Paramus High School is an American four-year
comprehensive public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
, located in
Paramus
Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...
, in
Bergen County
Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...]
, United States, serving students in
ninth
In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second.
Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
through
twelfth grade
Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...
s as the lone secondary school of the
Paramus Public Schools
The Paramus Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from Paramus, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.
As of the 2019–20 school year, the district ...
. The school has been accredited by the
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...
Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 2006.
As of the 2020–21 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,191 students and 106.9 classroom teachers (on an
FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio
Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...
of 11.1:1. There were 58 students (4.9% of enrollment) eligible for
free lunch
A free lunch is the providing of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. It was once a common tradition in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with th ...
and 18 (1.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
[School data for Paramus High School]
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...
. Accessed February 15, 2022.
Paramus High School offers a wide range of course offerings to its students, including
Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...
courses available in 26 subjects.
History
Historically, Paramus shared many municipal services with the township of
Rochelle Park, including schooling. In 1922, the school situation was the hot topic of discussion. Residents felt that the schools were too far away and wanted to make sure that their children were safe when they went to school. It was because of this that Paramus decided to become a borough of its own, and it built the high school on Spring Valley Road in 1957. The school's 50th anniversary was celebrated in 2007.
Awards, recognition and rankings
For the 1988–89 school year, Paramus High School was awarded the
National Blue Ribbon School
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...
Award of Excellence by the
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
, the highest award an American school can receive.
The school was the 57th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in ''
New Jersey Monthly
''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey. The magazine was started in 1976. It is based in Morristown. In addition to articles of general interest, the publication fe ...
'' magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 111th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 98th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 77th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 45th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.
Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 124th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 44 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (83.3%) and language arts literacy (97.0%) components of the
High School Proficiency Assessment
The High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA, pronounced "hess-pah" (/ˈhɛspə/) or sometimes just "H-S-P-A") was a standardized test that was administered by the New Jersey Department of Education to all New Jersey public high school students in ...
(HSPA).
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', the school was ranked 50th in New Jersey and 1,527th nationwide.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' ranked the school 705th in the nation among participating public high schools and 54th among schools in New Jersey.
Athletics
The Paramus High School Spartans
[Paramus High School]
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.
State championsh ...
. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the
Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and
Passaic
Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...
counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.
State championsh ...
. The school had participated in the
North Jersey Tri-County Conference The North Jersey Tri-County Conference was a high school athletic conference in New Jersey, created by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) as a holding conference. The NJTCC consisted of 45 public and non-public school ...
in 2009–10. Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in Division A of the
Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League The Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, abbreviated NNJIL, was a former athletic conference located in Bergen County, Passaic County and Essex County, New Jersey. The NNJIL was separated into three divisions, according to the classificatio ...
, which included high schools located in Bergen,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
and Passaic counties, and was separated into three divisions based on NJSIAA size classification. With 894 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. The football team competes in the Patriot Red division of the
North Jersey Super Football Conference The North Jersey Super Football Conference is a football-only athletic league of high schools in New Jersey. The 115-team league was formed in 2016.
History
The NJSFC consists of nearly all of the football playing members of four conferences that w ...
, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III North for football for 2018–2020.
The school participates as the host school / lead agency in a joint ice hockey team with
Hackensack High School and
Lyndhurst High School. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.
The Paramus High School sports program has had much success over the years, most notably in baseball, volleyball, and wrestling. The ice hockey team ended a 12-year drought with a league title, league championship, and also a holiday tournament championship in the 2011–12 season.
The baseball program has won more than 800 games since its inception in 1960, which includes four state championships, a county championship, and 13 league championships. Many players have gone on to graduate and continue to play baseball at the collegiate level, several of which played at the NCAA Division 1 level or professionally. Former head coach Joe Cervino, who managed the team for 30 seasons from 1982 to 2011, was one of the most successful coaches in Bergen County history, one of only four coaches to win more than 500 games.
The boys track team won the Group IV spring track state championship in 1965.
The girls' volleyball team has won seven state championships, winning the Division A title in 1981 against
Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan
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 Berge ...
, taking the Group IV title in 1982 against
Hackensack High School, and earning Group III titles in 1988 (vs.
Ramsey High School), 1989 (vs. Old Tappan), 1994 (vs.
River Dell Regional High School
River Dell High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school, part of the River Dell Regional School District, which is shared with the neighboring communities of Oradell and River Edge in Bergen County, New Jersey, Unite ...
), 1995 (vs.
Lakeland Regional High School
Lakeland Regional High School is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school and school district serving students from the Boroughs of Ringwood and Wanaque (including its Haskell neighborhood), communities in Passaic County, New ...
) and 2005 (vs.
Ramapo High School). The program's seven state titles are tied for eighth in the state. The 1981 team won the inaugural NJSIAA state title, winning the Group III-IV championship in two games (15–8 and 15–11) against finals opponent Northern Valley / Old Tappan. The 1982 team won the Group IV state title against Hackensack in two games (15-6 and 15–12). The 1994 girls' volleyball team finished the season with a record of 22–2, winning the league and Group III state title, but lost to
Paramus Catholic High School
Paramus Catholic High School is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school located in Paramus in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school, founded in 1965, under Archbishop Thomas A. Boland, and Superintendent of Schools, Mon ...
in the Bergen County tournament. The 1995 team won the Group III title for a second consecutive year, and took the Bergen County title with a win over Paramus Catholic. The team won the
Tournament of Champions in 2005, defeating
Secaucus High School
Secaucus High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Secaucus, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Secaucus Board o ...
in the tournament finals with a two-game sweep by scores of 25-22 and 25–23.
