Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan is a comprehensive four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from the suburban communities of Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Home Page, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. Accessed July 29, 2011. "Welcome to Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, home of the Golden Knights. Old Tappan is one of two high schools in the Northern Valley District. Our students reside in the towns of Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood, and Old Tappan." Students from Rockleigh attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.Rockleigh Public Services, Rockleigh, New Jersey. Accessed November 7, 2009. The school joins Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest as the two secondary schools that are part of the Northern Valley Regional High School District, which also serves students from Closter, Demarest and Haworth.Northern Valley Regional High School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 3, 2017. "Our long standing successful and cost efficient Pre-K-12 consortium remains an exemplar model of shared services including seven local Pre-K-8 districts that send their students to the regional high schools: Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan."Our Communities, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed May 31, 2016. "The seven towns that make up the Northern Valley Regional High School District - Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood, and Old Tappan - are situated in the northeast corner of Bergen County, New Jersey."
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,068 students and 102.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.4:1. There were 18 students (1.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 7 (0.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Northern Valley Regional High School At Old Tappan, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
The high school is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1965.Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed July 7, 2011.
The high school runs a preschool program for children ages three to five. Program staff includes high school students who participate in the school's child development educational programs.Teens & Tots, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. Accessed May 19, 2022.
History After voters rejected a June 1959 referendum that would have raised $3.25 million for construction of the district's second high school in Old Tappan, voters narrowly approved a trimmed-down version of the plan in January 1960 that reduced the cost to $2.9 million (equivalent to $ million in )."Which Realities Do Voters Respond To?", The Record, January 21, 1960. Accessed March 29, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Last June 30 the Northern Valley Regional High School Board of Education submitted a proposal to build a second school in Old Tappan to relieve the split-session overcrowding at the existent one in Demarest The cost was to be $3.25 million. The proposal was solidly defeated. This past Tuesday a proposal essentially the same, except that the price has been shaved to $2,869,000, carried by the slender margin of 61 votes."
The school was opened with 740 students in grades 9-11 in March 1962 to address overcrowding in the district's original school at Demarest that opened in 1955 and that had been holding split sessions until the new school opened."Regional High School Opens Without A Hitch; Duff Says Students Have No Trouble Adjusting To Old Tappan Facilities", The Record, March 21, 1962. Accessed March 29, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "'It was not quite like a September opening because then at least three classes are familiar with the building.' Principal Donald T. Duff said yesterday after the second Northern Valley Regional High School opened.... With the opening of the new school on Central Avenue, the Demarest building resumed full-day sessions for the first time since 1958. There are 742 students at the new school." At its establishment, the school served students from Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan, as well as those from the northern portion of Closter.Slocum, John W. "New Jersey; Bergen, The New York Times, September 3, 1962. Accessed March 29, 2022. "In the Northern Valley district, there will be a referendum on Oct. 18 on a $1,875,000 bond issue for extensive alterations and additions to the school in Demarest. This was opened in September, 1955 to serve seven municipalities. The rapid growth of the area forced the district to open another school, opened last March. This building, in Old Tappan, serves that borough, Northvale, Norwood, Harrington Park and the northern half of Closter."
Awards, recognition and rankings For the 1994-96 school years, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,National Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982 Through 2019 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2024. the highest award an American school can receive."CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve.""Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 29th in New Jersey and 1,051st nationwide.Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan", The Washington Post. Accessed August 4, 2011. The school was ranked 829th, the 23rd-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools.Staff. "America's Best High Schools: The List", Newsweek, June 13, 2010. Accessed March 26, 2011.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 831st in the nation among participating public high schools and 61st among schools in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools" , The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2013.
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 227th out of the 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 37th among all high schools in New Jersey and 20th among the state's non-magnet schools.Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
The school was the 55th-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 53rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 30th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed November 17, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 18th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 3, 2011. The school was ranked 25th 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 58th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (unchanged from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (90.6%) and language arts literacy (97.5%) 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 February 27, 2012.
Extracurricular activities Athletics The school offers 60 co-curricular and intramural activities as well as over 23 sports, which include participation at the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity level (46 teams). The Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan Golden KnightsNorthern Valley Regional at Old Tappan, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 21, 2017. Before the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had competed in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League.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. With 917 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 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 Freedom 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 Group III North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 700 to 884 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. There are cheerleading teams for both football and basketball. Cheerleading is both a fall and winter sport, and it includes after school gymnastic classes, competitions, and cheer camp.