Ramsey High School (New Jersey)

Ramsey High School, established in 1909, is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Ramsey, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Ramsey Public School District. Students from Saddle River attend the district's middle school and then have the option of attending either Ramsey High School or Northern Highlands Regional High School as part of sending/receiving relationships with each of the respective districts.[3][4][5][6]

Ramsey High School
Address
256 East Main Street

Ramsey
,
Bergen County
,
New Jersey
07446

United States
Coordinates41.05774°N 74.136609°W / 41.05774; -74.136609
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1909
School districtRamsey Public School District
NCES School ID3413590[1]
PrincipalDr. Michael J. Thumm
Faculty80.4 FTEs[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment870 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio10.8:1[1]
Color(s)  Blue and
  gold[2]
Athletics conferenceBig North Conference
Team nameRams[2]
RivalMahwah High School
Websitewww.ramsey.k12.nj.us/Domain/8

As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 870 students and 80.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1. There were 39 students (4.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 11 (1.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Ramsey High School is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education.

History

The first class to graduate from Ramsey was the class of 1908, and they went to school in the current Borough Hall. After that, students went to John Y. Dater School, which was a regional K-12 school at the time. The first Ramsey High School was constructed in 1912, with the first commencement held in June 1913. An addition was constructed in 1923. By 1935, additional space was needed, and a new building was proposed to take advantage of funding available through the New Deal-era Public Works Administration. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new building were held on January 16, 1936, and the "New Ramsey High School" was dedicated in 1937.

With baby boomers filling the school beyond capacity, the school informed its sending districts of Franklin Lakes and Wyckoff that it would no longer accept students from those two communities at the high school beyond the 1956-57 school year, with the two communities joining Oakland to form the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, which opened its doors in 1957 at Ramapo High School.[7]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 22nd-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.[8] The school had been ranked 30th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 33rd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[9] The magazine ranked the school 13th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[10] The school was ranked 27th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[11] Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 29th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 14 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (93.2%) and language arts literacy (99.1%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[12]

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 805th in the nation among participating public high schools and 58th among schools in New Jersey.[13]

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 61st in New Jersey and 1,743rd nationwide.[14] Ramsey High School was recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the top 500 high schools in the nation.

In 2010, on New Jersey's High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), 97.2% of 2010 graduates scored at the proficient or advanced proficient level on the math section, while 98.6% of Ramsey High School students scored at the proficient or advanced proficient levels on the language arts sections of the test. 93% of Ramsey High School's 2010 graduating class took the SAT. Student scores exceeded state averages, with those taking the exam averaging 563 on the math section (vs. 520 for all test takers in New Jersey), 576 on the verbal section (vs. 515) and scored 515 on the essay portion of the exam (vs. 515 statewide).[15]

Programs and curriculum

Programs at Ramsey High School include the following:

Diploma requirements

In order to graduate with a diploma, students must complete 120 credits consisting of 4 years of English / Language Arts; 1 year of Physical Education, Health, and Safety for each year of enrollment; 2 years of United States History; 1 year of World History / Cultures; 3 years of Mathematics; 3 years of Science; 2 years of World Language; 5 credits of Fine Arts and 5 credits of Practical Arts. Cross-content workplace readiness skills, which are integrated into content areas in grades 9-12. All students, unless specifically exempted, must pass the Eleventh Grade HSPA as required by the State of New Jersey. All students must also take a state mandated Biology test when they take biology (freshman year for honors students and sophomore year for CP and MCP students).

Extracurricular activities

Marching Band

Ramsey High School's Big Blue marching band was the 2005 Musical Arts Conference NJ State Champion and the 2005 Tournament of Bands Chapter 10 Group 4 Champion. The band also won 7th place in Group 4 at the Atlantic Coast Championship held in Hersheypark Stadium in November 2011.[16] The band is under the direction of Joshua Jenkins, who took over in 2020 from the previous band director, Clifford Bialkin. In 2015, Big Blue won 5th place at the Atlantic Coast Championships. The band was invited to play in the 2015-2016 New Year's Day Parade and again in the 2019-2020 New Year's Day Parade in Rome, Italy. The band represented the state of New Jersey in the 2017 Memorial Day parade in Washington, D.C. The color guard has a separate season and they compete during the winter. The winter guard, nicknamed “Velocity”, competes in the MAIN circuit, and they won first place in 2018.

Athletics

The Ramsey High School Rams[2] compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[17] Prior to the 2010 realignment, the school participated in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League (NBIL/NBIAL).[18] With 642 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.[19] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2018–2020.[20] Most sports have both a Varsity and a Junior Varsity team, and many sports have Freshmen teams. (Inclusion of "boys"/"girls" designates two distinct teams, even if both practice together.)

