River Dell High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school, part of the River Dell Regional School District, which is shared with the neighboring communities of Oradell and River Edge in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located in Oradell, River Dell High School has been a four-year high school since 1994, and is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 992 students and 89.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1. There were 11 students (1.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 4 (0.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for River Dell Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
History President Ronald Reagan spoke at the high school in June 1984, where he advocated on behalf of a drinking age of 21 as a minimum standard.Weisman, Steven R. "Reagan Calls For Drinking Age Of 21", The New York Times, June 21, 1984. Accessed October 16, 2017. "President Reagan got a glimpse of a New Jersey high school's program to combat drunken driving today and called for a nationwide minimum drinking age of 21.... Mr. Reagan addressed this issue in his appearance at River Dell High School in Oradell, N.J."
Awards, recognition and rankings During the 1997–98 school year, River Dell High School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,National Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982 Through 2019 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2024. the highest award an American school can receive."CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve.""Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
The school was the 31st-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 104th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 27th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 2, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 37th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed June 9, 2011. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 113th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (87.5%) and language arts literacy (94.40%) 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 4, 2012.
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 63rd in New Jersey and 1,866th nationwide.Mathews, Jay. , The Washington Post. Accessed September 11, 2011.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 819th in the nation among participating public high schools and 60th among schools in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2013.
In 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 53rd in New Jersey and 1,145th in the United States.River Dell Regional High School, U.S. News & World Report. Accessed February 20, 2025. "All Rankings #1,145 in National Rankings #53 in New Jersey High Schools"
Curriculum River Dell High School offers students a wide variety of college preparation, honors, and Advanced Placement courses. River Dell offers a Junior MBA program in which students are eligible to earn a scholarship after taking five business-related courses and completing a project if they intend to major in business in college.
River Dell requires every student to take three years of mathematics, two years of foreign language (French, Spanish, Italian, or Mandarin Chinese), four years of English, three years of science and three years of history. Concurrently, as required by the state of New Jersey, students must fulfill five credits in business, technology and life-skills-related classes. The school offers 13 Advanced Placement courses, a senior internship and mentorship where students are allowed to get a hands-on feel for various professions, and various Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA) offering a student a chance to earn college credits.
Facilities and programs Construction was completed as the result of a 2003 referendum that approved a $28.9 million school renovation project. Many of the facilities in the school were inaccessible during the construction. Following the completion of the construction in the spring of 2007, the school had a new wing, which included six science and eight general classrooms, two music rooms, and two gymnasiums. Enhancements to the library, art rooms, technology and computer labs, and athletic fields were also included. School board election guide: River Dell Regional, The Record, April 13, 2006
Starting with the class of 2009, each freshman has received a hybrid tablet PC–notebook computer for use during their four years of high school. In June before the 2008–09 school year, the Board of Education voted to buy 1,100 HP laptops so that every student in all four classes could use a new laptop. These replaced the former Tablet PCs that were given out with a traditional laptop computer.River Dell to Continue Student Laptop Program, The Record, June 11, 2008.
Extracurricular activities Athletics The River Dell Regional High School Golden HawksRiver Dell Regional High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised 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).League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. The school had previously competed in the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL) American Conference, which included schools in Bergen and Hudson counties.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.School Info, Bergen County Scholastic League American Division, backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 6, 2009. Accessed August 29, 2011. With 803 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 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 Patriot Red 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 III North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 700 to 884 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The school colors are black and gold.
The school participates as the host school / lead agency for joint cooperative boys / girls swimming teams with Westwood Regional High School. The school also hosts a co-op ice hockey team that includes Emerson Junior-Senior High School and Westwood. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
The school won the NJSIAA's 2015-16 Group III ShopRite Cup, having won first-place finishes in girls volleyball, both boys and girls winter track, and boys spring track and field, a second-place finish in football, third place in boys cross country, fourth in girls cross country, and having no disqualifications in the fall or spring seasons.13th Annual ShopRite Cup 2015–2016 Final Standings, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.