Park Ridge High School is a six-year comprehensive community

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

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., ...

with an integrated two-year

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

located in the borough of Park Ridge in

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

, serving students in seventh through

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

s as the lone secondary school of the Park Ridge Public Schools. The school is accredited by the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

. The school is located on the corner of Park Avenue and Pascack Road in the center of Park Ridge. The school is one of the three public schools in , along with East Brook Elementary School and West Ridge Elementary School, which both serve grades K-6. Park Ridge High School's building has two sections: the "main" building of three floors and the "A-wing" of two. The main building contains a multipurpose venue known as the "little theater," which hosts arts events such as the annual Middle School Variety Show, including seasonal theatrical productions. The A-wing branches off into two gymnasiums through its lower floor. As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 520 students and 59.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 8.8:1. There were 17 students (3.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 9 (1.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Park Ridge 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 December 15, 2024. Park Ridge offers several

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

(AP) classes, run by the

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. Average

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

scores for the class of 2013-14 were 528 in Critical reading, 559 in Mathematics and 546 on the Writing component for a composite score of 1633, compared to statewide averages of 496 / 521 / 497 respectively, and a composite score of 1514. There were 59.0% of students who met the standard of a 1550 composite score on the SAT, which

research shows to be indicative of college success, vs. 44.6% statewide.

History

A previous high school building completed in 1900 burnt to the ground in June 1920. The current school building was completed in September 1922, having been designed to be resistant to fire and offering four times the capacity of the earlier structure. Until the opening of

Pascack Valley High School Pascack Valley High School (PVHS) is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive regional state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in Hillsdale, New Jersey, Hillsdale in Bergen County, New Jerse ...

in 1955, students from Hillsdale, Montvale and Woodcliff Lake had attended Park Ridge High School as part of

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 37th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St ...

'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 14th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 18th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 31st in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 40th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 167th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 77 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (79.0%) and language arts literacy (95.8%) components of the

High School Proficiency Assessment The High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA, pronounced "hess-pah" (/ˈhɛspə/) or sometimes just "H-S-P-A") was a standardized test that was administered by the New Jersey Department of Education to all New Jersey public high school students in ...

(HSPA).

Athletics

Park Ridge High School OwlsPark Ridge High School

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed October 20, 2020. participate in the Patriot Division of the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which is comprised of small-enrollment schools in Bergen,

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

, Morris and

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

(NJSIAA). Prior to the realignment that took effect at the start of the 2010-11 school year, Park Ridge was a member of the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL). With 262 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 254 to 474 students. Park Ridge High School hosts several sports in statewide competition, including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, baseball, and many others. Park Ridge has done very well athletically in past years, especially with girls' sports, wrestling, and the track & field program. The school's athletic complex consists of several acres of open fields and a full sized high school football infield, surrounded by a recently constructed running track. The official fight song of the Owls is "Ridgers". The school participates as the host school / lead agency for joint cooperative boys / girls bowling, cross country running. boys / girls golf and boys lacrosse teams with Emerson Junior-Senior High School, while Emerson is the host school for girls lacrosse and wrestling teams. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. The 1966 boys' basketball team finished the season with a 23–2 record after winning the Group I state championship by defeating Williamstown High School by a score of 64–62 on a late basket score in the final minute of the tournament final. The boys cross country running team won the Group I state championship in 1973.NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The baseball team won the Group I state title in 1977 (vs. Florence Township Memorial High School) and 2009 (vs. David Brearley High School).Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024

, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The 1977 team finished the season with a 24–3 record after winning the Group I title with a 1–0 victory in 13 innings against Florence Township in the championship game. The team won the 2009 Group I state championships, defeating County Prep High School 10–0 in the semi-final round, and taking the title with a 4–2 win over David Brearley in the championship game. The girls volleyball team won the Group I state championship in 1983 (vs. Bogota High School) and 1985 (vs. Wallington High School).NJSIAA Girls Volleyball Group Champions

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The 1983 team finished the season with a record of 21–2 after winning the Group I title by defeating Bogota in two games (15-10 and 15-13) in the final match of the tournament. The 1985 team win won the Group IV title against Wallington 15-10 and 15-4 in the tournament final. The football team won the NJSIAA North I Group I state sectional championship in 1995 and in North II Group I in 2019. In 2019, the Owls finished the season with a 10–1 record after defeating Hasbrouck Heights High School in the tournament final to win the NJSIAA North II Group I state sectional championship by a score of 21–14, marking their first championship in 24 years. The team won the 2019 Group I North regional title with a 28–21 win against Boonton High School. In 2006, Park Ridge boys' spring track went undefeated on their way to a BCSL Olympic championship, their first in 30 years. The girls' team lost only once, and also proceeded to win a championship. In 2007, the girls' soccer team won the North I, Group I state sectional championship with a 2–0 win over Pompton Lakes High School in the tournament final, marking the first sectional title in team history. In 2008, the boys' winter track team won their first state sectional meet. Wrestling coach Stan Woods set a New Jersey record with his 602nd win in 2011 in a meet against Nutley High School.

Administration

The school's principal is Troy Lederman. His core administration team includes the assistant principal.

Noted alumni

Jedh Colby Barker Jedh Colby Barker (June 20, 1945 – September 21, 1967) was a United States Marine Corps Lance Corporal who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Vietnam War in September 1967. While participating in Operation Kingfishe ...

(class of 1964) — awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

* Karen Duffy (class of 1979) — model, television personality, and actressLauro, Patricia Winters
"Communities; A Mob Town, And Proud of It"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', November 24, 2002. Accessed March 6, 2012. "For a tiny town, Park Ridge has its share of famous people. Karen Duffy, a model, MTV vee-jay and author of 'Model Patient: My Life as an Incurable Wiseass' (HarperCollins, $24), was raised in the borough and graduated in 1979 with Mr. Gandolfini." * Edith Margaret Faulstich —

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

and journalist *

James Gandolfini James John Gandolfini (; September 18, 1961June 19, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American American Mafia, Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007 ...

(class of 1979) — actor, ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'' * Kevin Herget — baseball pitcher for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

The Roches The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey. Career In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry" ...

— folk singers whose founding members were Maggie, Suzzy and Terre Roche * Stephanie Ruhle — host of

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

's '' The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle'' *

Travis Stever Travis Stever (born November 25, 1978) is an American musician who is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria. Coheed and Cambria Travis Stever is a founding member of Coheed and Cambria. The ...

(class of 1997) — lead guitarist of

Coheed and Cambria Coheed and Cambria is an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. It consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), and Za ...

"Owls' marked men welcome challenge"
''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'', September 19, 1996. Accessed December 31, 2020, via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

. "Mioli is searching for a nucleus among the following: seniors Tom Driscoll (5-11, 180), Travis Stever (5-10, 185), and Jim Babcock (5-10, 180); juniors David Hughes (5-7, 165), Ben Wingate (6-1, 205), John Halperin (5-9, 180); and sophomore Brett Rogers (5-8, 170)." * Dyanne Thorne — actress, stage performer and vocalist

References

External links

Park Ridge High SchoolPark Ridge Public Schools
*
School Data for the Park Ridge Public Schools

{{Authority control Park Ridge, New Jersey Public high schools in Bergen County, New Jersey Public middle schools in New Jersey