Don Bosco Preparatory High School (Don Bosco Prep) is a private boys' Catholic high school for ninth through twelfth grades. Founded in 1915 as a boarding school for Polish boys, by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious community of priests and brothers, the school has a campus in Ramsey, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It operates under the supervision of the Archdiocese of Newark.McGrath, Ben. "The Jersey Game Will high-school football become a big money sport?", The New Yorker, pp. 39–53, January 2, 2012. Accessed May 4, 2015.Bergen County Catholic High Schools , Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Accessed November 12, 2016.
About from the New JerseyNew York border, the school draws students from a wide region, including Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex and Sussex Counties in New Jersey and surrounding counties in New York.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 786 and 119.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 6.6:1. The student body was 68.4% White, 12.1% Hispanic, 9.5% two or more races, 5.9% Black, and 4.1% Asian.School data for Don Bosco Preparatory High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed September 1, 2025.
History Don Bosco Prep was created in 1915 as a boarding school for boys from Poland.History, Don Bosco Preparatory High School. Accessed March 29, 2022. "Don Bosco Prep High School was founded on April 3, 1915, with the arrival of the first students, who transferred from Columbus Institute in Hawthorne, NY. The Ramsey school, initially known as Don Bosco Institute, was a college preparatory boarding school for Polish boys taught by Polish Salesian priests." From 1915 to 1973, it housed resident students on the upper floors of St. Johns Hall. Freshmen were in the center wing and upperclassmen stayed on the top floor in the north annex. During the 1960s, about 75 students, or 10%, lived on campus. Resident students attended Mass each morning and were allowed to go home each weekend starting around 1963. Before that, weekend home visits were periodic.
Accreditation Don Bosco Prep was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 1960.Don Bosco Preparatory High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 1, 2022. It is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Catholic Educational Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Honor Society, and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Athletics The Don Bosco IronmenDon Bosco Prep High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Big North Conference, which includes public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic Counties, and was established by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) after sports leagues in Northern New Jersey were reorganized.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 1,278 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public A for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 381 to 1,454 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group IV for public schools).NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. In the 2009–10 school year, the school competed in the North Jersey Tri-County Conference, which was established on an interim basis to facilitate realignment.New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed August 14, 2017. Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, which included high schools located in Bergen County, Essex County and Passaic County, and was separated into three divisions based on NJSIAA size classification.Home Page, Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, backed up by the Internet Archive as of May 9, 2009. Accessed December 16, 2014. The football team competes in the United Red 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 Non-Public Group A (equivalent to Group III/IV/V for public schools) for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 738 to 1,404 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The athletic teams are nicknamed the Ironmen and the school colors are maroon and white. In 2008 they were ranked as the number nine sports program in the nation by Sports Illustrated.Brown, David. "Jersey has unique barriers to balance", The Standard-Times (New Bedford), June 25, 2008. Accessed August 6, 2008. "Earlier this year, Sports Illustrated ranked Don Bosco the No. 9 high school sports program in the country."
The school was the Group A winner of the NJSIAA ShopRite Cup in 2006–07. The award recognized the school for achieving a tie for third in boys' soccer, first in boys' cross country, first in football, second in wrestling, second in boys' indoor track and field relays, a tie for third in baseball, second in boys' golf, a tie for third in boys' lacrosse and second in boys' track and field.Fourth Annual ShopRite Cup: 2006‐2007 Final Standings , New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 12, 2017.
Fall The school fields football, soccer and cross country teams in the fall.
Cross country The cross country team won its first New Jersey State Meets of Champions in 1992 under the leadership of Coach Tony Monks and Bill Barry and returned as Champions in 2007 and 2009.NJSIAA Boys Cross-Country Meet of Champions Winners (1972-2018), New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. The team won Non-Public A titles in four consecutive years from 2006 to 2009, and again in 2015.NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023. The Ironmen placed third at the Nike Northeast Regional Race, and placed 10th at Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Oregon in 2007. They ended Christian Brothers Academy's 11-year winning streak at the state group championships with their string of four wins, and in 2005 the freshman cross country team ended the 19-year streak of CBA in the NJCTCs.Don Bosco Prep halts CBA's streak at 11, The Star-Ledger, November 12, 2006. The squad finished sixth in the country at Nike Cross Nationals in 2008. The Ironmen were the best team not to make nationals in 2009, finishing 23rd in the country. Under the guidance of head coach Kevin Kilduff, the program was named North Jersey's "Program of the Decade" for 2000–2009.
Soccer The soccer team were state runners-up in 2009 and are a perennial competitor for the state title. In 2009, they defeated Bergen Catholic High School in the Bergen County Tournament final 3–0, behind goals from Dylan Renna, Gio Esposito and Ryan McNamara.Staff. "Don Bosco Prep 3, Bergen Catholic 0", The Star-Ledger, November 8, 2009. Accessed September 1, 2011. "Giovanni Esposito scored a first-half goal and Ryan McNamara and Dylan Renna each connected after the break to lead Don Bosco Prep, No. 3 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, to a 3-0 victory over No. 1 Bergen Catholic in the championship game of the Bergen County Tournament yesterday at Indian Hills in Oakland." The Bergen County Coaches Association named Don Bosco's Ian Joyce and Steve Franchini to its All Decade Team, but selected Ramapo High School in 2010 as its Program of the Decade, despite both teams having won five championships in the ten-year span, citing the fact that Ramapo had beaten Don Bosco three of the four times the teams had played each other in the county championship.Soccer: All Decade Team , Bergen County Coaches Association. Accessed September 1, 2011.
Football The school's football program has been a perennial contender for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Non-Public Group IV championship. The Ironmen have won 15 state championships, were declared winners in 1968, 1970 and 1973, and won playoff tournaments in Non-Public A North in 1983, 1984 and 1990, and in Non-Public Group IV in 2002, 2003, 2006–2011 and 2015.NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
The 1984 team won the Parochial A North sectional title by defeating Bergen Catholic High School by a score of 15–0 in the championship game, after having beaten Bergen Catholic 13–0 on Thanksgiving, making it the first time Bergen Catholic had been shutout in consecutive games in more than two decades.Schwartz, Paul. "Don Bosco defends Parochial title", The Record, December 2, 1984. Accessed January 10, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "With little more than a minute left in Don Bosco's 15-0 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Parochial A North championship game win over Bergen Catholic yesterday, first-year head coach Mike Zdanek stood atop the tower he was directing the Ironmen from, made a 'D' with his hands, hollered 'defense,' and thrust his fist into the air.... The Ironmen shut out Bergen Catholic for the second time in less than two weeks they beat the Crusaders, 13-0, Thanksgiving Day. It marked the first time since 1962 that Bergen Catholic had been shut out in back-to-back games."
The 1990 team finished the season with an 8–3 record after overcoming a 20-0 halftime deficit to win the Non-Public A North title with a 21–20 win against Queen of Peace High School in the championship game.Chessari, Joe. "Don Bosco rallies to down QP", The Record, December 2, 1990. Accessed December 1, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Don Bosco Prep 21, Queen of Peace 20 didn't tell the whole story. Don Bosco's come-from-behind victory in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Parochial A North final was hard for Queen of Peace to take.... Don Bosco (8-3) had its own explanations."