Type Public high school Principal Frank Howlett Enrollment 1,900 (as of 2014-15) Color White Athletics conference Skyland Conference | Established 1961 Faculty 140.5 FTEs Phone +1 908-204-2585 Founded 1961 | |
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Asst. principals Gina Donlevie
Kathleen Dusebout
Scott Thompson
Thomas Thorp Address 268 S Finley Ave, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920, USA District Bernards Township School District | ||
Ridge high school graduation 2015
Ridge High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Bernards Township School District. Ridge High School opened in September 1961, ending a relationship under which students from the district had been sent to Bernardsville High School dating back to 1948.
Contents
- Ridge high school graduation 2015
- Ridge high school a cappella choir
- Awards recognition and rankings
- Athletics
- Extracurricular activities
- Administration
- Notable alumni
- References
As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,900 students and 140.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.5:1. There were 31 students (1.6% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 12 (0.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
Ridge high school a cappella choir
Awards, recognition and rankings
During the 1986-87 school year, Ridge High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive. During the 2009-10 school year, Ridge High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence for a second time.
Ridge High School was the 9th-best public high school in 2012 as rated by the New Jersey Monthly magazine, and was the 194th best high school in the United States as rated by Newsweek, being the top-rated comprehensive high school in New Jersey, beating out other high schools rated higher on the New Jersey Monthly magazine.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 215th in the nation among participating public high schools and 16th overall (ninth among non-magnet schools) in New Jersey. The school was ranked 140th in the nation and eighth in New Jersey on the list of "America's Best High Schools 2012" prepared by The Daily Beast / Newsweek, with rankings based primarily on graduation rate, matriculation rate for college and number of Advanced Placement / International Baccalaureate courses taken per student, with lesser factors based on average scores on the SAT / ACT, average AP/IB scores and the number of AP/IB courses available to students.
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 3rd in New Jersey and 220th nationwide. Ridge High School was ranked 194th, the second-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools. The school was ranked 175th in Newsweek's 2009 ranking of the top 1,500 high schools in the United States and was the third-ranked school in New Jersey, with 3.132 AP tests taken in 2008 per graduating senior and 50% of all graduating seniors passing at least one AP exam; The school was ranked 136th nationwide in 2008. The school was listed in 98th place, the second-highest ranked school in New Jersey in Newsweek's 2007 list of the Top 1,200 Public High Schools in the United States. The school was listed in 116th place, the second-highest ranked school in New Jersey, in the 2006 issue. Ridge High School was ranked as Number 91 in Newsweek's 2005 survey, third-highest in the state for that year.
The school was the 13th-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 9th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 12th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 24th in 2008 out of 316 schools. Before that, the school was ranked 11th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 27th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 1 position from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (95.2%) and language arts literacy (98.0%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 71st out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 15th among all high schools in New Jersey and third among the state's non-magnet schools.
Athletics
The Ridge High School Red Devils competes in the Skyland Conference, which includes public and parochial high schools covering Hunterdon County, Somerset County and Warren County in Central Jersey. The conference operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,430 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North II, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,114 to 4,800 students in that grade range. Interscholastic sports offered at Ridge include volleyball, baseball, hockey, football, fencing, basketball, cross country, soccer, gymnastics, cheerleading, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, ski racing, softball, swimming, tennis, track and wrestling.
The school was the winner of the 2014-15 ShopRite Cup for Group II, finishing with 68 points, one point ahead of Hunterdon Central Regional High School. The team repeated as winner of the Group II ShopRite Cup for 2015-16, behind first place finishes in girls soccer, girls cross country and boys fencing, second place finishes in girls tennis and girls golf, third place in football and ice hockey, with bonus points for having no disqualifications in the fall and spring seasons.
The boys' soccer team won the Group II state championship in 1985, defeating Millburn High School in the final game of the tournament; the girls' soccer team won the Group II state championship in 1996 (vs. West Morris Mendham High School) and in 2003 (vs. Colts Neck High School).The boys' lacrosse team won the Group III state championship in 2010 (defeating West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in the tournament final) and the Group IV title in 2013 (vs. Southern Regional High School); the team won the 2013 Tournament of Champions vs. Don Bosco Preparatory High School. An undefeated 2003 season led the girls' soccer team to take the #3 national ranking with a 22-0 record.
The wrestling team won the Central Jersey Group II state sectional title and the overall Group II state championship in 1986.
The football team won the Central Jersey Group II state sectional title in 1987, the North II Group III championship in 2003 and the North II Group V title in 2013.
The baseball team won the Group II state championship in 1987 vs. Hackettstown High School, in 2000 vs. West Morris Mendham High School and in 2002 vs. Dumont High School.
The girls' track team won the Group II indoor relay state championship in 1987 and 2007 (as co-champion).
The girls' field hockey team won the North II Group III state sectional championship in 2005.
In 2007, the girls cross country team finished #3 in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet of Champions, and finished #6 in the Northeast Nike Team Regional Championships. The next year, the team finished #2 in the Meet of Champions and won the Section 2 Group 4 Championships and the Group 4 Championships. In 2009, the team got 6th place in the Meet of Champions; in 2010, they took home fourth, and in 2011 they placed 6th in both the Meet of Champions and the Nike Northeast Regional Qualifier.
The boys' cross country team finished #4 in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet of Champions in 2006. The team finished #6 in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in 2010.
The ice hockey varsity team participated in the Public division A state championship in 2008, winning 5-0 over Watchung Hills Regional High School.
The boy's varsity ski team won the 2009 New Jersey Interscholastic Ski Racing Association (NJISRA) overall state championship.
The boys' lacrosse team won the Group III state championship in 2010 (defeating West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in the tournament final) and the Group IV title in 2013 (vs. Southern Regional High School); the team won the 2013 Tournament of Champions vs. Don Bosco Preparatory High School.
The Ridge girls' golf team won the 2015 Tournament of Champions, 26 strokes ahead of Red Bank Catholic High School in second place, marking the team's fifth consecutive state championship.
Extracurricular activities
The Ridge High School Forensics Team (Speech and Debate) has had numerous national champions. They have won the New Jersey state tournament every year from 2001 to 2016. The team routinely competes on a national level and some members have won national titles.
The school's Marching Band program has won numerous awards and accolades. The program is composed of three groups, the "Ridge Marching Band", competing in the Fall season in the USBands circuit, and the "Ridge Winter Guard" and "Ridge Indoor Percussion Ensemble", which compete in the winter season in the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Network (MAIN) and USBands indoor circuits, respectively. The Marching Band won its first NJ state championship in 2015. The Marching Band placed 6th and 5th at USBands National Championships in 2012 and 2011, respectively. In 2012, despite being ranked 2nd going into National Championships, the band was unable to compete due to the damage in Basking Ridge from Hurricane Sandy. Prior to the creation of the USBands National Championships, the band placed 2nd at the USSBA Northern States Championships in 2005 and 2009, 3rd in 2008, and place in 2007. Since the Winter Guard returned to competition in 2012, the guard has finished as high as 3rd in MAIN championships. The Indoor Percussion Ensemble, launched for the 2013 season, placed 2nd at USBands Indoor Championships with its inaugural program and won its first USBands Winter Standstill Percussion title in 2015.
Administration
The members of the school's administration are: