling High School, earning the program's first state championship.[25]
Administration
The school's principal is Lawrence Ziemba. His core administration team includes two vice principals.[1]
Student body
In 2012 there were 85 students of LCMR High living in Cape May City. In 2013 this number fell to 65.[26]
^Home page, Lower Cape May Regional High School. Accessed July 10, 2011. "Lower Cape May Regional High School is a four year public school that serves students from four communities including Cape May, Lower Township, West Cape May and Cape May Point."
^Flud, Tom (June 6, 2011). "Schmidtchen Called 'Father' Of LCMR". Cape May County Herald. Retrieved October 11, 2020. For the four southernmost Cape May County municipalities, [...] [which would be Cape May, Cape May Point, West Cape May, and Lower Township]
^"Board of Education". Lower Cape May Regional School District. Retrieved September 28, 2020. [...]in the Administration Building, located at 687 Route 9, Erma, Township of Lower, County of Cape May, State of New Jersey.[...]687 Route 9 • Cape May, NJ 08204 - All LCMR School District facilities have the same postal address.
^"Vaccine Site to Relocate to LCMR". Cape May County Herald. April 25, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2021. Lower Cape May Regional High School, in Erma. (photo caption) - As it is a press release the article was written by the Cape May County Department of Health, but the photo caption indicates a different authorship.
^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."
^Avedissian, Eric. "A soldier's story: Bob Andrzejczak lost a leg, not his resolve", Ocean City Sentinel, May 20, 2015. Accessed December 24, 2019. "Following his graduation from Lower Cape May Regional High School in 2004, Andrzejczak attended the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades in Media, Pa. on a full scholarship, where he studied machine tool technology."
^Cunniff, Brian. "Report: Matt Szczur to sign with Phillies", Coast Sports Today, December 13, 2019. Accessed May 11, 2020. "After graduating from Lower Cape May in 2007, Szczur went on to become a two-sport star in baseball and football at Villanova."
* Formerly operated its own 1-8 school, which has been closed since 1931. ** Formerly operated its own K-8, then K-6 school, which has been closed since July 2012. School districts by county:
