Eastern Christian High School (ECHS) is a
private Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
located in
North Haledon, in
Passaic County, in the
U.S. state of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. The high school is a part of the
Eastern Christian School Association which also has a middle school (ECMS) in
Wyckoff, and an elementary school (ECES) and preschool in
Midland Park. ECHS is home to students from middle and northern NJ as well as southern NY. ECHS also offers a one to four year middle and high school program for F-1 Visa Students.
As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 292 students and 27.5 classroom teachers (on an
FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio of 10.6:1. The school's student body was 51.4% (150) White, 20.9% (61) Asian, 11.3% (33) Hispanic, 9.9% (29) Black and 6.5% (19) two or more races.
[School data for Eastern Christian High School]
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...
. Accessed November 1, 2023.
Academics
Eastern Christian follows a program called "Faith in Action" in which every student in the high school is required to complete a certain amount of volunteer hours in order to get their high school diploma.
ECHS offers seven different Humanities and STEM Fields concentrations. Just like a college major, these concentrations allow students to identify their budding interests and talents, then develop skills in a focus area.
Project Acceleration is a set of courses designated for dual credit, which allow a student to receive both high school credit toward a diploma and also college credit from a specified institution. Eastern Christian High School has dual credit courses which are offered in an online format and also dual credit courses which are offered in our classrooms in partnership with Seton Hall University in our Project Acceleration program. Upon completion of a course, the student may receive credits on a college transcript.
For Academic Support, ECHS aspires to help students with academic subject areas study skills, and self-advocacy delivered in three ways:
# The least restrictive environment is being enrolled in the resource room (offered on an alternating or daily basis.) This is a credit class that includes study skills and help with a student's current academic schedule.
# A greater degree of service is through an inclusion model. Supported through EC staff or County services as in-class support. Teachers with expertise in differentiation work alongside high school staff. As we make the curriculum more accessible for students who learn differently, all students benefit. (Universal design)
# The highest level of intervention is a remediation class that parallels the grade level college prep curriculum.
While ECHS does support students in all academic areas, their most common differentiation takes place in English, Language Arts, and Math.
As the oldest and largest Christian day school in the New York Metropolitan area, Eastern Christian is also affiliated with Christian Schools International, which includes 425 school systems in the United States and Canada. The faculty is New Jersey State certified with an average teaching experience of 15 years; almost half having earned advanced degrees.
Athletics and extracurricular activities
The Eastern Christian Eagles
[Eastern Christian High School](_blank)
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. participate in the
North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which consists of small-enrollment schools in
Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
,
Hudson,
Morris and Passaic counties. The high school offers 23 teams across 12 sports with 252 students participating in at least one of these offerings.
While 60% of students are involved in the athletic program, ECHS also offers a range of other activities to meet student interests. These include fly fishing, musical production, robotics, gardening and more.
Notable alumni
*
Joseph Brain (born 1940, class of 1957), physiologist and environmental health researcher
*
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...
, musicians
Kevin (born 1987) and
Joe (born 1989) attended the school
*
Peter Kreeft
Peter John Kreeft (; born March 16, 1937) is an American professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College. A convert to Catholicism, he is the author of over eighty books on Christian philosophy, theology and apologetics. He a ...
(born 1937, class of 1955), philosopher and author of numerous popular books of
Christian philosophy
Christian philosophy includes all philosophy carried out by Christians, or in relation to the religion of Christianity.
Christian philosophy emerged with the aim of reconciling science and faith, starting from natural rational explanations wit ...
,
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
, and
apologetics
Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their f ...
*
Bethany Joy Lenz (born 1981), singer, actress
*
Alexander Noyes (born 1986), drummer for the band
Honor Society
In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...
[Orr, Tamara]
''The Jonas Brothers''
p. 17. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2011. . Accessed July 11, 2011. "Eastern Christian High School is a small private school in North Haledon, New Jersey.... Famous graduates include actresses Katie Sagona and Antonique Smith, and Alex Noyes, the drummer for the band Honor Society."
*
Katie Sagona (born 1989), actress.
[
* Antonique Smith (born 1983), actress/singer best known for her starring role as Mimi in Jonathan Larson's Broadway production of ''Rent'' and starred as Faith Evans in the film '' Notorious''][Smith, Antonique, of Eastern Christian High School]
"Gossip be a destructive game"
'' The Record'', September 26, 1995. Accessed December 27, 2023, via Newspapers.com.
External links
Data for Eastern Christian High School
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...
References
{{Authority control
Christian educational institutions
Christian schools in New Jersey
Private high schools in Passaic County, New Jersey