Ridgewood High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Ridgewood, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Ridgewood Public Schools.

As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,740 students and 137.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.7:1. There were 40 students (2.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 13 (0.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Ridgewood High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.

History

Ridgewood High School was created in 1892, with the creation of a formal ninth grade class. A sophomore class was added the following year. A high school building was established in 1895, and the school received formal recognition from the state as an approved high school.History of RHS, Ridgewood High School. Accessed February 1, 2022. "Ridgewood High School was founded in 1892 when the principal, B.C. Wooster, reorganized the ninth grade into a freshman class and made it the first‑year class of high school."

The campus includes one central building, which, along with the original gym, was completed in 1919 at a total cost of $285,000 (equivalent to $ million in ). The building features brick walls, a slate roof and other stone features.Hanley, Robert. "The $25 Million Defeat", The New York Times, December 21, 1997. Accessed January 22, 2012. "The high school, built in 1919 for $285,000 (after one bond issue failed), sits on a little bluff and is one of Ridgewood's most imposing buildings." The building was planned to be opened at an earlier date but it was postponed because of World War I.History of Ridgewood High School, Ridgewood High School. Accessed March 20, 2016. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Tracy and Swartwout, which also designed the Missouri State Capitol building.

Students from Glen Rock had attended the high school for grades 10–12 from the time the borough was created. The Glen Rock district was informed in March 1952 by Ridgewood that its students could not be accommodated any longer in Ridgewood after the 1954–55 school year. Glen Rock High School opened in September 1956 with only tenth graders, as those in eleventh and twelfth grades completed their education through graduation at Ridgewood High School.Bagby, Scott; and Pangburn, Weaver Wendell. The Glen Rock Plan: A Comprehensive Guide for Continuous Action Designed to Maintain and Increase Basic Social and Economic Values, p. 18. Borough of Glen Rock, 1952. Accessed March 25, 2022. "Although the three upper grades have gone to Ridgewood High School since before the founding of the Borough, Glen Rock has now been notified that by 1955 it will have to provide for its own high school students elsewhere.""Glen Rock To Open High School Class; Juniors, Seniors Stay At Ridgewood, Sophomores Attend Classes Here", The Record, August 22, 1956. Accessed March 25, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Opening of the new Glen Rock High School on September 6 will create the unusual situation of three schools, each a separate entity, operating under one roof. The High School will occupy part of the greatly enlarged Junior High School building but they will operate as two separate schools, not a junior-senior high school, according to Superintendent Eugene J. Bradford.... There will be only sophomores in the new school this year, as juniors and seniors will complete their secondary education in Ridgewood High School.... Opening of the High School brings the climax to a 4 1/2-year task for Bradford and the Board of Education. The Board received notice from Ridgewood in March 1952 that no more Glen Rock students could be accommodated at Ridgewood after September 1954."

The newest part of the school, the science wing, was completed in 2001 and contains 15 laboratory classrooms, three computer labs and a new industrial arts center. A new fitness center, gymnasium, and multipurpose room, the Campus Center, were also included in the renovation. Due to their proximity to the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook, the school's fields often flood during heavy rains and spring runoff.Ebbels, Kelly. "Ridgewood sports fields flooded from swollen Ho-Ho-Kus Brook", The Ridgewood News, March 17, 2011. Accessed March 20, 2016.

Awards, recognition and rankings During the 1986–87 school year, Ridgewood High School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,National Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982 Through 2019 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2024. the highest award an American school can receive."CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve.""Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."

The school was the 28th-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 28th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 20th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 12, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 7th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed June 22, 2011. The school was ranked 24th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 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 tied for 40th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 8 positions from the 2010 ranking), which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (94.6%) and language arts literacy (96.5%) 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 the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 27th in New Jersey and 917th nationwide.Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Ridgewood High School", The Washington Post. Accessed August 4, 2011. In Newsweeks May 22, 2007, issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Ridgewood High School was listed in 549th place, the tenth-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 ranked 472 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. and was ranked 323 in Newsweeks 2005 survey.America's Best High Schools, Newsweek, August 5, 2005, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 15, 2005. Accessed November 25, 2015.

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools," The Daily Beast ranked the school 363rd in the nation among participating public high schools and 32nd among schools in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013. The school was ranked 273rd in the nation and 25th in New Jersey on the list of "America's Best High Schools 2012" prepared by The Daily Beast / Newsweek, with rankings based primarily on graduation rate, matriculation rate for college and number of Advanced Placement / International Baccalaureate courses taken per student, with lesser factors based on average scores on the SAT / ACT, average AP/IB scores and the number of AP/IB courses available to students.Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2012", The Daily Beast / Newsweek, May 20, 2012. Accessed May 24, 2012.

In Spring 2013, Medha Kirtane, a Social Studies teacher at RHS, was honored as an "exceptional" secondary school teacher by Princeton University. An alumnus of Williams College and Harvard Graduate School, Kirtane was recognized along with three other teachers from across the state.Herzog, Laura. "Top Ridgewood teacher distinguishes herself", The Ridgewood News, May 31, 2013. Accessed November 25, 2015. "According to Princeton University, as well as her colleagues and students, these qualities make her one of the state's top teachers. In June, the university will honor Kirtane, who has worked at RHS for nine years, and three other public and private high school teachers in New Jersey."

Academic team Ridgewood High School has had success with its academic teams. Recent successes have included victories in 2013 and 2014 at various local tournaments. Ridgewood's JV History Bowl team won the Northern New Jersey History Bowl in January 2013 and later finished as a quarterfinalist at the 2013 National History Bowl National Championships. In 2015, Ridgewood's Varsity History Bowl finished tied for ninth place at the National Championships. Ridgewood High School was also the site of the 2010 Tri-State History Bowl, a history quiz tournament which served as the pilot competition for what became the National History Bee and Bowl."History competition draws nearly 200 New Jersey high school students", The Record, December 7, 2013. Accessed May 16, 2015.

Athletics