The wrestling team won the North I Group IV state sectional championship in 1982, 1985, 1998 and 1999, and won the North I Group III title in 1993, 2012, 2015 and 2016.
The ice hockey team won the Handchen Cup in 2000 with a 6–4 win against
Brick Memorial High School
Brick Memorial High School (also known as Brick Township Memorial High School) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Brick Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, oper ...
in the championship game at the
South Mountain Arena.
Administration
The school's principal is Raymond Kiem. His core administration team includes two assistant principals.
Notable alumni
Notable Paramus High school alumni include:
*
Joe Benigno
Joseph S. Benigno (born September 26, 1953) is an American sports radio personality. He was a co-host of the ''Joe & Evan'' show with Evan Roberts weekdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET on the New York radio stations WFAN-AM and WFAN-FM. His retireme ...
(born 1953), sports talk show co-host on
WFAN (AM)
WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, carrying a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area while ...
.
*
Stacey Dash
Stacey Lauretta Dash (born January 20, 1967) is an American actress. Dash played Dionne Marie Davenport in the 1995 feature film ''Clueless'' and its television series of the same name. She has also appeared in the films '' Moving'', ''Mo' Mone ...
(born 1967, class of 1985), actress best known for her role in the movie ''
Clueless
''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert La ...
'' and its
television spinoff.
*
Spero Dedes Spero is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Anthony Spero (1929-2008), American criminal
*David Spero (born 1951), American DJ and music manager
*Deborah Spero, American law enforcement official
*Donald Spero (born 1939), American ...
(born 1979), sportscaster.
*
Bill DeMott
William Charles DeMott II (born November 10, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler and road agent and trainer. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Hugh Morrus and World Wrestling Federatio ...
(born 1966, class of 1983), retired
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
and
road agent best known for his appearances with
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
as Hugh Morrus and
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment under his real name.
*
Mark Fields (born 1961, class of 1979), Executive Vice President,
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
and President, The Americas.
*
Dean Friedman
Dean Friedman (born May 23, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter who plays piano, keyboard, guitar and other instruments, including the harmonica.
Although considered a one-hit wonder in the US, he has had multiple singles chart in other terr ...
(born 1955), musician with the one-hit wonder "
Ariel
Ariel may refer to:
Film and television
*Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award
* ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki
* ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...
", a top-20 tune in 1977.
*
Matt Ghaffari
Siamak "Matt" Ghaffari ( ; fa, سیامک غفاری, ; born November 11, 1961, in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran) is an Iran-born American amateur wrestler, MMA Fighter and professional wrestler. Matt Ghaffari was a two-time USA Olympic team mem ...
(born 1961, class of 1979), 1996 Olympic silver-medal wrestler.
[Robbins, Liz]
"Olympics; Wrestler Two Victories From Dream"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', June 24, 2000. Accessed February 5, 2013. "To advance, Ghaffari had to pull out a trick he first used two decades ago at Paramus High School in New Jersey."
*
Jamie Gold
Jamie M. Gold (born August 25, 1969) is an American television producer, talent agent, poker player, and younger brother of Doug Gold, who is based in Malibu, California. He is known for winning the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event ...
(born 1969, class of 1987), won the
2006 World Series of Poker
The 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on June 25, 2006 with satellite events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29. 40 more events in various ...
Main Event.
*
Victoria Herrmann, polar
geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
and
climate change communicator.
*
Lloyd Levin
Lloyd A. Levin (born 1958) is an American film producer.
Biography
Early life
Levin is a native of Paramus, New Jersey, where he attended Paramus High School and graduated in 1976.
Producing career
He was once the president of Lawrence Gordon P ...
(born 1958, class of 1976), film producer and executive.
[
* ]John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to:
Politicians United Kingdom politicians
* J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918
*John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...
(born 1993, class of 2011), quarterback for the Villanova Wildcats football
The Villanova Wildcats football program represents Villanova University in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, known as Division I-AA until 2006).
The Wildcats compete in the Colonial Athletic Association for football only. ...
team who won the 2014 Walter Payton Award
The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...
.
* Steven H. Temares (born 1958, class of 1976), CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...
.
* Elaine Zayak
Elaine Kathryn Zayak (born April 4, 1965) is an American former figure skater. She is the 1982 World champion and 1981 U.S. national champion. She competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics, placing 6th.
Personal life
Zayak was born and raised in ...
(born 1965), figure skater who was the 1982 World champion and 1981 U.S. national champion.
Notable faculty
* Bill Pascrell (born 1937), Congressman who taught at the school for 12 years.
* Frank L. Ryerson Frank Layton Ryerson (3 July 1905 in Paterson, New Jersey – 15 May 1995 in Clearwater, Florida) was an American trumpeter, composer, arranger and educator. ''ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Third edition,'' compiled for the American Society of C ...
(1905–1995), music director and trumpeter who wrote the alma mater lyrics, sung to the tune "Aura Lee"."Ryerson Guest Conductor at Final Village Band Concert"
''Paterson News'', August 12, 1966. Accessed August 19, 2020, via Newspapers.com
Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites.
In November 2018, ...
. "Ryerson, a native of Paterson, has written a number of song hits and has appeared In Hollywood films. He is now band director of Paramus High School."
References
External links
*
*
School Data for the Paramus Public Schools National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...
ParamusRunning.com - Paramus High School Cross Country and Track & Field Teams Website
{{Authority control
Paramus, New Jersey
1957 establishments in New Jersey
Educational institutions established in 1957
Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools
Public high schools in Bergen County, New Jersey