Harrison High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in Harrison, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Harrison Public Schools. Students from East Newark attend Harrison High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the East Newark School District,Duger, Rose. "East Newark Harrison merging dispatch service" , The Jersey Journal, December 30, 2010. Accessed March 25, 2011. "Kearny handles all health-related functions through its Board of Health, while East Newark high school children attend Harrison High School and the borough contracts with Harrison to provide street cleaning, snow removal, ambulance and library services." though the East Newark district has sought to switch to sending students to Kearny High School, citing potential cost savings.Leir, Ron. "Getting serious about separating", The Observer Online, December 18, 2013. Accessed September 8, 2014. "East Newark school officials, who've been doing a lot of talking about a permanent 'recess' for borough students who attend Harrison High, have taken a big step to try to make that happen.... That action could mean that after completing eighth grade at East Newark Public School, borough kids would go to Kearny High School, instead of Harrison High, where they've gone, essentially, since the neighboring communities have existed."
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 795 students and 50.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.9:1. There were 594 students (74.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 122 (15.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Harrison High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
History In 2000, the then Harrison High School building (now Washington Middle School) was used as the location of an open casting call by HBO for the series The Sopranos, which brought 15,000-plus TV star hopefuls to the town, doubling the town's population and bringing traffic to a standstill.Mallozzi, Vincent M. "A Big Crowd That Aspires To Be a Mob", The New York Times, July 23, 2000. Accessed September 11, 2013. "I was one of thousands who showed up at Harrison High School today for a much-publicized casting call for those interested in auditioning for parts in the hit HBO series The Sopranos, which happens to be my favorite.... By that time, Lt. Charles Trucillo of the Harrison Police Department estimated, 4,000 or 5,000 people were already in line."
In September 2013, Harrison High School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, one of 286 in the country to receive the award that year.U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Announces 286 National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2013, United States Department of Education, September 24, 2013. Accessed October 16, 2013.2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools, All Public and Private, United States Department of Education. Accessed August 2, 2014.
Awards, recognition and rankings In September 2013, Harrison High School was recognized by the United States Department of Education as an Exemplary Improving School, as part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.Rundquist, Jeanette. "15 N.J. schools named as national 'Blue Ribbon' winners", The Star-Ledger, September 24, 2013. Accessed September 24, 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 24, 2013.
The school was the 289th-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 205th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 213th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 1, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 216th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 25, 2011. The school was ranked 227th 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 285th out of 367 public high schools statewide in its 2009-10 rankings 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 December 29, 2011.
Athletics The Harrison High School Blue TideHarrison High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. participate in the Meadowlands Division of the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which is comprised of small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).Mattura, Greg. "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship", The Record, January 9, 2017. Accessed August 30, 2020. "The small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference may debut its own boys basketball tournament this season, one season after introducing its girls hoops championship. The NJIC is comprised of schools from Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties and the event offered to the 36 boys teams would serve as an alternative to likely competing against larger programs in a county tournament."Member Schools, North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. Accessed August 30, 2020.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 participated in the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL).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 October 7, 2014. With 525 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. Without enough players to justify fielding a team, the school elected to sit out the 2024-25 football season.Rasko-Martinia, Garrett. "Jersey Journal H.S. Football Preview, 2024: Harrison to sit out the season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 26, 2024. Accessed September 20, 2024. "It didn’t surprise him that it had come to this, but that didn’t make the announcement any less difficult for Harrison High School athletic director Sean Dolaghan. But with dwindling numbers reaching a new low point, there was no choice but to not field a football team this season."
Interscholastic sports played at Harrison High School include: Boys' sports - Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming, Cross Country, and Baseball Girls' sports - Volleyball, Tennis, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, Cross Country, Flag Football, and Softball Co-Ed - Cheerleading and Bowling