Ridge High School

Ridge High School
Location
268 South Finley Avenue
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Information
Type Public high school
Established 1961
School district Bernards Township School District
Principal Francis T. Howlett, Jr.
Asst. Principal Gina Donlevie
Scott Thompson
Thomas Thorp
Kathleen Dusebout
Faculty 110 (on FTE basis)[1]
Enrollment 1,721 (as of 2009-10)[1]
Student to teacher ratio 15.65[1]
Color(s) Green/White
Athletics conference Skyland Conference
Nickname Red Devils
Website School website

Ridge High School is a four-year public high school serving students from Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Bernards Township School District. Ridge High School opened in September 1961, ending a relationship under which students from the district had been sent to Bernardsville High School dating back to 1948.[2]

As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,721 students and 110 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.65.[1]

Ridge High School was the 12th best public high school in 2010 as rated by the New Jersey Monthly magazine, and was the 194th best high school in the United States as rated by Newsweek, being the top-rated comprehensive high school in New Jersey, beating out other high schools rated higher on the New Jersey Monthly magazine.

Contents

Awards and recognition

During the 1986-87 school year, Ridge High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[3] the highest award an American school can receive.[4][5] During the 2009-10 school year, Ridge High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence for a second time.[6]

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 3rd in New Jersey and 220th nationwide.[7] Ridge High School was ranked 194th, the second-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools.[8] The school was ranked 175th in Newsweek's 2009 ranking of the top 1,500 high schools in the United States and was the third-ranked school in New Jersey, with 3.132 AP tests taken in 2008 per graduating senior and 50% of all graduating seniors passing at least one AP exam; The school was ranked 136th nationwide in 2008.[9] The school was listed in 98th place, the second-highest ranked school in New Jersey in Newsweek''s 2007 list of the Top 1,200 Public High Schools in the United States.[10] The school was listed in 116th place, the second-highest ranked school in New Jersey, in the 2006 issue.[11] Ridge High School was ranked as Number 91 in Newsweek's 2005 survey, third-highest in the state for that year.[12]

The school was the 12th-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 24th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[13] Before that, the school was ranked 11th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[14]

Athletics

Sports offered at Ridge include; volleyball, baseball, hockey, football, fencing, basketball, cross country, soccer, gymnastics, cheerleading, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, ski racing, softball, swimming, tennis, track, and wrestling.

Ridge High School competes in the Skyland Conference, which includes public and parochial high schools covering Hunterdon County, Somerset County and Warren County in Central Jersey. The conference operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).

An undefeated 2003 season led the girls' soccer team to take the #3 national ranking with a 22-0 record. The girls soccer team won the Group III state championship in 2003 with a 3-0 win over Colts Neck High School and the Group II title in 1996 over West Morris Mendham High School.[15][16]

In 2007, the girls' cross country team finished #3 in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, and finished #6 in the Northeast Nike Team Regional Championships.[17] The next year, the team finished #2 in the Meet of Champions and won the Section 2 Group 4 Championships and the Group 4 Championships. In 2009, the team got 6th place in the Meet of Champions; in 2010, they took home fourth, and in 2011 they placed 6th in both the Meet of Champions and the Nike Northeast Regional Qualifier. [18][19]

The boy's cross country team finished #4 in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in 2006. The stellar team finished #6 in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in 2010.[20]

The ice hockey varsity team participated in the Public division A state championship in 2008, winning 5-0 over Watchung Hills Regional High School.[21]

The boy's varsity ski team won the 2009 New Jersey Interscholastic Ski Racing Association (NJISRA) overall State Championship.[22]

Extracurricular activities

Ridge has a speech and debate team which has had members rank high in national competitions. They won the New Jersey state tournament each of eleven years from 2001 to 2011.[23][24]

The school's Marching Band program has won competitions, including as high as 2nd Place at the USSBA Northern States Championships in 2005 and 2009, 3rd Place in 2008, and 4th place in 2007. On October 2, 2010, the band went to the 2010 Yamaha Cup at the New Meadowlands Stadium and came in first place.[25][26]

