Rutherford High School is a comprehensive four-year

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 Rutherford, 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, operating as part of the

Rutherford School District The Rutherford School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Rutherford, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2018–19 school year, th ...

. The original structure was built in 1922 and expanded in 1938, 1957 and 2005. Rutherford High School is overseen by the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

and 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 1940. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 738 students and 66.6 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 17 students (2.3% 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 1 (0.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Rutherford 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 December 1, 2022.

Awards, recognition and rankings

During the 1999-2000 school year, the school was awarded the Blue Ribbon School 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, which recognized the school's use of technology in the instruction process in which every classroom was wired for Internet access and a substantially higher than average level of access by students to computers. The school was the 124th-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 71st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 73rd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 72nd in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 88th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 141st out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (unchanged from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (86.2%) and language arts literacy (92.0%) 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).

Curriculum and facilities

Rutherford High offers courses ranging from Honors classes to

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 ...

(AP) classes for college credit. The elective classes are also offered, ranging from classes of technology, to those that are career-related as well. The school contains a television studio that is used for morning announcements in homeroom and sends out feeds for the local public access station. There is a newly expanded library with 23 computers and over 20,000 books. Two gyms house athletic programs and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

classes. Located on the East Wing of the school features a half-size Olympic-style swimming pool currently leased by the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

of the Meadowlands. It is also used by the Rutherford Bulldogs Swim Team.

Student life

A typical day at Rutherford High starts at 7:50 AM when homeroom starts. School is in session five days a week. There are 7 blocks, consisting of 57 minutes classes that are on a rotating block schedule and one lunch period. Extra-curricular activities include an abundance of clubs, academic groups, and music programs.

Academic teams and extracurricular activities

Rutherford High School has a host of academic teams and non-athletic extracurricular activities. Rutherford was the

Academic Decathlon The Academic Decathlon (also called AcDec, AcaDeca or AcaDec) is an annual high school academic competition organized by the non-profit United States Academic Decathlon (USAD). The competition consists of seven objective multiple choice tests, tw ...

champion for the state of New Jersey, having represented New Jersey at the National Competition in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Tennessee in April 2009, and competed once again in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

in April 2010. The theater arts program puts out two performances each school year; a play in November, and a musical in March.

Athletics

The Rutherford High School BulldogsRutherford 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. participate in the

North Jersey Interscholastic Conference The North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, or NJIC, is a high school athletic conference located in New Jersey. It is one of the so-called "super conferences" created by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) as a pa ...

, which is comprised of small-enrollment schools in Bergen,

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

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 created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the

(NJSIAA). Prior to the realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Rutherford was a member of the

Bergen County Scholastic League The Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL) was a New Jersey high school sports association under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). The conference consisted of thirty public and parochials high ...

(BCSL) American Division. With 568 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2018–2020. Interscholastic sports that are offered by the Rutherford athletic program include: *Fall Sports: B/G Cross Country, Football, Girls' Tennis, B/G Soccer, Volleyball, Cheerleading *Winter Sports: B/G Basketball, B/G Swimming, B/G Track & Field, Wrestling, Coed Bowling *Spring Sports: Baseball, Boys' Tennis, Softball, B/G Track & Field The boys track team won the Group IV spring track state championship in 1922 and 1923. The boys' cross country team won the overall public school state championship in 1926. The boys' basketball team won the Group III state championship in 1940 (defeating

Bound Brook High School Bound Brook High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bound Brook, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Bound ...

in the tournament final) and 1942 (vs.

Merchantville High School Merchantville High School was a four-year public high school that operated from 1929 until 1972 in Merchantville, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Merchantville School District. History The school served st ...

), and won the Group II title in 1985 (vs.

Burlington City High School Burlington City High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade in Burlington, in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Cit ...

). The 1940 team pulled ahead by 23-12 at the half and held off a late rally to upset Bound Brook by a final score of 42-33 in the championship game. The boys' track team won the Group I / II state indoor relay championship in 1969. The baseball team won the Group II state title in 1992 (vs.

Kingsway Regional High School Kingsway Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grade from five communities in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Kingsway Regional Sc ...

), 2004 (vs. Sterling High School) and in 2005 (vs. Seneca High School). The girls volleyball team won the Group II state championship in 1991 (against runner-up

Mahwah High School Mahwah High School (MHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students from Mahwah in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the only secondary school of the Mahwah Town ...

in the final match of the playoffs), 1992 (vs.

Dumont High School Dumont High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Dumont, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Dumont Public School ...

) and 1994 (vs.

Elmwood Park Memorial High School Elmwood Park Memorial High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Elmwood Park, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of t ...

). In 2007, the girls' soccer team, seeded #3, won the North II, Group II state sectional championship with a 5-4 win on penalty kicks over top-seeded Summit High School in the tournament final, the team's first title in this section. The football team won the North II Group II state sectional championship in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, the football team finished the season with a 12-0 record and won its first championship in the playoff era, defeating sixth-seeded

Hackettstown High School Hackettstown High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Hackettstown in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the H ...

in the finals of the North II Group II state sectional tournament, in a game played at

MetLife Stadium MetLife Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 5 mi (8 km) west of New York City. Opened in 2010 to replace Giants Stadium, it serves as the home for the New York Giants an ...

. The 2018 team won the program's second consecutive sectional title, defeating Lyndhurst High School by a 32-14 score in the tournament final and went on to win the inaugural North Group II bowl game with a 62-14 win against

Kittatinny Regional High School The Kittatinny Regional High School is a six-year comprehensive regional public high school and school district in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in seventh through twelfth grades from five municipalities in the n ...

