West Essex High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in North Caldwell. The high school is part of the West Essex Regional School District, which is comprised of the constituent municipalities of Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell and Roseland, four municipalities in western Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.West Essex Regional School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 4, 2017. "The West Essex Regional School District is a comprehensive high school serving the communities of Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell, and Roseland in northern New Jersey."School History, West Essex Regional School District. Accessed June 4, 2016. The constituent municipalities are largely filled with single-family homes and populated by individuals with high socioeconomic characteristics.Profile 2018-2019, West Essex Regional School District. Accessed January 12, 2020. "Population is comprised of business leaders, entrepreneurs and other professionals, with an above average socio-economic level. Primarily comprised of single family homes"
The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1964.West Essex Senior High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools, backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 30, 2012. Accessed March 30, 2015. Block scheduling was implemented for the 2014-15 school year.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,055 students and 99.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1. There were 29 students (2.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 11 (1.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for West Essex High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
History In the 1951–52 school year, students from the municipalities that were to become part the West Essex Regional School District – Caldwell Township (present day Fairfield), Essex Fells, North Caldwell and Roseland – attended James Caldwell High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship. A survey commissioned by the school boards of the four districts and the Caldwell-West Caldwell Public Schools from the Rutgers University Extension Service estimated that the schools would have 1,200 junior-senior high school students by 1961.
A 1956 study had recommended the formation of a consolidated K-12 district for all of the five districts. When that recommendation was not accepted, the Rutgers group suggested the creation of a regional 7–12 school district that would include Caldwell Township, Essex Fells, North Caldwell and Roseland. A committee formed the following year that included individuals from each of the four communities and the Essex County Superintendent of Schools recommended that the four municipalities should form a regional school district, to be approved by voters in a referendum. The New Jersey Department of Education approved the move, and in December 1957 the referendum was passed by the voters.Staff. "Jerseyans To Vote On School District", The New York Times, December 8, 1957. Accessed September 24, 2012.
Shortly thereafter, the first regional district school board was established, with two members each from Caldwell Township, Essex Fells and North Caldwell and three from Roseland. In February 1958, the Regional Board of Education was elected by the voters, with Wallace S. Jones of Essex Fells as its first president. A Citizens School Curriculum Advisory Committee was formed which recommended that College Preparatory, General Academic, and Commercial programs should be offered to students based on the approach of offering "education for all, excellence of performance though self-discipline, independent thinking, and a sense of 'true values'", with a staff of high quality, adequate guidance, the grouping of students, availability of electives, insistence on effective English, and a broad extracurricular program.
In July 1958, voters authorized $290,000 for the purchase of a site, of which lay in North Caldwell and 13 in Caldwell Township. The site is located between Grandview and Passaic Avenues, directly north of Greenbrook Road, about outside of New York City.School History, West Essex Regional School District. Accessed July 24, 2011.
A December 1958 referendum decided upon by voters in each of the four communities proposed a $4.5 million bond (equivalent to $ million in ) that would be used to pay for construction of the new school facility to be available for use in September 1960, as the Caldwell-West Caldwell District had indicated that it was unwilling to accommodate any students at Grover Cleveland High School from outside the district after that date due to overcrowding.Honig, Milton. "New School Put To Jersey Vote; 4 West Essex Towns to Act Tuesday on a $4,495,600 Bond Plan – Taxes Argued", The New York Times, December 7, 1958. Accessed July 24, 2011. "Residents of four West Essex communities – Caldwell Township, Essex Fells, North Caldwell and Roseland – will vote Tuesday on a referendum proposing a $4,495,600 bond issue to finance a regional junior-senior high school." The West Essex district opened in September 1960 for students in grades 9–11 in facilities rented from the Caldwell-West Caldwell district, and the district's new building opened for use in September 1961, at which time grades 7–12 and 1,200 students were served.Staff. "Essex", The New York Times, September 5, 1960. Accessed July 24, 2011.Honig, Milton. "Essex", The New York Times, September 4, 1961. Accessed July 24, 2011.
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 25th-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 16th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 36th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 24, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 48th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 2, 2011. The school was ranked 34th 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 106th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 23 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (86.8%) and language arts literacy (95.9%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2010-11 HSPA results, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 12, 2012.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 944th in the nation among participating public high schools and 70th among schools in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013.
Extracurricular activities West Essex Regional High School provides many opportunities for students, from theater productions to sports teams to service clubs.School Publications, West Essex High School. Accessed May 2, 2022. Wessex Wire school newspaper has won multiple awards from Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Garden State Scholastic Press Association, and other student journalism organizations. Roundtable literary magazine has won multiple awards from Columbia Scholastic Press Association and other literary organizations. Milestone yearbook
There are many academic-based clubs (i.e. Italian Club, Robotics Team) and service-oriented clubs such as WE CARE (environment), WE HELP (community service), and WE STOP (peer leadership). WE also has a variety of arts-based groups, such as the art club, the Masquers theater group, the jazz choir, the girls a cappella choir (Ladies Knight), and the dance team. Additionally, there are other academic based clubs such as STEM club, FBLA, and DECA clubs.
Amenities
West Essex has many amenities that are available for students. It has four fields: one being a turf field for the West Essex Football Knights, two baseball fields that can also be used for other sports practices, and a soccer field. In addition, it has tennis courts used by the tennis teams.
Athletics The West Essex High School KnightsWest Essex High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Super Essex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Essex County 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. Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had competed as part of the Iron Hills Conference, which included public and private high schools in Essex County, Morris County and Union County.Home Page, Iron Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 2, 2011. Accessed December 3, 2014. With 849 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 West Essex football team competes in Patriot Division B of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which was formed following the merger of several conferences in 2016.Stanmyre, Matthew. "Schedules released for 115-team North Jersey Super Football Conference", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 30, 2015. Accessed April 3, 2017. The football team competes in the Patriot White 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 participates as the host school / lead agency in a joint ice hockey team with James Caldwell 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.