Jefferson Township High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Jefferson Township, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Jefferson Township Public Schools. The school is located in the Oak Ridge section of the township.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 761 students and 72.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.5:1. There were 91 students (12.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 21 (2.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Jefferson Township High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
History Before the high school opened, more than 450 students in grades 9–12 were sent out-of-district and allocated to attend Butler High School, Franklin High School, Morris Hills High School or Randolph High School."Township High School Students Split Four Ways", The News, August 25, 1962. Accessed April 7, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Jefferson Township high school students will attend four different institutions when school opens on September 5... The high school pupils will be sent to Randolph Township High School, Morris Hills Regional, Franklin or Butler High School. Their school will be determined by a pre-arranged quota set up by the school.... At present the township's three schools must accommodate 1,002 youngsters and 475 will attend out of town classes." With the receiving schools no longer able to accommodate township students, the district initiated work on a facility that would cost $2.4 million (equivalent to $ million in )."Break Ground for Jefferson HS", Herald-News, July 22, 1963. Accessed April 7, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Ground was broken Saturday for the $2,454,000 Jefferson Township High School. The 43-room structure will be constructed on Weldon Road, Oak Ridge, and is planned to alleviate the inability of receiving districts to receive township students." The school opened in September 1964."Jefferson's New High School", Herald News, August 19, 1964. Accessed April 7, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "This is Jefferson Townships new high school, a low-slung building that covers a wide expanse of ground near the center of the township. Due to open next month, it will allow students to attend high school classes in their own township for the first time."
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 121st-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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 211th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 158th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 1, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 167th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 24, 2011. The school was ranked 152nd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 186th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 31 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the two components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), mathematics (79.2%) and language arts literacy (93.0%).School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2003-11 HSPA results, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 8, 2012. in 2024 the environmental science program won the Governor's Environmental Excellence Award for environmental education
Athletics The Jefferson Township High School FalconsJefferson Township High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 10, 2015. compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, a high school athletic conference comprised of schools in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, that was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).Home Page, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. Accessed August 27, 2020. "The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference prides itself on being one of New Jersey's premier high school conferences and is comprised of 39 high schools located in Northwest New Jersey."League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had competed in the Sussex County Interscholastic League, which was primarily based in Sussex County with some schools in Morris County.Home Page, Sussex County Interscholastic League, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 4, 2012. Accessed November 25, 2014. With 706 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the Patriot Blue division of the 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.Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions." The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The school participates with Sparta High School in a joint ice hockey team in which Kinnelon High School is the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
The boys' cross country running team won the Group I state championship in 1975 and won the Group II title in 1996.NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
The football team won the NJSIAA North II Group II state sectional championships in 1986 and 1987, and the North I Group II title in 2008.NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022. The 1986 team finished the season with an 11–0 record after winning the North II Group II state title with a 26–14 defeat of Dover High School in the championship game.Mills, Ed. "Jefferson wins first state title; Bencivengo gains 138 yards", Daily Record, December 7, 1986. Accessed February 5, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The durable and resilient Falcons refused to give in to the constant Dover attack, and they recorded a 26-14 victory over the Tigers in the North Jersey Section 2, Group II state championship game. This postseason was the first year Jefferson has ever appeared in the state playoffs. Yesterday marked its first-ever state championship. Jefferson, the regular season Sussex County Interscholastic League champions, finished the season with a perfect 11-0 record, the first undefeated football team in Falcons history." In 2008, the team defeated Dover by a score of 28–14 to win the North II Group II state championship."Football", New York Daily News, December 10, 1986. Accessed December 31, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Jefferson Township RB Mike Bencivengo (26 carries, 103 yards) won the state scoring title (184 points) with 3 TDs in Jefferson's 28-14 win over Dover in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 championship." The team won the 2008 North I, Group II state championship, defeating West Essex High School by a score of 21–6.2008 Football - North I, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 21, 2008.Geramita, Jon. "Jubilation in Jefferson", New Jersey Herald, December 5, 2008, updated January 23, 2009. Accessed December 16, 2020. "Jefferson won its first North I, Group II sectional title in 21 years Friday night, physically dominating top-seeded West Essex, 21-6, at Rutgers Stadium."
In the 2021 season, the Jefferson Township High School football team won the NJSIAA North II Group II sectional championship with a 28–7 victory over Rutherford High School during the playoffs.
The girls' track team won the Group II state indoor relay championship in 1990.History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships , New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
The boys' wrestling team won the North II Group II state sectional title in 1991-1996 and 2000, together with three consecutive Group II state titles from 1992 to 1994.Boys Wrestling Championship History 1934–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated October 2024. Accessed November 1, 2025. The team won the program's third consecutive Group II state title in 1994 with a 45–14 win against Buena Regional High School.Latham, Don. "Buena Falls Short in Bid for State Team Wrestling Title", The Press of Atlantic City, February 20, 1994. Accessed July 26, 2012. "If there were any doubts as to which is the best group II wrestling team in the state, Jefferson Township High School eliminated them on Saturday. Jefferson (Morris County) put on an outstanding display and beat Buena Regional 44-15 to win its third consecutive Group II State title Saturday at Kittatinny Regional High School." The team held the #1 ranking in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings during the 1993 season.Brinkley, Robin. "4 OF Natin's Top 8 Teams to Compete in Virginia Duals", Virginian-Pilot, December 10, 1992. Accessed July 26, 2012. "Four of the top eight teams in USA Today's Preseason Super 25, including No. 1 Jefferson Township of Oak Ridge, N.J., and No. 2 Great Bridge, have accepted invitations to the 13th annual Virginia Duals on Jan. 8-9 at Hampton Coliseum."