Wayne Hills High School is a four-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., ...

, in Wayne, in

Passaic County Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,

, in the

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 ...

, in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

. The school serves students in

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

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 one of the two secondary schools that are part of the Wayne Public Schools, the other being Wayne Valley High School. As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,181 students and 119.3 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 9.9:1. There were 64 students (5.4% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the provision of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. The practice was once common in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with the ...

and 24 (2.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Wayne Hills 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.

History

The school opened in September 1966 as the district's second high school. With the opening of the new facility, the district's original secondary school was renamed Wayne Valley High School.

Awards, recognition and rankings

In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 222nd out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 35th among all high schools in New Jersey and 18th among the state's non-magnet schools. In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', the school was ranked 64th in New Jersey and 1,902nd nationwide. In ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

's'' May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Wayne Hills High School was listed in 1102nd place, the 34th-highest ranked school in New Jersey. The school was the 65th-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 35th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 51st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 60th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 70th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 61st out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 18 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (91.4%) and language arts literacy (96.4%) 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).

Sports

The Wayne Hills High School PatriotsWayne Hills 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. compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high 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 ...

and Passaic counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the

. In the 2009-10 school year, the school competed in the

North Jersey Tri-County Conference The North Jersey Tri-County Conference was a high school athletic conference in New Jersey, created by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) as a holding conference. The NJTCC consisted of 45 public and non-public schoo ...

, which was established on an interim basis to facilitate the realignment. Before the realignment, Wayne Hills had competed in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League (NBIAL) as the only team outside

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.North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 700 to 884 students. Wayne Hills interscholastic sports teams include:

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

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 ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

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 ...

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

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 ...

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

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 ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

. The school participates as the host school / lead agency in a joint ice hockey team with Wayne Valley High School. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year. The gymnastics team won the overall state championship in 1981. The varsity baseball team won the Passaic County Tournament championships in both 2000 and 2009. The team won the 2009 tournament with an 11-0 win in the championship game vs.

Pompton Lakes High School Pompton Lakes High School (PLHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the borough of Pompton Lakes in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Pompton Lakes School District. ...

. The boys' track team were 2003 county, league and state champions. In 2007, Wayne Hills was county champions in boys and girls tennis. In 2012, the boys tennis team won the Passaic County Tournament for the eighth consecutive year. The 2008 boys' volleyball team was undefeated and went on to winning the Passaic County championship. The boys' golf team won the county tournament in 2008, 2013 and 2015. The girls' fencing team won the Passaic County championships in 2009. In 2009, the boys' swim team won the Passaic County championship, the second tournament ever held. In 2010, the girls and boys won the Passaic County championship. In the same season, both teams won their division of the Tri-County league. The boys finished with an undefeated regular season. Both teams competed in and lost in the first round of the state tournament. In 2010, the boys lacrosse team won the inaugural Passaic County Tournament. They would go on to win again in 2017, 2018 and 2019, becoming the only team to win back-to-back championships and then three-peat. They have won more county lacrosse championships than any other team in Passaic County. The girls' ski team won back-to-back state championships in 2011 and 2012.

Ice hockey

In the 2017-18 season, Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley joined to create an all-Wayne co-operative ice hockey team. The team made it to the semifinals of the 2018 NJSIAA New Jersey Boys Ice Hockey Public A tournament, where they lost 3-2 to Hunterdon Central Regional High School.

Field hockey

The field hockey team won the North I Group IV state sectional title in 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 2008 and 2009. The team won the Group IV state championship in 1982, defeating Shawnee High School in the tournament final by a score of 2-0.

Football

The Wayne Hills

team won the North I Group III state sectional championship in 2002, 2004-2008, 2010 and 2011, and won the North I Group IV title in 2016 and 2018. Led by Coach Chris Olsen, the team won eight state sectional championships in the ten years through 2011, reigning as the two-time defending champs of North I Group III. The team accumulated a 65-6 record during the seven seasons through 2008. Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley have participated in an annual rivalry since 2009, which Wayne Hills leads 11-2 through the 2017 season.

