Passaic Valley Regional High School

Passaic Valley Regional High School District
Superintendent: Dr. Viktor Joganow
Business Administrator: Paul Gerber
Address: 100 East Main Street
Little Falls, NJ 07424
Grade Range: 7-12/9-12
School facilities: 1
Enrollment: 1,304 (as of 2009-10)[1]
Faculty (in FTEs): 100
Student–teacher ratio: 13.04
District Factor Group: DE
Web site: http://www.pvhs.k12.nj.us
Ind. Per Pupil District
Spending		 Rank
(*)		 7-12/9-12
Average		  %± vs.
Average
1 Comparative Cost $12,712 10 $13,710 -7.3%
2 Classroom Instruction 6,900 8 7,588 -9.1%
6 Support Services 1,365 5 1,987 -31.3%
8 Administrative Cost 1,567 22 1,475 6.2%
10 Operations & Maintenance 2,005 35 1,816 10.4%
13 Extracurricular Activities 867 34 749 15.8%
16 Median Teacher Salary 55,902 12 62,000
Data from NJDoE 2009 Comparative Spending Guide.[2]
*Of 7-12/9-12 districts with any number of students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=47
Passaic Valley Regional High School
Information
Type Public high school
Established 1940
Principal Ray Rotella
Grades 9–12
Color(s) Green     and white     
Athletics conference Big North Conference
Nickname Hornets

Passaic Valley Regional High School is the name of both a public high school (grades 9–12) in Little Falls, New Jersey, and the regional school district for three communities in Passaic County: Little Falls (370 students from a 2000 Census population of 10,855), Totowa (392.5 students from a population of 9,892) and Woodland Park (385 students from a population of 10,987).[3][4][5]

As of the 2009-10 school year, the district's one school had an enrollment of 1,304 students and 100 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.04.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "FG", the fourth highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[6]

The school was the 144th-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 170th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[7] The school was ranked 166th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[8]

The Passaic Valley Board of Education consists of nine members, with three members from each municipality. The board generally meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month during the school year and once a month during the summer.

Contents

Extracurricular activities

The Passaic Valley Regional High School Hornets compete in the Independence Division of the Big North Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[9] Prior to the 2010 realignment, the school had participated in the Skyline Division of the Northern Hills Conference. Passaic Valley's school colors are green and white. The school mascot, the Hornet, was derived by vote of the first class from The Green Hornet radio series popular in the 1940s.

Passaic Valley participates in "24 Hours Around the World" in which students teleconference with other nations for 24 hours.[10]

Passaic Valley also is the first high school nationwide to offer an AIDS awareness program to provide students with the knowledge to prevent the spread of the AIDS virus throughout the community.

Passaic Valley's Drama Department is an award-winning program that has gained much notoriety in the past few years. They have won awards in and out of state, and they are also a major part of the North Jersey Metro Cappies, a student critic program that helps open kids up to the world of theater journalism. They run a summer program where kids in grades 9-12 all around the NJ/NY area can come together and work on an outstanding show with other kids in the area.

Athletics

In 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, the girls Varsity Gymnastics team won the County Championships, led by Coach Jenai Agosta along with Captains Alexis Arena, Dominique Brown, and Alison Fischbach. With the addition of freshman Jessica Burden in 2010, capturing a fourth consecutive Passaic County Championships.[11] No other team in the 24 years of county championships has won the championship in four consecutive seasons.[12]

In 2007 and 2008 the girls Varsity Gymnastics team won back to back League Championships and finished second in the North 1 Section.