Administration

The school's principal is Frank Morano. His core administration team includes the assistant principal.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Rutherford High School's include: * Brant Alyea (born 1940), former MLB outfielder from 1965 to 1972, who is one of nine players to hit a home run on his first MLB pitch. * Jim Blumenstock (1918–1963),

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

fullback who played in the NFL for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. *

Charles Evered Charles Evered (born November 12, 1964) is an American-born playwright, screenwriter and film director. Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Evered grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey, the fifth child of Marie (née Cole) and Charles J. Evered.Stratton, Jea ...

(born 1964), playwright and director. *

Louis Frey Jr. Louis Frey Jr. (January 11, 1934 – October 14, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 until 1979. He represented Florida's 5th congressional distric ...

(born 1934), former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. *

Jim Garrett James William Garrett Jr. (June 19, 1930 – February 9, 2018) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played college football at Utah State University. He served as football head football coach at Susquehanna University from 196 ...

(born 1930), college football coach. *

Bill Hands William Alfred Hands, Jr. (May 6, 1940 – March 9, 2017) was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the major leagues from 1965 to 1975. His best season came in 1969 with the Chicago Cubs, when he won 20 games. Early life A ...

(born 1940), former Major League Baseball pitcher. *

Kelly Hecking Kelly Hecking (born March 1980) is an American former backstroke and freestyle competition swimmer. She is the most successful Notre Dame Fighting Irish athlete in any sport at the Big East Conference Championships with 19 event conference cham ...

(born 1980), former backstroke and freestyle competition swimmer. *

Art Hillhouse Arthur Sherwood Hillhouse (June 12, 1916 – October 27, 1980) was an American professional basketball player.

(1916–1980), professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who played two seasons in the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

for the

Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...

. * James A. Hyslop (1885-1953),

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

who founded the Insect Pest Survey of the U.S. Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine. * Nancy Kedersha (born 1951, class of 1969), cell biology and

micrograph A micrograph or photomicrograph is a photograph or digital image taken through a microscope or similar device to show a magnified image of an object. This is opposed to a macrograph or photomacrograph, an image which is also taken on a mic ...

er. * Kim Kyung-jun (born 1987),

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. *

Vin Mazzaro Vincent Michael "Vin" Mazzaro (born September 27, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Sussex County Miners of the Frontier League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Pitt ...

(born 1986), pitcher for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. *

Pamela McCorduck Pamela Ann McCorduck (October 27, 1940 – October 18, 2021) was a British-born American author of books about the history and philosophical significance of artificial intelligence, the future of engineering, and the role of women and technolog ...

(1940–2021), author who wrote about the history and philosophical significance of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

, the future of engineering, and the role of women and technology. *

Peggy Noonan Margaret Ellen Noonan (born 1950), known as Peggy Noonan, is a weekly columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'', and contributor to NBC News and ABC News. She was a primary speechwriter and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan from 1984 t ...

(born 1950), speechwriter for U.S. presidents

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

.About Rutherford High School
, Rutherford High School. Accessed July 7, 2007. "Career diplomat and ambassador Thomas H. Pickering and presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan are among those honored as part of this tradition." *

Pat Pacillo Patrick Michael Pacillo (born July 23, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player. Pacillo pitched for the Cincinnati Reds of the Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1987 and 1988. Career Pacillo grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey and pl ...

(born 1963), pitcher who played two seasons for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. *

Thomas R. Pickering Thomas Reeve "Tom" Pickering (born November 5, 1931) is a retired United States ambassador. Among his many diplomatic appointments, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992. Early life and education Born in Orange, ...

(born 1931),

United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...

from 1989 to 1992. * Frank Serrao (1918–1991, class of 1937), head football coach at

Redlands University The University of Redlands is a private university headquartered in Redlands, California. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Califo ...

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of Lo ...

from 1964 to 1983, where he compiled a record of 115–80–1. * Calvin J. Spann (1924-2015), an original

Tuskegee Airman The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

and fighter pilot with the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. *

Siobhan Vivian Siobhan Vivian (born January 12, 1979) is a bestselling American novelist, editor, and screenwriter. Early life and education Siobhan Vivian was born in New York City on January 12, 1979. At a young age, Vivian moved to Rutherford, New Jersey ...

(born 1979, class of 1997), novelist, editor and screenwriter. * John Wallace, head coach of the Rutgers football team from 1924 to 1926. *

Ramy Youssef Ramy Youssef ( ar, رامي يوسف; ; born March 26, 1991) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and director of full Egyptian descent known for his role as Ramy Hassan on the Hulu comedy series '' Ramy'' (2019–present), for whic ...

(born 1991), stand-up comedian and writer, who is best known for his role as Ramy Hassan on the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

comedy series '' Ramy''Kuperinsky, Amy
Ramy Youssef, star of ''Ramy,'' the Hulu show that breaks new ground while drawing on his N.J. roots"
NJ Advance Media for

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to a report in ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore r ...

, April 19, 2019. Accessed December 27, 2019. "Youssef got his start as a performer when he was still a student at Rutherford High School, where he dove into TV production and started focusing on comedy."

References

External links

Rutherford High School web siteRutherford High School athletic schedules
*
School Data for the Rutherford School District

{{Authority control Rutherford, New Jersey 1922 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1922 Public high schools in Bergen County, New Jersey