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Buena Regional High School

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Coordinates: 39°32′07″N 74°55′06″W / 39.535175°N 74.91838°W / 39.535175; -74.91838
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Buena Regional High School
Address
Map
125 Weymouth Road

Buena
,
Atlantic County
,
New Jersey
08310

United States
Coordinates39°32′07″N 74°55′06″W / 39.535175°N 74.91838°W / 39.535175; -74.91838
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1971
School districtBuena Regional School District
NCES School ID340240000044[1]
PrincipalKaren Cavalieri
Faculty43.0 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment518 (as of 2023–24)[1]
Student to teacher ratio12.0:1[1]
Color(s)  Blue and
  gold[2]
Athletics conferenceCape-Atlantic League
Team nameChiefs[2]
Websitebrhs.buenaschools.org

Buena Regional High School is a comprehensive regional public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from communities in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Buena Regional School District. Municipalities served by the district are Buena Borough and Buena Vista Township. The school opened in September 1971.[3]

Students from both Estell Manor and Weymouth Township, attend Buena Regional High School as part of sending/receiving relationships with the respective school districts.[4][5]

As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 518 students and 43.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. There were 189 students (36.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 68 (13.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

History

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More than 350 students from the Buena Regional district had attended Vineland High School for grades 10-12 as part of a sending/receiving relationship. In March 1970, the Buena Regional School District went ahead with pursuing construction of its own high school after receiving notice from the Vineland Public Schools that it had "phased out" on receiving students at its high school due to rising enrollment of Vineland resident students.[6]

Ground was broken in October 1971 for a new high school building on an 84-acre (34 ha) site that would accommodate up to 1,200 students and be constructed at a cost of $4.5 million (equivalent to $33.9 million in 2023). When the school opened for the 1972-1973 school year, enrollment was expected to include 700 students from Buena and Buena Vista Township, along with 200 students from Estell Manor and Weymouth Township. [7]

An addition completed in 1999 added six new classrooms and two new science labs.

Students from Newfield, a non-operating school district, had attended the district's high school until the 2010-11 school year, after the New Jersey Department of Education approved a plan in 2009 under which students from Newfield would start attending Delsea Regional High School, with those still at Buena attending until they graduate.[8]

Awards, recognition and rankings

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The school was the 296th-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.[9] The school had been ranked 316th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 297th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[10] The magazine ranked the school 286th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[11] The school was ranked 289th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[12]

Curriculum

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The curriculum offerings include Advanced Placement (AP) courses in AP Calculus, AP United States History, AP English Literature and Composition, AP European History, AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Psychology and AP Chemistry.[4]

Athletics

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The Buena Regional High School Chiefs[2] compete in the National Division of the Cape-Atlantic League an athletic conference comprised of both public and private high schools in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Gloucester counties, and operates under the aegis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[13] With 374 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.[14] The football team competes in the Patriot Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[15][16] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 185 to 482 students.[17]

Buena Regional High School's athletic department offers interscholastic programs in boys and girls basketball, tennis, and soccer, as well as baseball and softball, girls' field hockey, boys' wrestling, boys and girls spring and winter track, cross country and football.[2] There are cheerleading squads for Varsity and Junior Varsity basketball and football. The baseball team has won or shared 15 league, conference, or division titles in 34 years. The baseball team won a South Jersey Group II State title in 2008 under Coach George West. A co-ed swim team was formed for the 2008-09 season. The girls cross country team under Michael Falciani has won two consecutive Atlantic County championships, and has been undefeated for four years in their conference.

The 1988 football team finished the season with an 11-0 record after winning the South Jersey Group II state title by defeating Salem High School by a score of 21-0 in the championship game.[18][19] The team made it to the state championship game in 2002, only to lose to West Deptford High School in overtime by a score of 21-20 on a controversial goal-line stand on a two-point conversion that was stopped inches from the goal line in a game described by sportswriter Phil Anastasia as what "might be the greatest ending to a football game I ever saw."[20]

The boys' cross country team won the Group II title, the school's first state championship, in 1988.[21]

The wrestling team won the South Jersey Group II state sectional title in 1994, 1995, 2003-2005 and 2015.[22]

The girls track team won the indoor relay championship in Group II in 1998[23] The team won the indoor state championship in Group II in 1999.[24] The girls spring track team was the Group II state champion in 2011.[25]

The boys track team won the spring / outdoor track state championship in Group II in 2000.[26]

The baseball team became the first title-winning team from the Cape Atlantic League when it won the Group II state championship in 2014, with a 4-1 win in the tournament final against Bernards High School.[27][28] The team won the 2023 South Jersey Group I sectional title, with an 8-4 win over Audubon High School.[29]

Arts

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The band and choir of Buena Regional have competed extensively throughout the years, with the choir winning a Grand Championship in a national competition in 1992.[30]

The marching band has been under the direction of Keith Littleton since 2015. They have competed in the Cavalcade of Bands circuit. The band has won awards in percussion and auxiliary. They won "Most Improved" at the Cavalcade Championships in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The Buena Regional High School drama club began in 2001 with a production of Oklahoma! Since then, the drama club has put on an annual musical. The program has sustained itself financially and had originally been under the guidance of the former choral music director for almost a decade. The 2010 production of Beauty and the Beast was followed by the 2011 production of Into the Woods and The Pirates of Penzance (2012), You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (2013), Once on This Island (2014), and 9 to 5, the Musical (2015). The productions began to become more extensive with Bring It On: The Musical (2016), Disney's Aida (2017), Seussical (2018), Hairspray (2019), In the Heights (2020), and The Addams Family (2021), which featured students from every school in the district.