Teams marked with an asterisk (*), although technically separate teams that compete and score independently of each other, usually practice and compete alongside the opposite sex's team of the same sport. Sports offered include:[2]

  • Fall sports teams: Football, Soccer (boys), Soccer (girls), Cross country (boys), Cross country (girls), Field hockey, Tennis (girls), Volleyball (girls), Cheerleading and Marching Band
  • Winter sports teams: Basketball (boys), Basketball (girls), Bowling (boys)*, Bowling (girls)*, Track (boys)*, Track (girls)*, Ice hockey, Swimming (boys)*, Swimming (girls)* Wrestling, Winter percussion, Winter guard, Fencing (individual)
  • Spring sports teams: Baseball (boys), Softball (girls), Track (boys)*, Track (girls)*, Golf (boys)*, Golf (girls)*, Tennis (boys), Lacrosse (boys) and Lacrosse (girls)

The school has won state championships in multiple sports.[21]

The field hockey won the Group III title in 1976, as co-champions with Moorestown High School after a 1-1 tite in the playoff final.[22][23]

The boys' cross country won the Group III state title in 1978.[24]

The softball team has won championships in Group II in 1982 (with a 5-4 win against Northern Burlington County Regional High School in the finals[25]), 2015 vs. (Robbinsville High School[26]), 2019 (vs. Bordentown Regional High School[27]); Group III in 1991 (finishing 32-0 after a 1-0 win vs. Cumberland Regional High School[28]), 2015 (vs. Robbinsville High School) and 2019 (vs. Bordentown Regional High School)[29] NJ.com / The Star-Ledger ranked Ramsey as their number-one softball team in the state in 1991.[30]

The girls' volleyball team won the Group II state championship in 1995, defeating runner-up Lyndhurst High School.[31]

The girls' cross country running team won the Group II state title in 1995-1997.[32]

Boys' track and field - Group II (1999)

The girls' soccer team won the Group II state title in 2000 (vs. Delran High School), 2001 (vs. Freehold High School in double overtime) and 2011 (vs. Robbinsville High School)[33][34][35][36]

The boys golf team won the All Groups title in 2001 and the Group II championship in 2014.[37]

The football team won the North I Group II state sectional title in 2002 and 2009.[38] In 2002, the Rams football team went 11-1 capturing the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North I Group II state championship for the first time in school history, with a 7-6 win over Hoboken High School.[39] In 2009 the Rams football team went 10-2 and won their second NJSIAA North I Group II football championship with a 36-10 victory over River Dell High School.[40]

The boys' soccer team won the Group II championship in 2007, defeating runner-up Cinnaminson High School..[41][42] The 2007 boys' soccer team won the North I, Group II state sectional championship with a 5-0 win over Tenafly High School in the tournament final.[43] The team moved on to win the Group II state championship, the first ever by the program, with a 3-1 win over Cinnaminson.[44][45]

The ice hockey won in Public B in 2009 and 2016.[46][47]

Notable alumni

Administration

The principal is Dr. Michael J. Thumm.[60]

