The Gloucester County Institute of Technology (GCIT) is a four-year vocational-technical public high school located in Deptford Township in Gloucester County, New Jersey. It operates as part of the Gloucester County Vocational-Technical School District. The school has a Sewell mailing address.
GCIT offers eighteen full-time programs. Students must apply and be selected to attend GCIT. GCIT currently accepts approximately 350 students per year. Acceptance is based on final marking period grades from 7th grade and the beginning marking period grades for 8th grade, and state standardized test scores, attendance and a mandatory shadow visit.
As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,603 students and 108.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.8:1. There were 87 students (5.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 17 (1.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
History
During the 2021–2022 school year, Deptford Township Schools announced it would no longer pay tuition for students attending GCIT for programs that were also being provided at Deptford Township High School. The decision impacted students wishing to attend GCIT's Carpentry, Computer Sciences, Engineering, or Health Sciences programs. The district defended its decision despite a letter from the New Jersey Department of Education saying that Deptford "is responsible for tuition and transportation costs of any resident student admitted to the county vocational school."
Academics and programs
GCIT offers honors classes for all students, and honors classes are mandated for all Academy students. All Career-Technical students have the option to take College Preparatory (CP) courses or honors. GCIT offers language courses in Spanish, Latin, and Italian. Two years of a language are required to graduate, but four levels are offered with an independent study option available.
GCIT offers several electives besides their programs. Students may choose from Rowan College of South Jersey courses instead of taking high school electives to receive dual credit. The tuition for these courses is paid for by the district, but students are responsible for their own textbooks. GCIT also offers clubs, which are built into the school bell schedule. GCIT follows the National Academy Foundation's cooperative learning initiative, where teachers focus on group discussions, projects, and research papers.
In 2020, GCIT announced plans to establish a new program, the Academy of Advanced Manufacturing & Applied Science, in response to an elevated interest in Gloucester County's manufacturing industry. The program opened during the 2023–2024 school year, with students attending class in a new building located on the adjacent Rowan College of South Jersey campus.
High school
High school programs for the 2023–24 school year include: Advanced Manufacturing & Applied Science Automotive Technology Baking & Pastry Arts Biological Sciences Carpentry Computer Science Cosmetology Culinary Arts Digital Media Electrical Engineering Finance & Business Management Health Sciences HVAC-R Performing Arts: Dance Performing Arts: Drama Plumbing Welding
Adult programs
Adult programs as of the 2022–23 school year include: Automotive Technology Baking & Pastry Arts Building & Construction Trades Culinary Arts Cosmetology Coatings 101 Electrical Fire Inspector Certification HVAC Plumbing Welding
APA research paper
All students in College Prep (CP) and Honors classes at GCIT must complete an APA research paper (although teachers may vary the format at their discretion). To assist students, GCIT staff members provide a free APA manual that students can download. This manual is available on GCIT's website or by the following link.
Awards, recognition and rankings
Schooldigger.com ranked GCIT 85th out of 396 public high schools statewide in its 2012 rankings, representing an increase of 31 positions from its 2011 ranking. The rankings are based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (89.3%) and language arts literacy (99.3%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).