Administration

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The school's principal is Karen Cavalieri. The core administration team includes the vice principal.[31]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e School data for Buena Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Buena Regional High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Buena Regional High School 2014 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 15, 2017. "The Buena Regional High School is a comprehensive regional public high school founded in 1971, serving students in grades 9 - 12."
  4. ^ a b Buena Regional School District 2016 Report Card Narrative Archived August 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 30, 2017. "Buena Regional School District is a comprehensive, regional public school district. The District's three elementary and middle school serve students from Buena Vista Township and Buena Borough. The District's high school serves students from Buena Vista Township and Buena Borough, along with students from the neighboring municipalities of Estell Manor and Weymouth Township through a sending/receiving relationship."
  5. ^ Uzdavinis, Brian. "Pinelands hampers education in Buenas" Archived June 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Buena Vista Township, copy of article from The Press of Atlantic City, December 7, 2002. Accessed June 10, 2011. "Buena Regional - which serves three sending districts in Newfield, Weymouth Township and Estell Manor, along with Buena Borough and Buena Vista Township - has been asking the state for special needs, or Abbott, designation."
  6. ^ "State Okays Buena High Proposal", The Daily Journal, March 11, 1970. Accessed February 17, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Buena Regional Board of Education met last night with architects John Oliver and Ivan Becica of Pennsauken, who presented the nearly-completed plans for the proposed new Buena Regional High School. The school is planned for an 84-acre site at Weymouth and Friendship rds. in Buena Vista Township. Construction costs have been estimated at $4,518,000.... Enrollment figures show a steady increase in the number of students in the school system, and Vineland High School has requested that pupils from all sending districts be 'phased out' by the end of the 1970-71 school year. Buena now sends 367 students to grades 10, 11, and 12 in Vineland."
  7. ^ "Buena to Break Ground for High School", The Daily Journal, October 27, 1971. Accessed February 17, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Ground breaking ceremonies for the $4.5 million Buena Regional High School will be conducted Sunday, at 2 p.m. The new facility, which will be constructed on an 84-acre tract, will have a capacity for over 1,200 students and can be expanded to serve 1,500.... The building was designed by architects Oliver and Becica of Pennsauken and is scheduled to be completed by September, 1972. Approximately 700 students from the Buena area along with 200 others from the sending districts of Estell Manor and Weymouth are expected to attend during the first year."
  8. ^ Romalino, Carly. "State OKs Newfield's break with Buena district", Gloucester County Times, June 17, 2009. Accessed November 18, 2014. "The Board of Education here can sever its three-decade tie with Buena Regional School District, New Jersey Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy has ruled. The move will begin in the 2010-11 school year."
  9. ^ Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  10. ^ Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 12, 2012.
  11. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 1, 2011.
  12. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  13. ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  14. ^ NJSIAA General Classifications - Public Schools 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Buena Chiefs, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  16. ^ 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."
  17. ^ NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  18. ^ NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  19. ^ Viggiano, Bob. "Buena shuts down Salem to capture Group 2 title", Courier-Post, December 4, 1988. Accessed March 4, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The Buena High School football team is proudly wearing the label of South Jersey Group 2 champion. The Chiefs put the finishing touch on the greatest season in the school's history yesterday when they whipped previously unbeaten Salem 21-0 for the Group 2 title. The 11-0 Chiefs won the title with a little offense and plenty of defense."
  20. ^ Anastasia, Phil. "South Jersey football’s top 10 most memorable championship games", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 14, 2018. Accessed July 24, 2019. "2002: West Deptford 21, Buena 20 (OT) in South Jersey 2... The Chiefs sent Mack, who took a shotgun snap, into the line, and he was ruled down about an inch from the goal line, with Marc Robb leading a horde of West Deptford defenders. This still might be the greatest ending to a football game I ever saw."
  21. ^ NJSIAA Boys Cross Country Group State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  22. ^ NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  23. ^ History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  24. ^ Girls Winter Track and Field Championship History: 1922-2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated November 2023. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  25. ^ NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Girls, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  26. ^ NJSIAA Spring Track Summary of Group Titles Boys, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  27. ^ McGarry, Michael. "Buena Regional wins state Group II baseball championship", The Press of Atlantic City, June 7, 2014. Accessed April 28, 2015. "Brady pitched Buena to a historic victory and a state championship. The junior struck out 11 as the Chiefs beat Bernards 4-1 to win the state Group II title at Toms River East. Buena (22-5) is the first Cape-Atlantic League public school to win a state title since the state tournament began in 1971."
  28. ^ Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated June 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  29. ^ Mulranen, Patrick. "Buena Regional beats Audubon for first S.J. title in eight years", The Press of Atlantic City, June 2, 2023. Accessed June 4, 2023. "The Buena Regional High School baseball team rallied in the fourth inning Friday and snapped an eight-year championship drought. The top-seeded Chiefs scored five runs in the inning en route to an 8-4 victory over second-seeded Audubon in the South Jersey Group I final at Carolla Field. It was the Chiefs’ first sectional title since they captured the S.J. Group II crown in 2015."
  30. ^ "Buena choir wins four awards",Daily Journal, June 4, 1992. Accessed April 28, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "The Buena Board of Education Tuesday praised the fine work of the Buena Regional High School choir, which won several awards at a competition held in Orlando, Fla. last month. The choir brought home four awards, which included first place in men's chorus, women's chorus, mixed chorus and the overall grand champion award from the Choral Classic Championship, held from May 13–18 at Disneyworld."
  31. ^ Message from our Principal, Buena Regional High School. Accessed September 26, 2024.
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