Bergen County Technical High School, also known as Bergen Tech (BT), is a four-year, tuition-free public magnet high school located in Teterboro, New Jersey serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Bergen Tech is part of the Bergen County Technical Schools, a countywide district that also includes Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, Applied Technology in Paramus, and Bergen Tech in Paramus. The school is nationally recognized, as students have the opportunity to be engaged in a technical major while fulfilling college preparatory classes and having the opportunity to take a wide variety of electives.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 665 students and 69.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.6:1. There were 84 students (12.6% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 12 (1.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Bergen County Technical High School - Teterboro, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
The school is currently organized into nine majors: Aerospace Engineering, Automotive Engineering and Design, Computer Science, Commercial Art & Graphic Design, Culinology, Digital & Media Arts, Fashion Design & Merchandising, Financial Technology, and Law & Justice.
Bergen Tech is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology and the Coalition of Essential Schools. It is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the New Jersey Department of Education.Bergen County Technical High School 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 7, 2016.
History Bergen Tech was originally a shared-time vocational school which was completely revamped in 2000 to be a full-time, academic high school with students taking classes in their particular "majors." A number of advanced classes have been added to Bergen Tech's curriculum since the school's inception, including AP Physics C and AP Government to sophomores in the Law and Justice major. The high school also gained the interest from schools abroad with the intention of creating a foreign exchange program in 2013, receiving visits from high schools in France and South Korea (due to a partnership between the Hyundai Motor Company and the Bergen Tech Automotive major).
Awards, recognition and rankings
2011 Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 18th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 6 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (98.3%) and language arts literacy (100.0%) 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 23, 2012.
2012 The school was recognized in 2012 by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program of the United States Department of Education, one of 15 public and private schools in the state to be honored that year.2012 National Blue Ribbon Public and Private Schools; Exemplary High Performing Schools, United States Department of Education. Accessed September 13, 2012. It was ranked 104th in the nation and sixth in New Jersey on the list of "America's Best High Schools 2012" prepared by The Daily Beast / Newsweek, with rankings based primarily on graduation rate, matriculation rate for college and number of Advanced Placement / International Baccalaureate courses taken per student, with lesser factors based on average scores on the SAT / ACT, average AP/IB scores and the number of AP/IB courses available to students.Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2012" , The Daily Beast / Newsweek, May 20, 2012. Accessed May 21, 2012.
2013 In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 74th in the nation among participating public high schools and 7th among schools in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools" , The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013. U.S. News & World Report named BT as a Gold Medal High School the same year.
2014 In 2014, Bergen Tech was named the 129th best high school in the nation, and the 5th best high school in the state of New Jersey by the U.S. News & World Report.Staff. "Bergen County Technical High School - Teterboro Overview", U.S. News & World Report. Accessed January 19, 2015. New Jersey Monthly, which publishes high school rankings within the state based on student/teacher ratio and student results on the SAT, HSPA, AP/IB exams, and graduation rates, placed BT tied for 8th within its list of the "Top Vocational High Schools in New Jersey".Pfaff, Leslie garisto. "Top Vocational High Schools in New Jersey", New Jersey Monthly, August 18, 2014. Accessed January 19, 2015. In addition, the school was named an Apple Distinguished School for 2013-2015."Apple honors Bergen Tech Teterboro as a 'Distinguished Program'", Career Tech NJ, November 26, 2013. Accessed November 3, 2015.
2015 Business Insider, using data from the 2015 Niche rankings, ranked the school as 12th in the nation and second in New Jersey on its 2014 list of the "25 best public high school in the United States".Stanger, Melissa; and Robinson, Melia. "The 25 Best Public High Schools In The US", Business Insider, November 4, 2014. Accessed January 19, 2015.Best Public High Schools in America, Niche (company). Accessed January 19, 2015. In addition, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 3rd best in the state and 31st in the nation."Bergen County Technical High School - Teterboro Overview", U.S. News & World Report. Accessed November 3, 2015.
2016 In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 41st out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 13th among all high schools in New Jersey.Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
Admissions Bergen County Technical High School utilizes a selective admissions process that consists of three main stages: an initial application, an admissions exam, and an interview implemented as of the 2024-2025 cohort.
