Park Ridge High School

Infobox_School
name = Park Ridge High School


imagesize =
motto =
established =
grades = 7 - 12
district = Park Ridge Public Schools
type = Public high school
principal = Partricia Bucci
viceprincipal = Mark Cosgrove
enrollment = 560 (as of 2005-06)
faculty = 49.6 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 11.3
teamname = Owls
conference = Bergen County Scholastic League
colors =
publication =
location = 2 Park Avenue
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
information = 201-573-6000
website = [http://www.parkridge.k12.nj.us/ 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, 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 is a small, co-educational school consisting of class sizes from 80 to 130 students. The building itself 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 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 560 students and 49.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 11.3. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3412450&ID=341245000710 Park Ridge High School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 15, 2007.]

Academic achievement

The school was the 31st-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in "New Jersey Monthly" magazine's September 2008 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools". The school was ranked 40th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. [ [http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"] , "New Jersey Monthly", September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.]

Park Ridge is highly acclaimed as one of the top public schools in Bergen County, and offers several Advanced Placement Program (AP)classes, run by the College Board. Average SAT scores for the class of 2006 were 542 for the math section, 532 for verbal and 524 on the essay component, compared to statewide averages of 516, 494 and 493 respectively. [ [http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc06/dataselect.php?c=03;d=3940;s=050;lt=CD;st=CD&datasection=all 2005-06 School Report Card for Park Ridge High School ] , new Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 7, 2007.]

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 the Bergen County Scholastic League Olympic athletic conference. The school runs a combined wrestling team with Emerson Jr./Sr. High School. 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. [ [http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=246050&tclass=North%20I%2C%20Group%20I 2007 Girls Soccer - North I, Group I] , NJSIAA. Accessed November 15, 2007.] [Bondy, Stefan. [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjE5MzU0 "Park Ridge tough on Cards"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", November 9, 2007. Accessed November 15, 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."]

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are: [ [http://www.parkridge.k12.nj.us/HSPrincipal/administration.htm Administration] , Park Ridge High School. Accessed September 4, 2008.]
*Principal - Mike Kehrli
*Assistant Principal - Lisa Sileo

Noted alumni

*Jedh Colby Barker (1945-1967), awarded the Medal of Honor. [Dawkins, Walter. [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0MzUmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcyMDA0NTQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz "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."]
*Karen Duffy (born 1961), model, television personality, and actress.Fact|date=August 2008
*James Gandolfini (born 1961), star of the HBO TV show, "The Sopranos". [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001254/bio Biography for James Gandolfini] from the Internet Movie Database. Accessed December 9, 2006.]
*The Roches, folk singers

References

External links

* [http://www.parkridge.k12.nj.us/ Park Ridge Public Schools]
*NJReportCard|03|3940|0|Park Ridge Public Schools
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3412450 Data for the Park Ridge Public Schools] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://www.parkridge.k12.nj.us/ebrook/default.htm East Brook Elementary School]
* [http://www.parkridge.k12.nj.us/wridge/School/wrDefault.htm West Ridge Elementary School]