Alexis (Missy) Arena continues to hold the gymnastics all time state record for All Around (AA) scoring a 37.95 in 2009. Arena's score breaks the previous mark of 37.325 by Passaic Valley's own Jackie Friscia in 2006. The meet dates to 1986. Arena also holds the 2010 New Jersey State beam Champion title with a 9.475, she placed third on vault with a 9.575 and fifth in the all-around with a 37.25.[13]

On March 6, 2007, the boys' basketball team won the North I, Group III state championship, defeating Wayne Valley High School by 60-48, in a game played at Passaic County Technical Institute. The win was their first ever sectional championship in school history and came in Head Coach Rob Carcich's third season. The Hornets also advanced to the NJSIAA State Championship Game held at the RAC at Rutgers University[14][15] The boys basketball team returned to the sectional final in 2011, this time losing to Teaneck High School on March 8, 2011.[16] The team has a record of 108-51 in the past six seasons.

On April 28, 2007, George Abyad won the Penn Relays discus championship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.[17]

In 2006, the football team beat Wayne Valley High School once in the regular season and once in the playoffs, making it to the semi-finals before losing to defending North 1 Group 3 champions, Wayne Hills High School in the semifinal round.[18] Under first year coach Al Capello, the Hornets made it to the Group 3 Section 2 State Championship at Giants Stadium on December 4, 2009, losing to West Morris Mendham High School by a score of 28-19.[19] The football team won the North I Group IV state championships in 1975, 1979, 1980 and 1986.[20]

In 2005 and 2006, the girls' field hockey team won back to back county championships led by Coach Cheryl Grande, before repeating as county champion in 2009, defeating Wayne Hills in the final game in all three championship seasons.[21]

On February 25, 2008, the boy's ice hockey team coached by Gary Steele captured their first Nardello Cup, 3-2 against River Dell Regional High School.[22]

In the 2009 spring season, senior Gerardo Valenzuela of the Boys' Tennis team won the County Championship at 2nd Singles.

In the 2009 spring season, the Boy's Volleyball team won the County Championship.

In Fall 2009, the Marching Band won 2nd Place in the Group 2A division at the Yamaha Cup competition that was held in Giants Stadium.

On May 28, 2007, the varsity baseball team, led by Head Coach John Mazzo, won the Passaic County Championship with a 4-2 victory over Passaic County Technical Institute, the team's third title and their first since repeating in 1998 and 1999.[23] In 2010, they advanced to the Passaic County final, losing to Wayne Valley High School by a score of 5-4.[24]