For the 2010-2011 school year, 168 students out of 1,500 applicants were accepted into Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro's Class of 2015, for an acceptance rate of 11.2%. The current admissions process for Bergen Technical High School - Teterboro requires students to complete an application (which can be found online at the school website); to submit NJ ASK scores (Proficient or above), transcripts from middle school, letters of recommendation from the applicant's math, science, and English teachers; to complete an entrance exam that consists of a writing and mathematics section, and an interview with the student's intended major teacher.
Academics In addition to studying specific "majors" of study, as of 2024, the school currently offers 22 different Advanced Placement (AP) courses, including every science AP course offered by the College Board in addition to college-level courses which offer credit through articulation with various universities. Approximately 81.4% of students participate in Advanced Placement classes, which is above the New Jersey state average participation rate of 19%. In 2023, 522 students took a total of 988 Advanced Placement exams. On average, each student received a score of 3.8. Students fulfill requirements for their major in addition to the New Jersey required curriculum and are able to use remaining elective slots to pursue other interests.
Majors Bergen County Technical High School offers nine majors for its students, each offering a unique curriculum.BCTS - Admissions - Programs - Teterboro, Bergen County Technical Schools. Accessed August 17, 2011. A student's major, however, does not limit the electives the student may take.
Automotive Engineering & Design
The Automotive major focuses on using modern technology to educate its students in automotive engineering. Classes include Systems Analysis I and Advanced Systems Analysis. A recently created automotive lab and a newly upgraded automotive shop offer hands-on experiences to students of this major.
Commercial Art & Graphic Design
The Commercial Art & Graphic Design major is a college-level course with an intense focus on the principles of art and design. Students in this major often participate in design contests and art festivals, such as the Bergen County Teen Arts Festival. By the end of a student's senior year, students have a portfolio showing their creativity and technical proficiency. Classes include Foundations of Graphic Design and Fundamentals of 2D Design & Drawing.Commercial Art & Graphic Design, Bergen County Technical Schools. Accessed December 4, 2016.
Culinology® (Food Science)
The Culinology major is the first high school program of its kind in the United States. The major's three classrooms are equipped with the country's one and only Culinology facility, a state of the art kitchen, and a food science laboratory. Students focus on both food and culinary sciences during their high school career. The program offers partnerships with corporations such as Pepsi and universities including Rutgers. Current courses include Intro to Culinology, Nutrition Food and Health, and Microbiology.Culinology®, Bergen County Technical Schools. Accessed December 4, 2016.
Digital Media The Digital Media major is a 4-year program where students learn to use relevant computer programs, including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, and Logic Pro. Also known as "DM", the program focuses on teaching students how to translate ideas to film and programming and to create all kinds of pieces of art. Classes include Graphics and Animation, Broadcast Media and Journalism, and Advanced Video and Audio Production.
Fashion, Design & Merchandising The Fashion, Design & Merchandising major allows students to experiment with design concepts and patterns with a fully equipped design studio. The program explores color and textiles, fashion illustrations, and pattern making and sewing skills. Students can have their work displayed at the Belskie Museum in Closter and at an annual fashion extravaganza at the end of the year. Areas of study include Apparel Design and Fashion Art & Design.
Financial Technology (FINTECH)
In 2025, the Financial Technology major emerged as an update to the Strategic Asset Management (Business) major, focusing on a curriculum that spans economics, data analytics, financial institutions, and programming. The major took part in the National Financial Capability Challenge, with 11 out of 13 students of the Class of 2015 scoring in the 90th percentile, including one student who obtained a perfect score (only 583 students across the United States earned a perfect score). Students are required to take AP Macroeconomics in their sophomore year, and AP Microeconomics in their junior year. Courses include Roadmap to Computing, college-level financial accounting, Financial Markets and Institutions, and Business Data Analytics.
Computer Science (IT) The Computer Science program at Bergen Tech seeks to educate students surrounding computing needs, supporting research in communications information, network theory, data structures, and programming. Courses include Intro to Object-Oriented Design, Intermediate & Advanced Programming, AP Computer Science Principles, and Cloud Computing.
Law & Justice