Wayne Hills High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school, in Wayne, in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The school serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of the two secondary schools that are part of the Wayne Public Schools, the other being Wayne Valley High School.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,181 students and 119.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.9:1. There were 64 students (5.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 24 (2.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Wayne Hills High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
History The school opened in September 1966 as the district's second high school."School Enrollment Hits 11,000 and Still Growing", Paterson Evening News, September 13, 1966. Accessed November 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The district opened a new secondary school, Wayne Hills High School, last Wednesday, and has begun construction on a third junior high school." With the opening of the new facility, the district's original secondary school was renamed Wayne Valley High School."Wayne Cuts Contractor's Bill", Paterson Evening News, November 9, 1965. Accessed November 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "In other business, the board adopted names for the new high school on Berdan Avenue and the existing Wayne High school on Valley Road. The new building, completion due in September 1966, was named 'Wayne Hills Senior High School' and the existing one, 'Wayne Valley Senior High School.'"
Awards, recognition and rankings In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 222nd out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 35th among all high schools in New Jersey and 18th among the state's non-magnet schools.Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 64th in New Jersey and 1,902nd nationwide.Mathews, Jay. , The Washington Post. Accessed September 11, 2011. In Newsweek's May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Wayne Hills High School was listed in 1102nd place, the 34th-highest ranked school in New Jersey."The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,200 top U.S. schools", Newsweek, May 22, 2007. Accessed May 24, 2007.
The school was the 65th-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 35th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 51st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 19, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 60th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 4, 2011. The school was ranked 70th 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 61st out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 18 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (91.4%) and language arts literacy (96.4%) 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 February 27, 2012.
In September 2025, senior Santiago Gonzalez became the first student from Wayne Hills to be elected to the National Executive Council of the FBLA.
Sports The Wayne Hills High School PatriotsWayne Hills High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. 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.League Memberships - 2009-1010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed September 16, 2014. Before the realignment, Wayne Hills had competed in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League (NBIAL) as the only team outside Bergen County participating in the league.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 December 15, 2014. With 953 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 Freedom 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.
Wayne Hills interscholastic sports teams include: volleyball, soccer, tennis, football, marching band, field hockey, basketball, cheerleading, bowling, wrestling, skiing, fencing, ice hockey, track and field, swimming, cross country running, lacrosse, gymnastics, baseball, softball and golf.
The school participates as the host school / lead agency in a joint ice hockey team with Wayne Valley High School. The co-op program operates 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 gymnastics team won the overall state championship in 1981.History of NJSIAA Girls Gymnastics, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
The varsity baseball team won the Passaic County Tournament championships in both 2000 and 2009.Baseball Champions, Passaic County Coaches Association. Accessed February 26, 2021."Baseball: Passaic County Tournament full history", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 13, 2019, updated August 22, 2019. Accessed February 26, 2021. The team won the 2009 tournament with an 11-0 win in the championship game vs. Pompton Lakes High School.Mills, Ed. "Baseball Player of the Year: Travis Delia Volpe, Wayne Hills; He resurrected Pats' program", The Record, June 21, 2009. Accessed February 26, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "In the championship game, he went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, a home run and four RBI to spark the Patriots past Pompton Lakes, 11-0."
The boys' track team were 2003 county, league and state champions.
In 2007, Wayne Hills was county champions in boys and girls tennis. In 2012, the boys tennis team won the Passaic County Tournament for the eighth consecutive year.Mattura, Greg. "Boys tennis: Wayne Hills clinches 8th straight title", The Record, April 27, 2012. Accessed September 19, 2012. "Wayne Hills' eighth consecutive Passaic County boys tennis tournament title was unlike any of the previous seven: by default."
The 2008 boys' volleyball team was undefeated and went on to winning the Passaic County championship.2008 Boys Volleyball, Passaic County Coaches Association. Accessed March 1, 2017.
The boys' golf team won the county tournament in 2008, 2013 and 2015.Golf, Passaic County Coaches Association. Accessed March 1, 2017.
The girls' fencing team won the Passaic County championships in 2009.2009 Fencing, Passaic County Coaches Association. Accessed March 1, 2017.
In 2009, the boys' swim team won the Passaic County championship, the second tournament ever held.2009 Boys Swimming Championships, Passaic County Coaches Association. Accessed March 1, 2017. In 2010, the girls and boys won the Passaic County championship.2010 Boys Swimming Championships, Passaic County Coaches Association. Accessed March 1, 2017.2010 Girls Swimming Championships, Passaic County Coaches Association. Accessed March 1, 2017. In the same season, both teams won their division of the Tri-County league. The boys finished with an undefeated regular season. Both teams competed in and lost in the first round of the state tournament.
In 2010, the boys lacrosse team won the inaugural Passaic County Tournament. They would go on to win again in 2017, 2018 and 2019, becoming the only team to win back-to-back championships and then three-peat.Kinney, Mike. "Wayne Hills displays veteran poise to snare third straight PCT crown", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 4, 2019, updated August 22, 2019. Accessed November 3, 2020. "The junior middie, who came in with a team-high 35 goals, finished with two goals and three assists to lead top-seeded Wayne Hills to a 6-4 victory over second-seeded Wayne Valley for its third consecutive Passaic County Tournament championship Saturday at Wayne Valley." They have won more county lacrosse championships than any other team in Passaic County.Farrell, Sean. "Passaic boys lacrosse final: Wayne Hills tops Wayne Valley, wins third title in 3 years", The Record, May 4, 2019. Accessed November 3, 2020. "The Patriots became the first dynasty in Passaic County boys lacrosse and made history at the home of their biggest rival. The top-seeded Pats earned an unprecedented third straight county title with a 6-4 victory over Wayne Valley in Saturday's tournament final. No team had won back-to-back titles before Wayne Hills' recent run.... Wayne Hills earned the fourth PCT title in team history and broke a tie with its crosstown rival for the most in tournament history."
The girls' ski team won back-to-back state championships in 2011 and 2012."Bosco repeats as state ski champ", Herald News, March 4, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Wayne Hills also won its second consecutive title on the girls side, skiing to a combined 13:23.15 behind Meryl Ryan, Talbot Weston, Stephanie Bitcon, Brooke Kowalski, Alison Naroditsky and Natalie Mikhol."
Ice hockey