Montclair High School (New Jersey)

Montclair High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Montclair, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Montclair Public School District. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1928.Montclair 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 27, 2015.

As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,925 students and 149.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.9:1. There were 275 students (14.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 69 (3.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Montclair High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.

History

Founded in 1886, Montclair High School quickly outgrew its original location (torn down in the 1930s) on Orange Road, the site of which is now the field of Hillside School. Initially, the school included just the Main Building but as time went on and the enrollment grew, the board of education allowed the high school to annex George Inness Freshman High School building across the street which is used for ninth-grade classes.

Facilities The school holds classes in two buildings. The Main Building of the high school is located 100 Chestnut Street, and the George Innes Annex or Freshman building is located on 141 Park Street. Montclair High School has an amphitheater. Its Woodman Field and Furlong Field House are on Essex Avenue, two blocks east of the main campus.

Rankings The school was the 120th-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 99th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 94th in 2010 out of 322 schools.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed November 6, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 85th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed June 28, 2011. The school was ranked 90th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools."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 201st out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 56 positions from the 2009 rank), 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 January 24, 2012.

In Newsweeks May 22, 2007, issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Montclair High School was listed in 896th place, the 24th-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 listed in 214th place, the eighth-highest-ranked school in New Jersey, in Newsweeks May 8, 2006, issue, listing the Top 1,200 High Schools in the United States.Top 1,200 High Schools in the United States, Newsweek, May 8, 2006.

Academics Montclair High School's performing arts program includes dance, fine arts, instrumental music, performing arts, theater arts, visual arts, and vocal music.

In 2009 and 2013, seniors of the Civics and Government Institute at Montclair High placed second in the state at the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution competition held in Trenton, New Jersey. The 2013 team qualified for the We the People national finals in Washington D.C., but were unable to attend due to budgetary concerns.Kaulessar, Ricardo. "Montclair High students ready to show off knowledge of the Constitution" , The Montclair Times, January 9, 2016. Accessed December 31, 2016. "In the 14 years that he has worked with MHS students on the "We The People" effort, Wingren said that his students have excelled and have made a strong showing for themselves. MHS teams finished in second place in the state finals in 2009, and in 2013 earned them a spot along with the first-place team from New Jersey to go to the national finals."

Faculty The school's principal is Jeffrey A. Freeman. His core administration team includes four assistant principals.Administration, Montclair High School. Accessed January 18, 2026.

"Humanities" and "Philosophy and Composition" teacher Gregory Woodruff was named "Humanities Teacher of the Year" by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities in 2010, for teaching highly rigorous classes in classical and contemporary literature and philosophy. He was awarded the Weston Award in 2011.Tsuruoka, Sonia. "'Seeing the Light': Weston Award Winner Greg Woodruff". 20 June 2011.

Clubs and activities As of the 2021–22 school year, Montclair High School had 107 clubs.Montclair High School Clubs and Activities, Montclair High School. Accessed January 30, 2022. In 2009, 2011, and 2012, the members of the Model Congress/Model United Nations Club won "Best Delegation" at the University of Pennsylvania Model Congress Conference."Wow! Model Congress Club At MHS Wins Best Delegation Award—Again!", Montclair Patch. Accessed April 2, 2012. Montclair High School's Fed Challenge Team has ranked first in the New York Region eight times and won the National Fed Challenge Championship in 2001.Indian Creek High School Named a Finalist in "Fed Challenge" National Competition , accessed October 23, 2006. The Montclair High School competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition.

In 2007, 2009, and 2016, Montclair High School won the Euro Challenge championship.About Euro Challenge , Euro Challenge. Accessed December 31, 2016.Staff. "Students from Montclair High School Win the 2016 Euro Challenge!" , Euro Challenge, April 21, 2016. "Our warmest congratulations to the Montclair High School team from New Jersey, which won this year's Euro Challenge competition." In 2001, Montclair High School came in 2nd place in the National High School Mock Trial Championships held in Omaha, Nebraska.2001 National High School Mock Trial Championships results, accessed July 18, 2006. It was the New Jersey High School Mock Trial champion in 2006,2005–2006 Mock Trial Competition Results, New Jersey State Bar Foundation press release, dated March 28, 2006, backed up by the Internet Archive as of April 17, 2007. Accessed August 12, 2017. "Essex County — Montclair High School, Montclair Regional Finalist, Statewide Semi-Finalist and Statewide Champions, First Place." and was named co-champion with Bordentown Regional High School in 2020 after the finals were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Bassin, Steve. "Bordentown Regional High School Mock Trial team crowned co-winner of state championship", CentralJersey.com, May 6, 2020. Accessed October 17, 2021. "It was announced on April 30 by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation that both Bordentown and Montclair High School were named co-champs of the 2019-20 Vincent J. Apruzzese Mock Trial Competition."

Athletics The Montclair High School MountiesMontclair High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Super Essex Conference, which includes 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. Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school participated in Division B of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, which was comprised of high schools located in Bergen County, Essex County, and Passaic County, and was separated into three divisions based on NJSIAA size classification.Home Page, Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, backed up by the Internet Archive as of May 9, 2009. Accessed December 16, 2014. With 1,596 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 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 Liberty White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools 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 V North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 1,317 to 5,409 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. Montclair's sports programs include rowing, baseball, football, lacrosse, soccer, ice hockey, basketball, volleyball, softball, track and field, fencing, golf, cross country, field hockey, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, tennis, and bowling.

MHS expanded and refurnished its field house at Woodman Field in Essex Park. The field house houses restrooms, locker rooms, and meeting areas for many of the Montclair sports teams, in particular football. Completed for the 2008–09 school year at an estimated cost of $5 million, the field house accommodates a new weight lifting gym with glass walls overlooking Woodman Field, a film screening room for the Montclair Mounties football team, and observation rooms looking over Woodman Field. After receiving a pledge from the Furlong family of $3 million towards the project, the Furlong Field House at Montclair High School was constructed, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October 2008."New Field House Design Approved" , Montclair Public Schools. Accessed January 24, 2012."Ribbon-Cutting for Furlong Field House: October 25" , Montclair Public Schools. Accessed January 24, 2012.