Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest is a comprehensive four-year public high school serving students from several municipalities in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The high school serves students from the suburban communities of Closter, Demarest and Haworth. The school is one of two high schools that are part of the Northern Valley Regional High School District, the other being Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, which serves students Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan, along with students from Rockleigh, who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship.
As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,218 students and 94.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 12.9:1. There were 14 students (1.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 4 (0.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
The high school is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1959.
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Awards, recognition and rankings
During the 1994-96 school years, Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.
The school was the 42nd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 34th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 14th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 9th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 16th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.
Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 23rd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 3 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (96.4%) and language arts literacy (98.2%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 234th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 39th among all high schools in New Jersey and 22nd among the state's non-magnet schools.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 351st in the nation among participating public high schools and 28th among schools in New Jersey.
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 21st in New Jersey and 755th nationwide. The school was ranked 378th in Newsweek's 2009 ranking of the top 1,500 high schools in the United States and was the seventh-ranked school in New Jersey, with 2.364 AP tests taken in 2008 per graduating senior and 35% of all graduating seniors passing at least one AP exam; The school was ranked 1,166th nationwide in 2008. In Newsweek's 2007 rankings of the country's top 1,200 high schools, Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest was listed in 1045th place, the 32nd-highest ranked school in New Jersey.
Athletics
The Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest Norsemen compete in the Big North Conference, a super-conference of 40 schools in Bergen and Passaic counties established in 2009 as part of an effort to achieve greater competitive balance between schools, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. The school had previously competed in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League, an athletic conference that consisted of high schools located in Bergen County. With 752 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North I, Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 495 to 761 students in that grade range.
The school offers over 23 sports, which include participation at the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity level (46 teams), as well as 18 co-curricular activities. Sports include bowling, football and boys' and girls' basketball.
The boys' tennis team won the Group III state championship in 1973 (defeating Princeton High School in the tournament final) and 1979 (vs. Summit High School). In 1997, the boys' tennis team went undefeated at 15-0 to claim the NBIL league championship, under head coach Dan Moses.
In 1977, the varsity soccer team won the Bergen County championship.
The football team won the North I Group III state sectional championship in 1992.
The field hockey team won the North I Group III state sectional final in 1984, 1992, 1994 and 2007. In 1997, the team won the Northeast Field Hockey League Championship and also the Bergen County Championship beating Northern Highlands High School by a score of 1-0 in the tournament final. In 2007, the field hockey team won the North I, Group III state sectional championship with a 19-0 win over West Morris Central High School in the tournament final.
The baseball team won the Group III state championship in 1995 (vs. Rancocas Valley Regional High School) and 1999 (vs. Middletown High School South). The baseball team won three Bergen County Championships in years from 1991-1995.
The 2000 girls' volleyball won the state Group III championship, topping Paramus Catholic High School, 15-8 and 15-7. The 2001 team repeated, defeating Ramapo High School in the finals. The girls took the title again in 2003, over cross-district rival Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. The team took the 2006 Group II title over Chatham High School (25-17, 25-15). The 2001 team won the Group III state title over New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association and lost in the Tournament of Champions final match to Immaculate Heart Academy, finishing the season with a 24-4 record. In 2012, the girls volleyball team won the state Group II championship in straight sets over Sterling High School, the program's eighth state group title.
Both swim teams won their respective North I Group B state titles in 2007, the girls defeating Kinnelon High School 103-67 in the finals and the boys topping Ramapo High School 104-66.
- The boys' basketball team won the 2004 North I, Group III title, edging Teaneck High School, 53-50.
The 2016 boys' swimming team won the state Group C championship, the program's first state title, topping Haddonfield High School 90-80 after going 13-0 in the season.
Music department
The music department presents five public concerts per academic year: The Fall Concert (October), The Holiday Concert (December), The Winter Instrumental Concert (March), The Spring Choral Concert (April), and The Awards Concert (June). The department also puts on a full-scale musical every March directed by John Gray.
The Instrumental Department is composed of Concert Band, Wind Symphony, Marching Band, Jazz Band, String Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra, and Pit Orchestra. The department also has two instrumental jazz groups, the Jazz Band and the Jazz Ensemble.
The Vocal Department is composed of Freshman Chorus, Sophomore Choir, Concert Choir. There are also three extracurricular choirs, which are the Jazz Singers, Bel Canto (a select women's ensemble), and Oriana Singers (a select mixed ensemble).
The department has also won many awards, all groups taking excellent or superior in their last music competition in Williamsburg, VA, competing against groups from all around America and Canada. The Marching Norsemen have also received many awards from the various competitions they have competed in.
Notable alumni
- Nelson DeCastro (born 1969), comic book penciler, inker, and painter whose first comic book cover was Ghost Rider #18, also known for his cover art for Wizard magazine.
- Gregory T. Linteris (born 1957), scientist who flew as a payload specialist on two NASA Space Shuttle missions in 1997.
- Sam Lipsyte (born 1968), author of Venus Drive, The Subject Steve and Home Land.
- Joe Pesce (born 1962), original keyboardist for 'Til Tuesday.
- Simon Sinek (born 1973, class of 1991), motivational speaker and author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.
- Tom Wadell (born 1958), former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who was one of only eight Scotland natives to ever play in the major leagues.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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