Park Ridge High School is a six-year comprehensive community public high school with an integrated two-year middle school located in the borough of Park Ridge in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in seventh through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Park Ridge Public Schools. The school is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education. 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 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. Accessed December 15, 2024.
Park Ridge offers several Advanced Placement (AP) classes, run by the College Board. Average SAT 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 College Board research shows to be indicative of college success, vs. 44.6% statewide.2013-14 School Performance Reports for Park Ridge High School, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 28, 2015.
History A previous high school building completed in 1900 burnt to the ground in June 1920.3. Park Ridge High School (2 Park Ave), Pascack Historical Society. Accessed August 19, 2020. "The Park Ridge High School you see today is very different than the one seen in the 1800s, having gone through a number of modifications and reconstructions. In 1900 the town celebrated as its gorgeous, large brick high school opened its doors and welcomed its excited students. The town was dealt a cruel blow when its beloved high school burned to the ground on June 20th 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 in 1955, students from Hillsdale, Montvale and Woodcliff Lake had attended Park Ridge High School as part of sending/receiving relationships.Beuscher, Kristin. "This Week In Local History: A New School at Park Ridge", Pascack Press, October 22, 2019. Accessed August 19, 2020. "Opened in September 1922, the school housed students of Park Ridge, Montvale, Woodcliff Lake and Hillsdale until Pascack Valley Regional High School opened in 1955."
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 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 14th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 18th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 2, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 31st in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed April 11, 2011. The school was ranked 40th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 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 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 (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 6, 2012.
Athletics Park Ridge High School OwlsPark Ridge High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. 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, Morris and Passaic counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).Mattura, Greg. "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship", The Record, January 9, 2017. Accessed August 30, 2020. "The small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference may debut its own boys basketball tournament this season, one season after introducing its girls hoops championship. The NJIC is comprised of schools from Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties and the event offered to the 36 boys teams would serve as an alternative to likely competing against larger programs in a county tournament."Member Schools, North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. Accessed August 30, 2020.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. 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).League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed November 23, 2014. 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.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 254 to 474 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
Park Ridge High School hosts several sports in statewide competition, including football, soccer, track and field, basketball, 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.NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.NJSIAA Spring Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
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.NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.Ruskie, Mark. "Don Bosco, Park Ridge Capture State Titles; Group 1 Crown Taken By Owls Schmidt's Goal With 16 Seconds Left Sinks Williamstown, 64 To 62", The Record, March 19, 1978. Accessed January 31, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Park Ridge ran the gamut of emotions in the final minute of Saturday night's Group 1 State championship game, but when it was all over the Owls had their first State title. What made the Owls' 64-62 final-round victory over Williamstown even sweeter was that they did it by coming from behind in the final min ute after playing the final 4 minutes without the services of leading scorer Matt Mandic.... The Owls closed out the season with a 23-2 mark, bowing in only the opening and closing games of the regular-season campaign."
The boys cross country running team won the Group I state championship in 1973.NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. 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, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, 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.Schwartz, Paul. "Lacey fans 19 in 1-0 victory; Park Ridge wins in 13th", The Record, June 12, 1977. Accessed January 8, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Bob Kolb didn't talk to Jerry Lacey, but he had something to say to Ted Geer in the 13th inning yesterday. As a result, Park Ridge is the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 1 champion with a 1-0 win over Florence Township." 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.2009 Baseball Tournament - Public Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 25, 2009.