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore reports that ...

listed the rivalry in the 24th spot on their 2017 list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football". In 2002, the varsity team won their first North Jersey I Group III title in the school's history by defeating Ramapo High School 19-0. This was also the first undefeated football season. Additionally, several members of this senior class became professional athletes. Tight end Greg Olsen went on to play college and professional football. From 2004 to 2009, the team won 55 consecutive games. During the winning streak, the team won five state sectional championships, including four perfect 12-0 seasons. The Wayne Hills 55-game win streak came to an end with a 17-15 loss to

Saint Joseph Regional High School Saint Joseph Regional High School (known as SJR, St. Joe's or Joe's) is a private, Catholic Church, Catholic, University-preparatory school, college preparatory school for boys, located on a campus in Montvale, New Jersey, Montvale, in Bergen ...

in October 2009. The streak is the second-longest in New Jersey high school football history, behind only to Paulsboro High School's 63-game win streak. The 2004 team finished the season with a 10-2 record after winning the North I Group III state sectional title, defeating Ramapo High School by a score of 38-28 in the semis and then topping Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest in the tournament final by a score of 17-16. The team was in the 2005 playoffs as the top seed in the North I, Group III bracket, and won the first two rounds, beating #8-seed

Teaneck High School Teaneck High School (known as The Castle on the Hill) is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Teaneck, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the ...

40-6 and number-four Ramapo High School 41-13, and then crushing third-seeded Parsippany Hills High School by a score of 46-0 in the sectional finals. In 2006, the Patriots came in seeded second in the North I, Group III bracket, and won the first two rounds, beating 7th-seed Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan 37-7 and 6th-seed Passaic Valley Regional High School 33-0. In the state finals, played at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

on December 2, 2006, Wayne Hills defeated fourth-seeded Parsippany Hills High School 23-12, the second consecutive year the two faced each other in the finals. The football team was ranked 3rd behind #1 Don Bosco Prep and #2 St. Peter's Prep in New Jersey. The team was ranked 7th in the East region by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' in their final 2006 Super 25 prep football regional rankings. Wayne Hill's football team finished 12-0 in the 2007 season, defeating Wayne Valley High School in the North I Group III state sectional championship game played at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and primarily hosted sporting events and ...

by a final score of 27-7. The win was the team's 40th consecutive win, and its fourth consecutive sectional title. In 2008, Wayne Hills played

Lakeland Regional High School Lakeland Regional High School is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school and school district serving students from the Boroughs of Ringwood and Wanaque (including its Haskell neighborhood), communities in Passaic County, in th ...

and won the North I Group III sectional title with a final score of 35-6, making them 52-0 in the previous four seasons, and giving them their fifth consecutive sectional title. As of December 9, 2008, Wayne Hills was ranked 81st on the Rivals.com list of the top 100 high school football teams in the nation. The only other New Jersey teams then on the list were Shawnee High School (88th) and Don Bosco Prep (17th). In 2009, Wayne Hills lost to their longtime rival, Ramapo High School, in the North I, Group III state sectional championship at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. The loss to Ramapo ended a streak of 17 consecutive playoff victories extending from the first round of the 2004 playoffs through the 2009 semifinal game and a string of 62 consecutive wins in football games played against public schools statewide dating back to 2003. In 2010, Wayne Hills won the North I Group III state championship against Northern Valley at Old Tappan in what has been called the "Miracle in the Meadowlands", taking a lateral pass on a kickoff with seconds left on the clock to win the state title by a score of 24-21. The team ended this year ranked 3rd in the top 25 best high school teams in North Jersey by ''

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 ...