References
  1. School data for Ramsey High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  2. Ramsey High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed october 20, 2020.
  3. Staff. "Tuition to rise $219 under new contract", Town Journal, November 19, 2009. Accessed August 22, 2011. "With no high school in the borough, Saddle River students have the option of enrolling in either Ramsey High School or Northern Highlands. The new deal replaces the previous agreement that covered 1998 to 2008."
  4. Ramsey Public Schools 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 1, 2016. "In addition to serving the residents of Ramsey, the District educates the students of Saddle River in grades 6-12 through a send-receive relationship."
  5. Ramsey Schools Overview, Saddle River School District. Accessed April 12, 2011. "Following graduation from Fifth grade, students enter Eric Smith Middle School in Ramsey, New Jersey. Upon graduation from Eighth grade students may attend Ramsey High School."
  6. Northern Highlands High School Overview, Saddle River School District. Accessed April 12, 2011. "Northern Highlands High School is located in Allendale New Jersey and is one of the two high schools Saddle River students may elect to attend."
  7. Staff. "Enrollments Tax Schools in Bergen; Auxiliary Rooms Are Being Converted for Classes and Construction Is Pushed", The New York Times, September 4, 1954. Accessed December 24, 2013. "How soon this plant will be ready is problematical, but there is pressure in the fact that Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes students will not be accepted at Ramsey High School after the fall of 1956."
  8. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  9. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed October 9, 2012.
  10. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed August 22, 2011.
  11. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  12. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 25, 2012.
  13. Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2013.
  14. Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Ramsey High School", The Washington Post. Accessed September 10, 2011.
  15. Ramsey High School 2010 School Report Card, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 11, 2011.
  16. Atlantic Coast Group 4 Championship @ Hershey Park Stadium - Sunday November 06, 2011, Tournament of Bands and again, in 7th place, in 2012. Accessed April 25, 2012.
  17. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  18. New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed November 23, 2014.
  19. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  20. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2018–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, finalized August 2019. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  21. State Championship Teams, Ramsey High School. Accessed February 5, 2021.
  22. History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  23. Driscoll, Mary Ellen. "Girls' Hockey: Three State championships; Group Three: Moorestown", Courier Post, November 22, 1976. Accessed February 5, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "In a couple of days, Moorestown High's field hockey team will realize it IS the NJSIAA Group 3 state co-champion. The realization will sink in, really it will. Nancy Brady's penalty goal with just over 11 minutes left in the game gave Ramsey a 1-1 tie with the Quakers for the co-championship."
  24. NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  25. Burrows, Walt. "Pitch, game get away from NBC", Courier-Post, June 10, 1982. Accessed December 23, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Coach Donna Stout found it difficult trying to find out why her Northern Burlington High School girls' softball team had dropped a 5-4 decision to Ramsey in yesterday's Group 2 championship game at Mercer County Park."
  26. Mills, Ed. "H.S. softball: Ramsey wins Group 2 state title, delivers on preseason pact", The Record, June 6, 2015. Accessed September 21, 2015. "Sparked by key hits from Novak and Triglia, and another sterling effort from pitcher Katie Olson, Ramsey defeated Robbinsville, 3-0, to claim the Group 2 championship Friday at Kean University's Cougar Field. It was the Rams' first state softball championship since they won the Group 3 final over Cumberland Regional in 1991 and third in the history of the school."
  27. Cooper, Darren. "Ramsey softball wins Group 2 title in dramatic fashion", The Record, June 1, 2019. Accessed October 19, 2019. "Cunningham’s single in the bottom of the seventh inning scored her sister Sophie to give Ramsey a 2-1 win over Bordentown in the Group 2 final Saturday at Kean University. It was a thrilling finish for the Rams who had lost in the Group 2 final the past two seasons."
  28. Mayer, John. "Perfect ending to season for Ramsey", The Record, June 2, 1991. Accessed January 5, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Baldino kept his end of the bargain by guiding the Rams to the Group 3 title game Saturday, and Rohr, delivered an RBI single in the third inning for a 1-0 win over Cumberland to complete a perfect 32-0 season."
  29. NJSIAA Softball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  30. "Softball: Every No. 1 team in the state from 1979 to 2015", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 21, 2015, updated August 24, 2019. Accessed January 4, 2021. "Following are the teams that finished as the NJ.com No. 1 softball team in the state with year and record.... 1991: Ramsey (32-0)"
  31. Girls Volleyball Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  32. NJSIAA Girls Cross Country Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  33. NJSIAA History of Girls Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  34. Girls Soccer - 2011 NJSIAA Tournament - Group 2 Championship, NJ.com. Accessed September 24, 2015.
  35. Narducci, Marc. "Delran Loses In State Soccer Final The Bears Controlled Most Of The Play In The Group 2 Girls' Title Game, But Ramsey Got The Only Goal.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 19, 2000. Accessed September 11, 2011. "Despite controlling play throughout, Delran suffered a 1-0 defeat to Ramsey in the state Group 2 championship game at the College of New Jersey."
