Teaneck High School

History

The school was opened in the current building, which resembles a Tudor palace in 1928, and a new wing was added in 1936. Honors courses were introduced in the 1960s. Teaneck has been a four-year high school since the 1980s.

In 1934, Teaneck High School became the first in the nation to offer a program in aviation as a vocational component of its academic program. Using a plane purchased for $1,800, students were trained in class regarding the technical aspects of flying during the first year of the two-year program, with students getting at least the minimum 50 hours of flight training during the second year needed to obtain a pilot's license.

In May 1964, Teaneck's schools were officially desegregated, after the district's board of education voted to implement a centralized sixth grade school that would serve the entire township.

In 1972, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey represented Teaneck High School student Abbe Seldin in her legal battle to play tennis at the school. The coach would not let her play for the men's team, although no women's team existed. Seldin won her case and later became the first woman at Syracuse University to win an athletic scholarship.

In 1987, the school was the subject of a 20/20 documentary on the effects of Heavy Metal on students.

On May 1, 2014, more than 60 students were taken into police custody following a senior prank at Teaneck High School. Police Sergeant John Garland stated that the overturned tables and vaseline-smeared doorknobs were "the craziest thing [he'd] ever seen" in his 19 years as a police officer. While initial reports of the incident stated that the students had also urinated in the halls, this claim was explicitly refuted in a statement issued by Teaneck Public Schools superintendent Barbara Pinsak.

Awards, recognition and rankings

In Newsweek's May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Teaneck High School was listed in 1080th place, the 33rd-highest ranked school in New Jersey.

The school was the 156th-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 126th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 114th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 121st in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 102nd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 266th out of 367 public high schools statewide in its 2009-10 rankings which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

Academies

In the fall of 2002, two academies, or "schools within a school," were launched. The T.E.A.M.S. Academy (Technology-Enriched Academy for Mathematics and Science) is a three-hour daily program that seeks to integrate technology, mathematics, science, and computer science in a smaller learning environment. The TAA Performing Arts Academy aims to integrate various art forms such as dance, film making, instrumental music and technical theatre to prepare students for college majors and internships in the Fine and Performing Arts.

Extracurricular activities

Teaneck High School won the New Jersey State High School Chess Championship in 1997. Shearwood McClelland won the national high school chess championship in 1994 and 1995, the first repeat champion in tournament history.

Athletics

Teaneck High School Highwaymen / Highwaywomen compete in the Big North Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). In the 2009-10 school year, the school competed in the North Jersey Tri-County Conference, which was established on an interim basis to facilitate the realignment. Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in Division A of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, which was made up of high schools located in Bergen County, Essex County and Passaic County, and was separated into three divisions based on NJSIAA size classification. With 986 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North I, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 786 to 1,074 students in that grade range.

Sports offered include:

Fall

Boys and Girls Cross Country, Football, Boys and Girls Soccer, * Girls Volleyball and Girls Tennis

Winter

Boys and Girls Basketball,Boys and Girls Swimming, Indoor Track, Scholastic wrestling, Boys and Girls Bowling, and Boys and Girls Fencing

Spring

Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Boys Track, Girls Track, Golf, Boys Volleyball, Boys and Girls Crew

Teaneck won the Group IV cross country state championship in 1961. The school's Dave Hunt was the individual champion in Group IV in 1964.

The boys' basketball team won the Group III state championship in 1999 (vs. Rancocas Valey regional High School) and 2003 (vs. Trenton Central High School). The team won the Group IV state championship in 1999 and advanced to the Tournament of Champions final, finally losing to Seton Hall Preparatory School. The team won the 2003 Group IV state championship with a 61–54 win over Elizabeth High School in the semis and a 68–56 win against Trenton Central in the finals. Winning their 28th consecutive game that season, the Highwaymen took the 2011 North I Group III state sectional title with a 68-40 win over Passaic Valley Regional High School during their first year under head coach Jerome Smart. That same season, head coach Shenee Clark led the Highwaywomen to a state sectional title in the North I Group III region with a 63-42 win over Ramapo High School.

The THS homecoming football game has been held annually on Thanksgiving Day against rival Hackensack High School since 1931, alternating each year with each school as host.

Runner Kahlia Taylor won the Group III state championships in 2012 in both the 100m and 200m sprints, becoming only the sixth female runner from a public school in North Jersey to achieve this accomplishment.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are: Heck was named interim principal on August 3, 2011, after the Board of Education approved a series of administrative changes that moved Angela Davis from her principal post at Teaneck High School to assume the same position at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, and to name Peter LoGiudice as assistant principal at the high school on an interim basis.

Dennis Heck, Principal

Peter LoGiudice, Assistant Principal

Kurt Ceresnak, Interm Assistant Principal

Notable alumni

Lance Ball (born 1985, class of 2003), running back for the Denver Broncos.

Cathy Bao Bean (born 1942, class of 1960), author.

Roger Birnbaum (c. 1950, class of 1968), film producer.

Louis Black (class of 1968), co-founder of The Austin Chronicle and the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival.

Don Bolles (1928–1976, class of 1946), investigative reporter killed in a Mob-related car bombing. The THS class of 1946 dedicated a journalism scholarship in his name.

Richard Nelson Bolles (born 1927, class of 1945), author of What Color is Your Parachute?

Chris Brancato (born 1962, class of 1980), producer and writer of shows including Beverly Hills, 90210, The X-Files and North Shore. Writer of the films Hoodlum and Species II.

Chris Brantley (born 1970, class of 1989), former NFL player with the Rams and Bills.

Tony Campbell (born 1962, class of 1980), former professional basketball player.

Gale D. Candaras (born 1949, class of 1967), member of the Massachusetts Senate.

Gordon Chambers (born c. 1969, class of 1986), singer-songwriter whose work includes "If You Love Me" by Brownstone.

Gaius Charles (born 1983, class of 2001), actor, Friday Night Lights.

Shemekia Copeland (born 1979), blues singer, graduated in 1997.

Thomas J. Costa (1912-2003; class of 1931), member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1968 to 1972 who served as mayor of Teaneck from 1966 to 1969.

Mike DeGerick (born 1943, class of 1961), pitcher who played two games for the Chicago White Sox before a line drive hit his head and ended his career.

Randy Edelman (born 1947, class of 1965), composer of film and television scores.

Sheldon Epps (born 1952), director and producer of television and theatrical works.

Dan E. Fesman (class of 1980), television writer and producer of Wonderfalls and LAX.

Martin Fleisher (born 1958, class of 1976), champion bridge player, winner of the Intercollegiate Bridge Championship (1977), the Cavendish Invitational Pairs (2000), five major American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship titles, and represented the US in the 2011 and 2013 World Championships.

Lawrence Frank (born 1970, class of 1989), American Basketball coach, recently head coach of the New Jersey Nets.

Doug Glanville (born 1970, class of 1988), former outfielder who played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs.

Jeff Gottesfeld, (born 1956. class of 1974 but graduated summer 1973), author, screenwriter Broken Bridges, and television writer for shows including The Young and the Restless and Smallville.

Nelson G. Gross (1932–97, class of 1949), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly and as Chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee.

Tamba Hali (born 1983), linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mohammed Hameeduddin (born c. 1973), Mayor of Teaneck.

Taral Hicks (born 1974), R&B singer, graduated in 1994.

Steven Hyman (born 1952, class of 1970) neuroscientist and Provost of Harvard University.

Marc Jacobs (born 1963), fashion designer, graduated from High School of Art and Design.

Michael Korie (born Michael Cory Indick, class of 1973), librettist and lyricist whose works include Grey Gardens.

Jeffrey Kramer (born 1945, class of 1963), film / television actor, who won an Emmy Award as a producer of Ally McBeal.

Bobby LaKind (1945–1992, class of 1963), percussionist of the Doobie Brothers.

Maya Lawrence (born 1980, class of 1998), fencer and part of the United States Fencing Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where she won a bronze medal in the women's team épée.

David P. Levin (born 1958 class of 1976), producer, director, writer and editor.

Damon Lindelof (born 1973), co-creator, producer and head writer of Lost.

Leonard Maltin (born 1950, class of 1968), film critic.

Mario (born 1986), R&B singer.

Gabrielle Kirk McDonald (born 1942), Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Melissa Morgan (born 1980), jazz musician.

Brian Morton (born 1955, class of 1973), novelist.

Michael Newdow (born 1953, class of 1970), physician and separation of church and state advocate who filed suit against inclusion of the words "under God" in public schools' recitals of the United States Pledge of Allegiance.

Peter Pace (born 1945, class of 1963), former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Verandah Porche (born 1945 as Linda Jacobs, class of 1963), poet.

Kasib Powell (born 1981), NBA basketball player who has played for the Miami Heat.

Paul A. Rothchild (1935–1995, class of 1953), record producer, most notably of The Doors.

Linda Scott (born 1945, as Linda Joy Sampson), pop singer best known for her 1961 hit "I've Told Every Little Star" (1961).

Paul Shambroom (born 1956, class of 1974), photographer.

Lawrence Sher (born 1970, class of 1988), cinematographer who developed an interest in photography after his father convinced him to take a 35mm camera on a school-sponsored trip to France.

Steve Siegel (born 1948, class of 1966), former professional tennis player who played briefly on the international tennis circuit in the 1970s.

Alan Silvestri (born 1950, class of 1968) film composer.

David Sklansky (born 1947, class of 1966), professional poker player.

Phoebe Laub (1950–2011, class of 1968), singer / songwriter known by her stage name "Phoebe Snow", which was selected from the name of a train that ran through Teaneck, the Phoebe Snow.

David Stern (born 1942, class of 1959), Commissioner of the National Basketball Association.

Lynn Tilton (born 1959; class of 1977), businesswoman, who was a tennis player at Teaneck.

Paul A. Volcker (born 1927, class of 1945), former Federal Reserve Chairman, 1979–1987.

Quentin Walker (born 1961, class of 1979), former wide receiver with St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

John Ventimiglia (born 1963, class of 1981), actor, most notably on The Sopranos.

Doug Wark (born 1951, class of 1970), professional soccer forward who played on the United States National Soccer Team.