'' and its national ranking according to Max Preps was 289. In December 2011, the New Jersey Commissioner of Education upheld the suspension of nine Wayne Hills football players who been alleged to have been involved in an October fight outside of a house party in which two students from Wayne Valley High School had been assaulted, including one who was beaten and left unconscious in a street. Though the students had been allowed to play in the first two rounds of the football playoffs, they were ruled ineligible to participate in that year's final against Old Tappan. Despite the absence of the nine from the championship game, Wayne Hills defeated Old Tappan for the second consecutive year, by a score of 15-12, the team's second consecutive North I, Group III title and its eighth title in ten years. The Wayne Hills football program was featured in the documentary series titled ''Traditions'', which airs on SNY. The production team followed the team around for the first week of October and attended practices and conducted interviews to showcase what the program, at its core, is about. In Spring 2012, head coach Chris Olsen announced that he would step down as the athletic director for the 2012-13 school year and serve as head coach for the last year. The team finished with a 6-5 record and did not make an appearance in the finals, losing to

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 the semi-finals by a score of 20-11, marking the first year in nine years that the Wayne Hills Patriots did not make it to the state finals. The team won the 2016 North I, Group IV state sectional championship with a 31-24 overtime win in the tournament final against Wayne Valley High School, under head coach Wayne Demikoff. In 2018, the team won the North I Group IV title with a 20-13 win against Northern Valley at Old Tappan and then went on to win the Group IV North Bowl by a score of 35-21 against Phillipsburg High School.

Administration

The school's principal is Michael Rewick. His core administration team includes five assistant principals.

Notable alumni

* Marina Alex (born 1990), professional golfer * Chris Carter (born 1959), Sirius/XM disc jockey and producer who was one of the founding members of

Dramarama Dramarama is an American, New Jersey–based alternative rock/power pop band, who later moved to Los Angeles. The band was formed in New Jersey in 1982 and disbanded in 1994. The band formally reunited in 2003 following an appearance on VH1's ' ...

* Alex Chilowicz (born 1987), professional soccer referee who has worked in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

and the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

* Barbara Dare (born 1963), pornographic movie actress * Nickolette Driesse (born 1994),

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who plays for

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Pride began play in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season, 2016 ...

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

* John Easdale (born 1961), lead singer of

* Mark Englert, guitarist for

* Nicholas Kaloukian (born 2003), professional

player who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Armenian Premier League The Armenian Premier League (, known as the Armenian Fastex Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the top association football, football competition in Armenia. From 1936 to 1991, the competition was held as a regional tournament within th ...

club

Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...

* Ryan Neill (born 1982), former NFL defensive end and long snapper * Greg Olsen (born 1985), sportscaster and former NFL tight end * Jessielyn Palumbo (born 1992, class of 2010),

Miss New Jersey USA The Miss New Jersey USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss USA pageant. It is produced by D&D Productions. New Jersey has yet to win the Miss USA title, although from 1989 to 1991 ...

2016 and beauty photographer * Lieutenant General

Guy C. Swan III Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General Guy Carleton Swan III (born January 28, 1954) is a retired United States Army officer. His final assignment was Commanding General United States Army North at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Swan g ...

(born 1954), retired United States Army officer, whose final assignment was Commanding General United States Army North (USARNORTH), at Fort Sam Houston, Texas * Holly Taylor (born 1997), actress and dancer who performed in the Broadway production of ''

Billy Elliot the Musical ''Billy Elliot: The Musical'' is a Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age stage musical based on the Billy Elliot, 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall (playwright), Lee Hall, who wrote th ...

'' and in the FX television series ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg for FX (TV channel), FX. It aired for six seasons from 2013 to 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also served as showrunners ...

'' * Vikki Ziegler (born , class of 1990), lawyer and author who was the focus of the reality television show '' Untying the Knot''Winters, Debra
"Former Wayne, current Little Falls resident helps couples ''Untie the Knot'' on Bravo"
''

'', June 9, 2014, archived at VikkiZiegler.com. Accessed September 30, 2017. "She attended A.P. Terhune Elementary School and Schuyler Colfax Middle School then onward to Wayne Hills High School where she graduated from in 1990."

References

External links

Wayne Hills High School website
*
Data for Wayne Hills High School

{{Authority control Wayne, New Jersey 1966 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1966 Public high schools in Passaic County, New Jersey