Administration

Core members of the district's / school's administration are:[25][26]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ a b District information for the Passaic Valley Regional H School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed June 20, 2011.
  2. ^ Comparative Spending Guide March 2009, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 28, 2009.
  3. ^ District Information, Passaic Valley High School. Accessed March 18, 2011. "The regional district which is served by Passaic Valley High School is comprised of the communities of Little Falls, Totowa Borough and Woodland Park."
  4. ^ 2004 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, December 2004, p. 211.
  5. ^ West Paterson no more, The Record, 2008-11-05. Accessed 2008-11-05
  6. ^ NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 27, 2009.
  7. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 17, 2011.
  8. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008
  9. ^ League Memberships – 2011-2012, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 7, 2011.
  10. ^ Around the World
  11. ^ Staff. "NJ Gymnastics: Missy Arena leads Passaic Valley to Passaic County Championships title", The Star-Ledger, November 1, 2010. Accessed June 20, 2011. "Senior Missy Arena posted first-place scores on vault (9.375) and beam (9.0.) and Dominique Brown, Jessica Burden and Ali Fischbach delivered timely performances as Passaic Valley amassed 103.75 points to capture its fourth consecutive Passaic County Championships title Monday in West Milford."
  12. ^ Passaic County Gymnastics History, Passaic County Gymnastics Association. Accessed June 20, 2011.
  13. ^ Smith, Kate. "NJ Gymnastics: Missy Arena of Passaic Valley wins state beam title", The Star-Ledger, November 13, 2010. Accessed June 20, 2011. "Although Arena was one of the earlier competitors on beam, her score of 9.475 held up, earning her the state balance beam title Saturday at the NJSIAA/The Star-Ledger individual finals at Montgomery."
  14. ^ Zagoria, Adam. Castro, Hornets down Valley, win first sectional crown, Herald News, March 7, 2007.
  15. ^ 2007 Boys Basketball - North I, Group III, NJSIAA. Accessed March 7, 2007.
  16. ^ Idec, Keith. "Teaneck defeats Passaic Valley for North 1, Group 3 title", The Record (Bergen County), March 9, 2011. Accessed June 20, 2011. "Members of the Teaneck boys basketball team didn’t do much smiling and jumping around after winning the North 1, Group 3 title Tuesday night. They weren’t overconfident or disrespectful to Passaic Valley, the team the Highwaymen defeated, 64-40, to capture Teaneck’s second sectional title in three years."
  17. ^ 304 HSB Discus Throw Championship, Penn Relays. Accessed June 9, 2007.
  18. ^ NJSIAA 2006 Football - North I, Group III, accessed December 6, 2006.
  19. ^ Hague, Jim. "WEST MORRIS CAPTURES FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: North 2, Group III Championship", Daily Record (Morristown), December 4, 2009. Accessed June 20, 2011. "Burton carried the ball 16 times for 158 yards and scored a touchdown, returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and threw a 47-yard touchdown pass, leading West Morris to a 28-19 victory over Passaic Valley in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group III championship game at Giants Stadium."
  20. ^ Goldberg, Jeff. N.J.S.I.A.A. FOOTBALL PLAYOFF CHAMPIONS, NJSIAA. Accessed November 7, 2011.
  21. ^ Staff. "Passaic Valley's Grande hits milestone", Wayne Today, October 29, 2009. Accessed June 20, 2011. "Grande's first County title came in 2005 with a thrilling 3-2 win, on strokes, over Wayne Hills. The following year, the Hornets repeated as County champions by winning another close game against Wayne Hills. After failing to reach the finals in 2007 and 2008, Passaic Valley made a spirited run in this year's tournament. Coming from the fourth seed, the team defeated fifth seeded West Milford, and then stunned the two-time defending champion, Pompton Lakes, in the semifinals before stopping an undefeated Wayne Hills club in the final."
  22. ^ Vasquez, Andy. "Goal-oriented victory -- Passaic Valley holds off River Dell to capture title", The Record (Bergen County), February 26, 2008. Accessed June 20, 2011. "It was more nerve-wracking than dominating, but the Passaic Valley hockey team captured it's first Nardello Cup title Monday night. The No. 1 seeded Hornets beat River Dell, 3-2, in a close game at South Mountain Arena that wasn't decided until, literally, the final second."
  23. ^ Baseball Tournament History, Passaic County Coaches Association. Accessed June 20, 2011.
  24. ^ Idec, Keith. "Wayne Valley rallies to win Passaic County Tournament", The Record (Bergen County), May 31, 2010. Accessed June 20, 2011. "The junior center fielder crushed a solo homer over the short porch in right field in the top of the sixth, before blasting an even longer two-run shot in the seventh to lead fifth-seeded Wayne Valley to a 5-4 victory over second-seeded Passaic Valley in the Passaic County Tournament final."
  25. ^ Directory, Passaic Valley High School. Accessed June 20, 2011.
  26. ^ Passaic County School Directory, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 5, 2009.
  27. ^ Behrens, David. "THE ART OF WONDER / From performing death-defying stunts to launching readers of his new book on an old-fashioned treasure hunt, David Blaine delights in surprises", Newsday, November 7, 2002. Accessed September 18, 2007. "Later, they moved to New Jersey, where he attended Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls."
  28. ^ Sharkey, Joe. "Their Son, the Writer, Finally Tells All", The New York Times, June 2, 1996. Accessed April 10, 2008. "At Passaic Valley High School, he was undoubtedly the only boy nicknamed Phyllis, and probably the only one with his own Cuisinart."
  29. ^ "Arrests shine spotlight on an unknown crime fighter". The Star-Ledger. 2009-08-02. http://www.nj.com/newark/index.ssf/2009/08/arrests_shine_spotlight_on_an.html. Retrieved 2009-08-03. 

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