  36. Morris, Tim. "Colonials bid for a title is thwarted in double OT Borough falls 2-1 to Ramsey", News Transcript, November 21, 2011. Accessed September 11, 2011. "That the Colonials' state title bid ended agonizingly in a double-overtime loss to Ramsey, 2-1, Saturday at The College of New Jersey, hardly diminished what the Colonials had achieved."
  37. Moroney, Murphy. "Boys golf: Complete sectional results, 2015", NJ Advance Media, May 11, 2015. Accessed September 21, 2015. "Group 2: Rockleigh Golf Club, Rockleigh - Teams: 1-Ramsey 295 (Chris Kopack 69, Robert Beers 75, Christian Incardona 75) 2-Ramapo 295 (Matt Collins 75, Stephen Schwab 77, Andrew Scher 79, Ian Lee 79)."
  38. NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  39. Hague, Jim. "Red Wings suffer heartbreaking loss: Drop a 7-6 decision to Ramsey in Group II finale", The Hudson Reporter, December 13, 2002. Accessed September 11, 2011. "The final outcome was not even imaginable. It was supposed to be destiny that Hoboken would win the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group II state football championship last Sunday. Everything had fallen into place for the Red Wings.... However, that's not what happened. Sometimes, destiny plays funny tricks on even the surest of events. Sometimes, things don't go quite according to plan. Ramsey pulled off the unthinkable and shocked the Red Wings, 7-6."
  40. Kinney, Mike. "Ramsey 36, River Dell 10", The Star-Ledger, December 4, 2009. Accessed September 11, 2011. "Paced by the brilliant running of senior halfback Zach Donnarumma, Ramsey shook off a long TD run by River Dell on the game's second play, rolling to a 36-10 victory last night for the NJSIAA/Gatorade North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 championship before a crowd of 8,018 at Giants Stadium."
  41. NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  42. 2007 Boys Soccer - Public Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed February 27, 2008.
  43. 2007 Boys Soccer - North I, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 13, 2007.
  44. 2007 Boys Soccer - Public Semis/Finals, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 24, 2007.
  45. Schutta, Gregory. "Ramsey savors first state championship", The Record, November 18, 2007. Accessed November 24, 2007.
  46. NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  47. Staff. "Public B Finals: Ramsey 2, Kinnelon 02009 NJSIAA High School Hockey Championships", New Jersey Devils, March 21, 2009. Accessed September 11, 2011. "Ramsey's Matt Braun made 40 saves Saturday to shut out Kinnelon, 2-0, in the Public B title game at Prudential Center.... In its first trip to the New Jersey Devils/NJSIAA Championships presented by Chase, Ramsey became the first Bergen County school to capture a state title."
  48. Jim Alexander, The HistoryMakers. Accessed July 3, 2018. "Photographer Jim Alexander was born to contractor David Alexander and Frances James Alexander on August 7, 1935 in Waldwick, New Jersey. He attended Waldwick Public School and Ramsey High School."
  49. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1973, p. 428. J. A. Fitzgeraldm 1973. Accessed August 14, 2019. "Richard W. De Korte (Rep., Franklin Lakes) - Assemblyman De Korte was born in Paterson, March 27, 1936. He graduated from Ramsey High School, Amherst College, B.A. ; University of Chicago Law School, J.D."
  50. Mazzola, Jessica. "Lumineers featured on The Colbert Report; Band talks about moving from Ramsey to Brooklyn to Colorado.", Ramsey Patch, July 31, 2013. Accessed October 19, 2017. "Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, both Ramsey High School grads, answered questions on the show about how the band started out, and why they chose to move to Colorado."
  51. Carrera, Catherine. "Ramsey's 'Lumineer' mom shares proud moment", Ramsey Suburban News, February 14, 2013. Accessed October 19, 2017. "Jeremiah graduated from Ramsey High School in 2001 [sic] and from William Paterson University in 2009."
  52. Staff. "Dr. John G. Hewson Obituary", The Times, July 8, 2012. Accessed December 20, 2013. "Born on Sept. 7, 1924 in Waldwick, NJ, to the late Garrett Lloyd and Bertha Hewson, Dr. Hewson was a graduate of Ramsey High School in Ramsey, NJ, and later attended Muhlenberg, Bucknell and Temple universities as part of the V-12 program during World War II."
  53. Mike Laga, Baseball Almanac. Accessed October 19, 2017.
  54. Genzlinger, Neil (December 13, 2019). "William McFeely, Pulitzer-Winning Historian, Dies as 89". The New York Times.
  55. Rohan, Virginia. "Bergen County native's 'Dirt' character reaps what he sows", The Record, January 1, 2007, backed up by the Internet Archive as of December 25, 2007. Accessed October 19, 2017. "Nordling was born 3,000 miles from the craziness, at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, and grew up mostly in Washington Township (in the only house on the town's Times Square).When he was 15, the family moved to Saddle River, and Nordling transferred to Ramsey High School, where he became a soccer star."
  56. Dazio, Stefanie. "Saddle River's Caroline Pennell advances to next round of The Voice", The Record, November 25, 2013. Accessed June 27, 2016. "Ramsey High School held a viewing party of senior Caroline Pennell's performance on The Voice last week."
  57. Idec, Keith. "UFC: Ramsey native Jimmie Rivera on the UFC stage at Prudential", The Record, January 29, 2016. Accessed July 3, 2018. "Jimmie Rivera couldn’t have more at stake Saturday night. The former Ramsey High School wrestler’s UFC bantamweight bout at Prudential Center will be televised live on free TV."
  58. Aberback, Brian. "Ramsey's Lumineers Receive Grammy Nods; Acoustic Folk-Pop Band nominated for Best New Artist and Best Americana Album has roots in the borough", Ramsey Patch, December 21, 2012. Accessed October 19, 2017. "'As musicians, you can't concern yourselves with awards and things that are out of your control,' Schultz, a 2001 Ramsey High School grad said.... Schultz said he did not know Jeremiah Fraites well in high school but the two became good friends and songwriting partners after Schultz returned to Ramsey from college."
  59. Wood, Patrick. "George Verwer and the birth of OM", Operation Mobilisation, October 30, 2016. Accessed October 19, 2017. "In Wyckoff, New Jersey, in 1953 George was 14 years old, high-spirited, and showing promise as a natural-born leader at Ramsey High School when Mrs. Clapp's son first gave him a copy of John's Gospel."
  60. Principal's Page, Ramsey High School. Accessed October 23, 2020.
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