Notable alumni

Administration

The members of the school's administration are:[32]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Ridge High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  2. ^ History, Ridge High School. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  3. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
  4. ^ "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."
  5. ^ 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."
  6. ^ 2009 Blue Ribbon Schools: All Public and Private Schools, United States Department of Education. Accessed October 29, 2009.
  7. ^ Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Ridge High School", The Washington Post. Accessed July 22, 2011.
  8. ^ Staff. "America's Best High Schools: The List", Newsweek, June 13, 2010. Accessed March 23, 2011.
  9. ^ Staff. "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,500 top U.S. high schools", Newsweek, June 8, 2009. Accessed June 10, 2009.
  10. ^ The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools, Newsweek May 22, 2007
  11. ^ The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools, Newsweek May 8, 2006
  12. ^ "America's Best High Schools", Newsweek, August 5, 2005.
  13. ^ Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 11, 2011.
  14. ^ "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  15. ^ Sebastian, Freddy. "State Champs", Courier-News, November 23, 2003. Accessed June 22, 2011. "It was appropriate that the Ridge High School girls soccer team ended its perfect 22-0 season the way it had hoped Saturday, with a 4-1 rout of Colts Neck, in the Group III championship at The College of New Jersey."
  16. ^ History of NJSIAA Girls Soccer, NJSIAA. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  17. ^ 2007 NIKE TEAM REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - NEW YORK & NORTHEAST, November 24, 2007. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  18. ^ 2008 NJSIAA/The Star-Ledger/M-F Athletic - Boys and Girls State Group Championships: Group IV Girls, November 16, 2008. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  19. ^ Cross Country State Group Team Champions, NJSIAA. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  20. ^ "2006 NJSIAA/The Star-Ledger Boys and Girls State Cross-Country Championships", Morris County Track Association, November 18, 2006. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  21. ^ Staff. "Ridge takes 2008 Public A State title over Watchung Hills", New Jersey Devils, March 22, 2008, backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 26, 2008. Accessed June 22, 2011. "One season after stumbling in the semifinals of the NJSIAA tournament, the Red Devils got 22 saves from Bill Higley for a 5-0 shutout win over the Watchung Hills Warriors in their 2008 Public A High School Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday."
  22. ^ Staff. "Carroll sparks Ridge to boys' team title; Vernon girls' have Merritt (High school Boys Skiing news)", The Star-Ledger, February 28, 2009. Accessed July 22, 2011. "Ridge, behind Carroll and fellow seniors Merritt Branch, Chris Samuels, Spud Faison and James Needell, captured its first overall team title in a combined 9:20.38 at the New Jersey Interscholastic Ski Racing Association championships at Hidden Valley yesterday in Vernon."
  23. ^ 2005 National Results, National Forensic League. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  24. ^ Sadlouskos, Linda. "School Board Recognizes 2010-11 Forensics Team: Forensics Team, state champions for 10th year in a row, are honored at Monday Board of Education meeting.", BaskingRidgePatch, June 21, 2011. Accessed June 22, 2011. "The Ridge Forensics Team, an interscholastic speech and debate team, captured its tenth consecutive State Championship team title this past spring at the 2011 New Jersey Forensic League Championships."
  25. ^ Competition Results, Ridge Marching Band.
  26. ^ Staff. "Ridge Marching Band Wins Yamaha Cup Competition at Meadowlands", BaskingRidgePatch, October 7, 2010. Accessed June 22, 2011. "The Ridge High School marching band placed first for a second time this season Saturday by capturing the Yamaha Cup Group 2A competition, an event featuring 50 bands at Meadowlands Stadium."
  27. ^ "About Chris". Daggett for Governor. http://northwoodsadvertising.com/wordpress/?page_id=2. Retrieved 2009-09-02. "I graduated from Ridge High School in 1968, where I was active in sports (basketball and tennis) and was elected president of the student body." 
  28. ^ Birkby, Robert. Mountain Madness: Scott Fischer, Mount Everest & a Life Lived on High , Citadel Press, 2009. ISBN 0806528761, p. 21. Accessed February 11, 2011. "Scott liked school and developed an interest in theater, taking part in The Crucible and appearing on the stage at Ridge High School dressed as a Puritan."
  29. ^ Jarryd Goldberg, Boston College Eagles. accessed February 11, 2011. "Earned All-State, All-Area and All-Conference honors as a senior midfielder at Ridge High School"
  30. ^ Mueller, Mark. "Families savor a great day for 'the Jersey girls'", The Star-Ledger, August 22, 2008. Accessed February 11, 2011. "Heath's family could not be reached yesterday, but Todd Hebden, who coached her as a sophomore and junior at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, said he wasn't surprised Heath had made it to the national team and the Olympics."
  31. ^ Perry, W. Jacob. "Ridge grad loses bid for U.S. Senate seat", The Bernardsville News, December 18, 2009. Accessed February 11, 2011. "The local alumni, Steve Pagliuca, 54, who was in the Ridge High Class of 1973, placed fourth in a contest triggered by the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on Aug. 25."
  32. ^ Administration, Ridge High School. Accessed March 23, 2011.

External links

Delaware East Division
Delaware West Division
Raritan Division
Valley Division