Whippany Park High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Hanover Township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as one of the two secondary schools of the Hanover Park Regional High School District. The other school in the district, Hanover Park High School, serves students from East Hanover and Florham Park.Hanover Park Regional High School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 31, 2015. "The Hanover Park Regional High School District is comprised of two high schools. Hanover Park High School is located in East Hanover, receives students from East Hanover and Florham Park, and has an enrollment of 855 students. Whippany High School is located in Hanover Township, receives students from Hanover Township and has an enrollment of 714 students."
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 584 students and 60.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.6:1. There were 22 students (3.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 4 (0.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Whippany Park High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
History The school is located in the Whippany section of Hanover Township and was established in 1967 as the district's second facility."Hanover Park Board Praises Police Work", Madison-Florham Park Eagle, October 19, 1967. Accessed November 16, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Enrollment figures for September show 1,133 students at Hanover Park and 567 at Whippany Park for a total of 1,700 in the regional district."
Awards, recognition and rankings Whippany Park High School was the 46th-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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 38th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 42nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed October 7, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 45th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 23, 2011. The school was ranked 54th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 102nd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 1 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (87.2%) and language arts literacy (95.8%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 3, 2012.
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 429th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 48th among all high schools in New Jersey and 31st among the state's non-magnet schools.Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 625th in the nation among participating public high schools and 49th among schools in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2013.
Athletics The Whippany Park High School WildcatsWhippany Park High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference which is comprised of public and private high schools in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).Home Page, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. Accessed August 27, 2020. "The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference prides itself on being one of New Jersey's premier high school conferences and is comprised of 39 high schools located in Northwest New Jersey."League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 reorganization, the school had competed in the Colonial Hills Conference, which included schools in Essex, Morris and Somerset counties.Home Page, Colonial Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of November 19, 2010. Accessed November 23, 2014. With 468 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the National Blue division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions." The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 254 to 474 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The school participates as the host school / lead agency for joint cooperative ice hockey and girls lacrosse teams with Hanover Park High School, while Hanover Park is the host school for co-op boys / girls golf, boys lacrosse and boys / girls swimming teams. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.NJSIAA Spring Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
The 1980 football team won the North II Group II state football title, beating three-time defending champion Madison High School by a score of 10–9 in the playoff finals.NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.Mills, Ed. "Picture Perfect Pass Lifts Whippany Park", Daily Record, December 8, 1980. Accessed January 11, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "But Wildcat coach Ken Mulligan figured, along with quarterback Mark Grasso, that the bomb just might work against Madison if it was used at, exactly the right time.... Harris brought in the ball with his finger tips, and then raced away from Burroughs to score what proved to be the decisive touchdown in Whippany Park's 10-9 victory." The victory culminated a 10–1 record for the season, in which the team beat two other state champions that year, Delbarton School 21-13 and Glen Ridge High School 17–6.
The girls cross country team won the Group II state championship in 1980.NJSIAA Girls Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
The girls field hockey team won the North II Group II state sectional title in 1980 and the North II Group I title in 1981.History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.