Wildwood High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Wildwood, in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of the Wildwood City School District.
The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1991.Wildwood High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 4, 2011. Students from North Wildwood, West Wildwood and Wildwood Crest attend Wildwood High School as part of sending/receiving relationships with their respective school districts.Wildwood High School 2015 Report Card Narrative , New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed August 7, 2017. "Wildwood High School services all of the districts on the island (Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood and West Wildwood.)"
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 261 students and 26.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.9:1. There were 181 students (69.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 5 (1.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Wildwood High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
Wildwood Middle School and the Wildwood Public School District administration share the Wildwood High property. - Compare to the middle school's address and high school's address: "4300 Pacific Avenue Wildwood, NJ 08260 " The same building formerly housed Elementary School #1, for grades 5 and 6, along with Wildwood High.
History The first high school class of Wildwood graduated in 1906. The current building opened in 1917. At one time this building had grades 1-12. In 1927 and 1967 the building received additions. - Linked from the official Wildwood Schools page, which in turn confirmed as such by the NJ Dept. of Education.
Awards, recognition and rankings In September 2013, the school was one of 15 in New Jersey to be recognized by the United States Department of Education as part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, an award called the "most prestigious honor in the United States' education system" and which Education Secretary Arne Duncan described as honoring schools that "represent examples of educational excellence".Rundquist, Jeanette. "15 N.J. schools named as national 'Blue Ribbon' winners", The Star-Ledger, September 24, 2013. Accessed September 25, 2013. "Five Catholic schools, six county vocational-technical schools and a Yeshiva are among the list of honored schools in New Jersey. Also named as 2013 Blue Ribbon Schools were Dover, Harrison and Wildwood high schools."2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, pp. 15-17. United States Department of Education, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed September 25, 2013.
The school was the 285th-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 244th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 279th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 20, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 253rd in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed December 4, 2011. The school was ranked 299th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 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 as 321st out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 11 positions from the 2009 rank) 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).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed January 5, 2012.
Athletics
The Wildwood High School WarriorsWildwood High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete as one of the member schools in the Cape-Atlantic League, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Atlantic County, Cape May County, Cumberland County The conference is overseen 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. With 183 students in grades 9-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2022-23 school year as South, Group 1 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 Horizon Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferenceWildwood Warrior, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component." and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 185 to 482 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The school switched to the Tri-County Conference for the 2002-03 school year as part of an effort to find appropriate matchups for its football team and returned to the Cape-Atlantic League in the 2026-27 season, which it had belonged to for decades.Cunniff, Brian. "Coming Home: Wildwood High athletics to return to Cape-Atlantic League for 2026-27 scholastic year", CapeAtlanticLive.com. Accessed September 13, 2026. "In a development that has been rumored for some time now, Wildwood High School’s athletic program will be returning to the Cape-Atlantic League for the 2026-27 season, CAL president and Atlantic County Institute of Technology athletic director Dr. Robert Wagner has confirmed....Wildwood left the CAL for the Tri-County Conference beginning with the 2002-03 scholastic year, mostly to help its football team find a more competitive schedule. Once the West Jersey Football League was formed about a decade ago, however, some saw Wildwood’s existence in the Tri-County Conference as superfluous."
The boys' basketball team won the Group II state title in 1940 vs. Bogota High School and 1941 vs. Pompton Lakes High School, and won the Group I title in 1942 against Bernardsville High School, in 1961 vs. North Arlington High School and in 1964 vs. Wallington High School.NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.McGarry, Michael. "Boys High School State Basketball Preview / Three's Company / 60 Years Ago, Wildwood Boys Won Third Consecutive State Title", The Press of Atlantic City, March 10, 2002. Accessed August 5, 2007. "Wildwood defeated Bogota 34-18 to win the 1940 state Group II title. The Warriors beat Pompton Lakes 39-35 in the 1941 state Group II title game.... Senekoff did it his way, and it worked. He made both to give Wildwood a 38-37 victory and its third straight state title - a feat no other local team has matched." After playoff losses in the four previous seasons, the 1940 team won the Group II title after defeating Bogota by a score of 34-18 in the championship game.via Associated Press. "Bound Brook Upset 42 to 33 By Rutherford; Seven Consecutive Points at End Give Somerset 5 Group 3 Crown Wildwood Also Wins", Asbury Park Press, March 17, 1940. Accessed February 8, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "In the afternoon, Good Counsel of Newark uncorked heroic rally to down Camden Catholic, 41-39 for the Group 2 prep crown and Wildwood won 34-18 from Bogota to take the Group 2 high school honors.... It was Wildwood's first state championship in 18 years, after bowing out in the tournament semi-finals or finals in four straight years. Last year Wildwood was nosed out for the title by South Amboy." The 1941 team puled ahead with a 7-0 run in the first quarter and held on to repeat as state champion after defeating Pompton Lakes by a score of 39-35 in the finals."Title Retained By Wildwood", Asbury Park Press, March 23, 1941. Accessed March 1, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Wildwood high school successfully defended its Group 2 basketball crown yesterday by staving off Pompton Lakes, 39 to 35, in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic association tournament at the Elizabeth armory. A seven-point leas compiled by Wildwood during the first period in which Pompton Lakes went scoreless from the field, proved the decisive factor as the South Jerseyans became the first team to win a state title two consecutive years since Princeton captured the Group 2 diadem in 1937 and 1938." Led by 18 points from future NFL player Randy Beverly, the 1961 team won the Group I state title with a 65-50 win against North Arlington in the championship game played at Princeton University's Dillon Gymnasium."State Group 1 Title Taken by Wildwood", Courier-Post, March 20, 1961. Accessed March 4, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Ray Lynch today feels his first season as Wildwood High School's basketball coach has come to a perfect ending. The campaign closed here Saturday in Princeton University gymnasium when Wildwood topped North Arlington High, 65-50, to win the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group I championship. It was Wildwood's first state crown since it won two Group 2 crowns and a Group 1 crown in 1940, '41 and '42."
The softball team won the Group I state championship in 1976, defeating Wood-Ridge High School in the final round of the tournament.Softball Championship History 1972–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated July 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024.
The girls' basketball team won the 1991 Group I state championship (against runner-up Cresskill High School in the finals), 2000 (vs. North Warren Regional High School) and in both 2001 and 2002 (against Mountain Lakes High School both seasons).Girls Basketball Championship History: 1919–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated March 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
Administration The principal is Tricia Lemma. The administration team includes two assistant principal.Administration, Wildwood High School. Accessed September 13, 2026. Lemma became principal of the middle / high school in July 2023."Alumna Selected as Next Principal of Wildwood Middle, High School", Cape May County Herald, July 21, 2023. "The Wildwood Public School District is pleased and excited to announce the hiring of Tricia Markee Lemma as the new principal of Wildwood Middle/High School which will be effective on July 1, 2023."
Notable alumni