Pascack Hills High School (PHHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school, one of two secondary schools serving students in ninth through twelfth grade as part of the Pascack Valley Regional High School District in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Administration, Pascack Valley Regional High School District. Accessed August 27, 2024. "The Pascack Valley Regional High School District is comprised of two high schools, Pascack Hills High School and Pascack Valley High School, in northern Bergen County New Jersey." Pascack Hills serves the residents of both Montvale, where the campus is located, and the neighboring community of Woodcliff Lake. The other high school in the district is Pascack Valley High School, which serves the communities of Hillsdale and River Vale.Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Pascack Valley Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed April 5, 2020. "The District is of two high schools. Pascack Hills High School, which is located in Montvale, receives students from the towns of Montvale and Woodcliff Lake. Pascack Valley High School, located in Hillsdale, is the receiving school for students who reside in the towns of Hillsdale and River Vale."Pascack Valley Regional High School District 2015 School Report Card District Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 5, 2020. "The district is comprised of two high schools. Pascack Hills High School, which is located in Montvale, receives students from the towns of Montvale and Woodcliff Lake. Pascack Valley High School, located in Hillsdale, enrolls students from Hillsdale and River Vale."
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 767 students and 77.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.9:1. There were 5 students (0.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 5 (0.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Pascack Hills High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
History The school opened in September 1964, having been built to alleviate crowding at the district's original facility, Pascack Valley High School, which had been opened in 1955.2022-2023 Student Handbook, Pascack Hills High School. Accessed December 27, 2022. "In September of 1964 Pascack Hills High School opened up to students living in Montvale, Woodcliff Lake, and a portion of Hillsdale." Constructed at a cost of $2.9 million (equivalent to $ million in ), the facility was designed with a system of folding walls that could be adjusted to handle student groups of varying sizes. The district received a $12,000 grant from a unit of the Ford Foundation that would allow the school to use IT&T computer systems run by a senior program analyst from that firm that would allow students to select classes on their own.Staff. "News Notes: Classroom And Campus", The New York Times, March 1, 1964. Accessed August 24, 2011. The school spent its first five decades relatively unchanged in terms of architecture. In 2006, an extra gym was added. Most recently, the new science wing was opened as well as a new entrance building. This school is one of the first locally to provide every student with a laptop, which can be taken home, and be used in school every day.Dawkins, Walter. "Free laptops put Pascack Valley High School students in special class.", The Record, May 3, 2005. Accessed April 29, 2008. Every classroom is fitted with a wireless access point (IEEE 802.11 a/g/n), which provides the students with internet. For the 2007–08 school year, the school upgraded all of its laptop computers to Apple MacBooks.
Awards, recognition and rankings Pascack Hills High School was the 7th-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 18th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 7th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 12th in 2008 and was ranked 8th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2010: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2010, posted August 7, 2010. Accessed August 19, 2010. The school's peak rating by New Jersey Monthly was in 2001 at 2nd. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 46th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 29 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (93.0%) and language arts literacy (97.0%) 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 26, 2012.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 345th in the nation among participating public high schools and 27th among schools in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools" , The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013.
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 62nd in New Jersey and 1,782nd nationwide.Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Pascack Hills High School", The Washington Post. Accessed August 21, 2011. In Newsweek's May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Pascack Hills High School was listed in 1194th place, the 40th-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.
As of February 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked Pascack Hills as the No. 968 High School nationwide, and No. 42 within New Jersey.
As of February 2024, Niche (company) ranked Pascack Hills as the No. 95 public school within New Jersey.
Campus Pascack Hills High School's athletic facilities include a regulation size track, a turf football field named for long-time principal Bart DiPaola, four tennis courts, a combination softball and baseball field that can be utilized for soccer, and two gymnasiums, which house basketball and volleyball.
Academics Students at Pascack Hills High School are required to take four years of English, three years of mathematics, two years of world language, three years of science, and three years of social studies in order to graduate. In addition, the class of 2014 and beyond must successfully complete a half year of the state-mandated Financial Literacy course. The school offers Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, and ESL courses for their world language program. The AP courses offered to students for the 2015 to 2016 academic year are AP English III, AP English IV, AP US History (divided into the students' sophomore and junior years), AP World History, AP Calculus, AP Environmental Science, AP Computer Science, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Spanish Language, AP French Language, AP Studio Art, and AP Art History. The school also offers an array of Virtual High School courses via an online option.Program of Studies 2016-2017, Pascack Valley Regional High School District. Accessed May 31, 2016. "Virtual schooldays" are part of the plan.Albrizio, Lianna. "Pascack Valley districts plan virtual school days in February", Pascack Valley Community Life, December 31, 2015. Accessed May 31, 2016. "In February, both the Pascack Valley Regional High School and Park Ridge school districts are planning virtual days for their students and faculty, an opportunity officials say will continue to help students learn efficiently in an online environment."
Athletics The Pascack Hills BroncosPascack Hills High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in Colonial Division A of the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference (NJIC), which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties, 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. Before the 2010 realignment, the school was one of the 12 high schools participating in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League (NBIL/NBIAL).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 March 30, 2021. With 607 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. The football team competes in the American 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 II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.