The Bergenfield Public School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Bergenfield in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Bergenfield Choice District Profile for 2022-23 School Year, Interdistrict Public School Choice Program. Accessed June 26, 2025. "The Bergenfield Public School District is comprised of five elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. The District provides a high quality, comprehensive education for all kindergarten through twelfth grade students."Bergenfield Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Bergenfield Public School District, adopted October 15, 2007. Accessed June 26, 2025. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through twelve in the Bergenfield School District. Composition: The Bergenfield School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of the Borough of Bergenfield."
As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprising seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,710 students and 292.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.7:1.District information for Bergenfield Borough School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
The district participates in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, which allows non-resident students to attend school in the district at no cost to their parents, with tuition covered by the resident district.List of Choice Districts: Choice Program Profiles for 2025-2026 School Year, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed January 1, 2025. Available slots are announced annually by grade.Bergenfield Public Schools Choice Profile for 2025-26 School Year, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed January 1, 2025.
History In 1935, the district's board of education cited overcrowding at Dumont High School and Tenafly High School, which Bergenfield students had been attending, as justification to build a new high school, as long as costs were reasonable and government funding was obtained."Bergenfield Board Backs High School For Borough; Unanimous Support Is Given Building Plan, Provided Cost Is Kept Reasonable", The Record, June 12, 1935. Accessed September 4, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "Bergenfield Board of Education, on a motion sponsored by Trustee C. Henry Reinhart, last night definitely established itself in favor of a high school provided a 45 per cent grant of the total cost can be had from the Federal P. W. A. and the balance borrowed on forty-year bonds carrying a low rate of interest.... According to Zimmerman, who attended a meeting in Trenton recently, the State officials heartily endorsed the Bergenfield High School plan, pointing out that both Dumont and Tenafly High Schools, in which Bergenfield High School students are divided, are overcrowded and have for a long time been some means of keeping for contemplating, their own pupils." The original high school building was constructed at a cost of $370,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) as an addition to an existing school, and dedicated in ceremonies held in April 1941.Staff. "To Dedicate Bergenfield School", The New York Times, March 30, 1941. Accessed September 4, 2025. "The new $370,000 Bergenfield High School, an addition to Harding School at Washington and Clinton Avenues, will be dedicated Monday at 8 P. M." The latest high school building was constructed at a cost of $3,625,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) and opened in 1959 on South Prospect Avenue to accommodate the post war Baby Boom and replaced the combination junior/senior high school (formerly called Warren J. Harding) on the corner of Clinton and Washington Avenue, which become a middle school.staff. "Bergen High School Open", The New York Times, October 15, 1959. Accessed September 4, 2025. "The $3,625,000 senior high school opened without ceremony this morning."
The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "FG", the fourth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 1, 2024.
Schools Schools in the district (with 2023–24 enrollment data from the National Center for Education StatisticsSchool Data for the Bergenfield Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.) are:District Administration, Bergenfield Public School District. Accessed June 26, 2025.Statistical Forecasting Inc. Demographic Study for the Bergenfield Public School District, Bergenfield Public School District, December 2022. Accessed June 26, 2025. "The Bergenfield School District has seven (7) schools educating children in grades prekindergarten through twelfth. Children attend one of five elementary schools for grades PK-5: Franklin Elementary School ('Franklin'), Hoover Elementary School ('Hoover'), Jefferson Elementary School ('Jefferson'), Lincoln Elementary School ('Lincoln'), or Washington Elementary School ('Washington'). Roy Brown Middle School ('Brown') educates children in grades 6-8 while Bergenfield High School educates children in grades 9-12."School Performance Reports for the Bergenfield Borough School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 26, 2025.New Jersey School Directory for the Bergenfield Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024. Elementary schools Franklin Elementary SchoolFranklin Elementary School, Bergenfield Public School District. Accessed June 26, 2025. with 372 students in grades PreK–5 Everett B. Thompson, principal Hoover Elementary SchoolHoover Elementary School, Bergenfield Public School District. Accessed June 26, 2025. with 272 students in grades PreK–5 William Fleming, principal Jefferson Elementary SchoolJefferson Elementary School, Bergenfield Public School District. Accessed June 26, 2025. with 289 students in grades K–5 Craig Vogt, principal Lincoln Elementary SchoolLincoln Elementary School, Bergenfield Public School District. Accessed June 26, 2025. with 440 students in grades PreK–5 James Mitchel, principal Washington Elementary SchoolWashington Elementary School, Bergenfield Public School District. Accessed June 26, 2025. with 257 students in grades K–5 Thomas Lawrence, principal Middle school Roy W. Brown Middle SchoolRoy W. Brown Middle School, Bergenfield Public School District. Accessed June 26, 2025. with 792 students in grades 6–8 Dominick Rotante, principal
High school Bergenfield High SchoolBergenfield High School, Bergenfield Public School District. Accessed June 26, 2025. with 1,250 students in grades 9–12 Robert Ragasa, principal
Administration Core members of the district's administration are:New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024. Christopher Tully, superintendent of schools JoAnn Khoury-Frias, business administrator and board secretary
Board of education The district's board of education is comprised of five members who set policy and oversee the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Bergenfield Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education for year ending June 30, 2024. Accessed June 26, 2025. "The Bergenfield Board of Education (the 'Board' or the 'District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an education institution. The Board consists of five elected officials and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District. A Superintendent of Schools is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District. A School Business Administrator/Board Secretary is also appointed by the Board and oversees the business functions of the District." See "Roster of Officials" on page 12.Board of Education Members, Bergenfield Public School District. Accessed June 26, 2025.
References
External links Bergenfield Public Schools website
School Data for the Bergenfield Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics