Passaic Valley Regional High School is the name of both a public school district and regional high school for students in ninth through twelfth grades from a district comprised of Little Falls, Totowa and Woodland Park, three communities in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Passaic Valley Regional High School District No.1 Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Passaic Valley Regional High School. Accessed October 8, 2023. "Purpose The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades nine through twelve in the Passaic Valley Regional High School District No. 1. Composition The Passaic Valley Regional High School District No. 1 is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Little Falls, Totowa, and Woodland Park."District Information, Passaic Valley High School, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 14, 2008. Accessed October 8, 2018. "The regional district which is served by Passaic Valley High School is comprised of the communities of Little Falls, Totowa Borough and Woodland Park."2004 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, December 2004, p. 211.West Paterson no more, The Record, November 5, 2008. Accessed November 5, 2008. The high school is the only facility in the Passaic Valley Regional High School District.2023–24 Public School Directory, Passaic County, New Jersey. Accessed March 1, 2024.School Performance Reports for the Passaic Valley Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.New Jersey School Directory for the Passaic Valley Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,060 students and 85.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1. There were 283 students (26.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 83 (7.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Passaic Valley Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
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 22, 2024.
The Passaic Valley board of education consists of nine members, with three members elected from each municipality. The board generally meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month during the school year and once a month during the summer.
History Overcrowding at Paterson Central High School led the three constituent municipalities in 1938 to begin discussions for the formation of a regional school district that would serve an estimated 600 students at a cost that would be comparable to the amounts paid in tuition for the sending/receiving relationships with the Paterson Public Schools and more cost effective than building high schools in each community."Regional High Given Board of Education; Little Falls And West Paterson Would Join With Totowa Borough In Building Proposed Institution", The Morning Call, June 22, 1938. Accessed April 26, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The proposal has been made to the Totowa Borough Board of Education for the establishment of a regional high school in conjunction with West Paterson and Little Falls. At a recent meeting attended by the members of the local board some ideas were presented, showing that with a combination of the pupils of the three municipalities, a school of over 600 pupils could be set up. Crowded conditions in the Paterson High school was given as the reason for the proposal."
Constructed at a cost of $500,000 (equivalent to $ million in ), nearly half of which was covered by a grant from the Public Works Administration, the school was designed to handle an enrollment of 650 to as many as 800, and was opened to students in September 1940."Proposed Little Falls-Totowa Borough-West Paterson Regional High School", Paterson Evening News, March 16, 1939. Accessed April 26, 2022, via Newspapers.com."$500,000 Regional High School To Open Next Monday", The Morning Call, September 11, 1940. Accessed April 26, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Representing the very latest in the world of education, the Regional High School at Little Falls which will cater to students of Little Falls, West Paterson and Totowa Borough will open on Monday morning, Sept. 16." The school mascot, the Hornet, was derived by vote of the first class from the Green Hornet radio series popular in the 1940s, as were the school colors of green and white."Passaic Valley Remembers Clifford Swicher", Passaic Valley Gazette, Summer 2018. Accessed March 31, 2021. "In its inaugural year, Passaic Valley had yet to choose a mascot, school colors, or a school song. Inspired by a popular superhero known as The Green Hornet, the student council decided on a mascot - the hornet - and with it, the 'immortal green and white.'""PVHS", Wayne Today, September 14, 2000. Accessed March 31, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "In 1940, the PV student body selected Kelly green and white as its school colors. Also, according to Schneider, student Robert Matthew designed the fighting hornet, loosely designed after the Green Hornet, a popular radio program in the 40s. The design, which is copyrighted with the federal government, became and still is PV’s symbol and mascot."
Awards, recognition and rankings As of 2019, the school is ranked 233rd out of 415 New Jersey public high schools. The school was the 225th-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 202nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 144th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 19, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 170th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 17, 2011. The school was ranked 166th 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 192nd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 4 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the two components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), mathematics (79.1%) and language arts literacy (92.3%).School Overview; Click on "Rankings" for 2003-11 HSPA results, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 11, 2012.
Academics Passaic Valley Regional High School offers the following Advanced Placement courses: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Calculus AB, English Literature & Composition, English Language & Composition, United States History, Spanish, United States Government & Politics, and Environmental Science. The school also offers the following courses as honors: Anatomy and Physiology, English, United States History, World History, Algebra I, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, Geometry, Italian, French, Spanish, Business Practice Firm, Biology and Chemistry.2017-18 School Performance Report / School Narrative for Passaic Valley Regional High School, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 20, 2019.
The school also is part of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Middle College Program where students may choose to obtain college credits for selected courses including Anatomy & Physiology Honors and Holocaust & Genocide.
Extracurricular activities Passaic Valley participates in "24 Hours Around the World" in which students teleconference with other nations for 24 hours.
Passaic Valley's Drama Department is a part of the North Jersey Metro Cappies, a student critic program that introduces students to the world of theater journalism. They run a summer program where students in grades 9-12 all around the NJ/NY area can work together on a performance.
On March 1, 2019, Passaic Valley celebrated its 74th annual Girl's Show where girls within the school, separated into two teams, compete in the following categories: Exercise, Cheer, Dance, Relays and Novelties, and Posters.
Athletics The Passaic Valley Regional High School Hornets compete in the Independence Division of the Big North Conference,Passaic Valley High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. In the 2009-10 school year, the school competed in the North Jersey Tri-County Conference, which was established on an interim basis to facilitate the realignment.League Memberships - 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed September 20, 2014. Prior to the realignment, the school had participated in the Skyline Division of the Northern Hills Conference, which included schools in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.Home Page, Northern Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 28, 2011. Accessed December 15, 2014. With 930 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 football team competes in the Patriot Blue 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. Passaic Valley's school colors are green and white.