Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan


Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan is a comprehensive four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from the suburban communities of Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Students from Rockleigh attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship. The school joins Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest as the two secondary schools that are part of the Northern Valley Regional High School District, which also serves students from Closter, Demarest and Haworth.
As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,170 students and 97.9 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. There were 12 students eligible for free lunch and 1 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 1965.

History

The school was opened in March 1962 to address overcrowding in the district's original school at Demarest that opened in 1955. At its establishment, the school served students from Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan, as well as those from the northern portion of Closter.

Awards, recognition and rankings

For the 1994-96 school years, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 29th in New Jersey and 1,051st nationwide. The school was ranked 829th, the 23rd-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 831st in the nation among participating public high schools and 61st among schools in New Jersey.
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 227th out of the 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 37th among all high schools in New Jersey and 20th among the state's non-magnet schools.
The school was the 55th-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 53rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 30th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 18th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 25th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.
Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 58th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics and language arts literacy components of the High School Proficiency Assessment.

Extracurricular activities

The school offers a variety of sports, social and academic club activities.

Athletics

The school offers 60 co-curricular and intramural activities as well as over 23 sports, which include participation at the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity level. The Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan Golden Knights compete in the Big North Conference, 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 before the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment. With 968 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.
The boys' 2016 4×400m relay team won the New Jersey State Meet of Champions, defeating East Orange Campus High School in a photo finish after the two teams finished with identical times. That same relay team was described by The Record as the best 4x400m team in North Jersey history, a list that includes all public and private schools in the region.
The field hockey team won the North I Group III state sectional championship in 1982, 1985, 1989 and 1998.
The football team won the North I Group III state sectional championships in 1985. Moved up from Group III for 2017, the football team finished undefeated, with a 12-0 record, capping off the season with a 31-28 win at MetLife Stadium against third-seeded Mount Olive High School in the final game of the North I Group IV state sectional tournament.
The boys' basketball team won the 2006 North I, Group III tournament, defeating West Milford High School by a final score of 56-54.
The 2007 girls' basketball team won the North I, Group III sectional championship, topping Teaneck High School 56-48 in the final game.
The 2007 girls' volleyball team won the NBIL league title ending with a record of 21-3. The 2010 girls' volleyball team won the Tournament of Champions, having already won the county, sectional and Group III titles, earning recognition from The Record as having "proved that they're the best team in New Jersey."
The 2008 baseball team won the North I, Group III sectional title over Montville High School before winning the school's first ever New Jersey Group III state championship with a 16-4 victory over Wall Township. The team repeated as North I, Group III sectional champions in 2009.
The 2009 boys' bowling team won the League championship and North I Group III state sectional title.
The 2010 boys' basketball team won the North I, Group III state sectional championship, defeating Teaneck High School in the tournament final by a final score of 49-47.
The 2010 wrestling team won the Bergen County Championship, with senior Mike Shannon, at 285 lbs., becoming the school's first county champion in 20 years.
The Old Tappan girls' volleyball team finished the 2010-11 season with a record of 26-1, winning the Bergen County championship and the Group III state title, on their way to winning the program's first Tournament of Champions with a two-game sweep of Ramapo High School in the tournament final, 25-20 and 25-12.
The boys' track and field team won the 2011 NJSIAA Group III Championship 4x400m relay, and continued to finish 3rd at the NJSIAA State Meet Of Champions.
The boys' cross country team won the 2011 and 2012 league and county championships, as well as the North 1, Group III state sectional titles.
In the 2015 winter track season, James Weissenborn set the school record in the 1000m run, with a time of 2:36.3 seconds. Also during this season, Daniel Lawlor set the school record in the 1600m steeplechase, with a time of 5:26.1 seconds.
There are cheerleading teams for both football and basketball. Cheerleading is both a fall and winter sport, and it includes after school gymnastic classes, competitions, and cheer camp.
In 2018, the school's Ultimate Frisbee team, Northern Valley Coalition, were ranked 5th statewide. The team, which was formed in 2015, overcame great odds to enjoy a historic 2018 season.

Music department

The department presents six public concerts per academic year: The Fall Instrumental Concert, The Fall Vocal Concert, The Holiday Concert, The Prism Concert, The Spring Choral Concert, and The Awards Concert.
The Instrumental Department is composed of Concert Band, Wind Symphony, Marching Band, Jazz Band, and String Ensemble as well as select small ensembles. The Vocal Department is composed of Freshman Chorus, Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, Beautyshop and Barbershop.
The all-school musical production every winter is one of the most popular events in the school.
Every three years, the music department, choir, and band, attend a state competition in Disney World.

Clubs

Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan offers 50 extracurricular clubs, that are run by students and have faculty advisers. The most popular clubs are Model United Nations, National Honor Society, Ski Club, and Diversity Club. The Model United Nations club is the high school's fastest growing club since 2007. The National Honor Society hosts various events during the year and also offers peer to peer tutoring. The Ski Club offers students trips to various ski locations to learn how to ski and snowboard. The Diversity Club's most prominent day is Diversity Day; the club allows students to present their culture and heritages to the entire school. This day informs students of different traditions, foods, and customs of countries they are not accustomed with. In order to create a new club, a petition must be created and submitted to the principal.

Administration

The principal is Bruce Sabatini, whose core administrative team includes two assistant principals.

Notable alumni