Park Ridge High School

Park Ridge High School
Location
2 Park Avenue
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
Information
Type Public high school / middle school
School district Park Ridge Public Schools
Principal Troy Lederman
Vice principal Mark Cosgrove
Faculty 44 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades 7 - 12
Enrollment 587 (as of 2009-10)[1]
Student to teacher ratio 13.34[1]
Color(s) Maroon/White          
Athletics conference North Jersey Interscholastic Conference
Team name Owls
Website School website

Park Ridge High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school with an integrated two-year middle school located in the borough of Park Ridge in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Park Ridge Public Schools. The school is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education. The school hosts students in grades 7-12, and 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 the town of Park Ridge, along with East Brook Elementary School and West Ridge Elementary School, which 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 "Popcert," "Mini-Pop," and a variety of other arts showcases, including seasonal theatrical productions. The A-wing branches off into two spacious gymnasiums through its lower floor.

As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 587 students and 44 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.34.[1]

Contents

Academic achievement

The school was the 18th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 31st in 2008 out of 316 schools.[2] The school was ranked 40th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[3]

Park Ridge offers several Advanced Placement (AP) classes, run by the College Board. Average SAT scores for the class of 2010 were 558 for the math section, 527 for verbal and 548 on the essay component, compared to statewide averages of 520, 496 and 499 respectively.[4]

Athletics

Under the nickname Owls, Park Ridge High School boasts a rich tradition of athletics. The school hosts several sports in statewide competition, including football, soccer, track and field, basketball, baseball, and several others. 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.

Park Ridge High School competes in Patriot Division B of the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference (NJIC), following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[5][6] Prior to realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Park Ridge was a member of the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL). The school runs a combined wrestling team with Emerson Jr./Sr. High School.[7] Park Ridge/Emerson wrestling coach Stan Woods set a New Jersey record with his 602nd win in 2011 in a meet against Nutley High School.[8] Park Ridge has done very well athletically in past years, especially with girls' sports, wrestling, and the track & field program.

In 2006, Park Ridge Boy's Spring Track went undefeated on their way to a BCSL Olympic Championship, their first in 30 years. The Girl's team lost only once, and also proceeded to win a Championship.

In 2007, the girls soccer team won the North I, Group I state sectional championship with a 2-0 win over Pompton Lakes High School in the tournament final, marking the first sectional title in team history.[9][10]

In 2009, the boys winter track team won the very first State Sectional meet.

The Boys baseball team won the 2009 Group I NJSIAA 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 High School in the championship game.[11]

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:[12]

Noted alumni

References

  1. ^ a b c d Park Ridge High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed June 24, 2011.
  2. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed April 11, 2011.
  3. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  4. ^ 2010 School Report Card for Park Ridge High School, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 11, 2011.
  5. ^ League Memberships – 2010-2011, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 25, 2011.
  6. ^ Home page, North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. Accessed August 23, 2011.
  7. ^ Cooper, Darren. "Cooper: Emerson/Park Ridge wrestling coach Stan Woods closes in on state wins record", The Record (Bergen County), February 1, 2011. Accessed July 25, 2011. "At age 71, the head wrestling coach at Emerson – now Emerson/Park Ridge – since 1967, Woods is about to become the winningest wrestling coach in New Jersey history. He has 599 wins; Ralph Ross, formerly of Highland Regional, holds the record with 601."
  8. ^ Fenwick, Alexandra. "Faces In The Crowd",Sports Illustrated, April 18, 2011. Accessed July 25, 2011. "Stan Woods EMERSON, N.J. > Wrestling: Woods, 71, broke the alltime New Jersey high school wrestling wins record with his 602nd career team victory in February, when his Emerson--Park Ridge High team defeated Nutley High 52--25. Woods began his career at Randolph High in 1964 and joined the Emerson program in '67. His teams have won 31 league titles, 10 county titles and eight sectional titles."
  9. ^ 2007 Girls Soccer - North I, Group I, NJSIAA. Accessed November 15, 2007.
  10. ^ Bondy, Stefan. "Park Ridge tough on Cards" The Record (Bergen County), November 9, 2007. "The victory represented Park Ridge's first-ever sectional title, according to Schneider, and highlighted a playoff run that included impressive victories over Midland Park and Belvidere."
  11. ^ 2009 Baseball Tournament - Public Semis/Finals, NJSIAA. Accessed September 25, 2009.
  12. ^ Administration, Park Ridge High School. Accessed April 11, 2011.
  13. ^ Dawkins, Walter. "Park Ridge service keeps a hero's memory alive", The Record (Bergen County), September 27, 2007. Accessed October 7, 2007. "He was also an outstanding athlete -- captain of the high school football and baseball teams and a member of the basketball and track teams."
  14. ^ a b Lauro, Patricia Winters. "COMMUNITIES; A Mob Town, And Proud of It", The New York Times, November 24, 2002. Accessed January 31, 2011. "For a tiny town, Park Ridge has its share of famous people. Karen Duffy, a model, MTV vee-jay and author of 'Model Patient: My Life as an Incurable Wiseass' (HarperCollins, $24), was raised in the borough and graduated in 1979 with Mr. Gandolfini."

External links

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