Pompton Lakes High School (PLHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the borough of Pompton Lakes in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Pompton Lakes School District. The school serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Pompton Lakes and Riverdale, in neighboring Morris County, whose students attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship.Pompton Lakes High School 2016-17 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 20, 2018. "Part of the #1 safest district in the state and #4 safest district in America as ranked by niche.com, PLHS serves both the boroughs of Pompton Lakes and Riverdale. PLHS also hosts some students from other neighboring towns through the state's Interdistrict Public School Choice Program as well as the school's reputable life skills program for students with autism and other disabilities."Home Page, Pompton Lakes School District. Accessed October 21, 2024. "The Pompton Lakes schools serve over 1700 students in grades K-12. We have two elementary schools, a middle and a high school. Pompton Lakes enjoys a sending-receiving relationship with the borough of Riverdale; these students attend Pompton Lakes High School."Pompton Lakes Information and Reference Calendar '07-'08, Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. Accessed November 23, 2014. "Pompton Lakes High School initially received students from Oakland, Wayne and Midland Park. Currently, there is a receiving district relationship between Pompton Lakes and Riverdale students."Laplaca, Bryan. "Back in the Day: Saddened by Pompton/Riverdale rift", Suburban Trends, July 18, 2010. Accessed May 24, 2011. "Tensions between Riverdale and Pompton Lakes concerning their sending/receiving contract for Pompton Lakes High School are nothing new." The high school is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 610 students and 52.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1. There were 116 students (19.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 36 (5.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Pompton Lakes High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
The school mascot is the Cardinal.
History Built in 1932 in Colonial Revival style, a product of the New Deal Era, the high school opened to students in September of that year and graduated its first class the following June. Students from Pompton Lakes attended Butler High School before the opening of Pompton Lakes High School. At its opening in 1933, the school received students from Wayne, Oakland, and Midland Park as well as Pompton Lakes. Since then, the school has maintained much of its original structure, with additions of a larger library, another locker room, and an entirely new wing erected in the 1960s.
Students from Wayne had attended the school until 1952, when Wayne Valley High School was opened.Gantaifis, Nick. "Football: Legendary high school football coach Fred Keil passes away",Wayne Today, January 19, 2016. Accessed August 30, 2020. "Wayne Valley High School did not open until 1952 and prior to that Wayne students attended nearby Pompton Lakes High School." Oakland joined Franklin Lakes and Wyckoff in creating a regional school district in 1954"Regional High At Polls Jan. 26", The Morning Call, January 14, 1954. Accessed April 6, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland voters will go to the polls at a special election Tuesday, Jan. 26 to vote on whether or not they, approve Board of Education plans for a regional high school for the three towns. Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes now send pupils to Ramsey High school and Oakland sends to Pompton Lakes High School." with students starting to attend Ramapo High School for the 1956–57 school year."Ramapo Students May Hold Classes at Christian High", Ridgewood Herald-News, July 5, 1956. Accessed October 21, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Their Problem; The Ramapo Regional High School, now under construction in Franklin Lakes, is intended to serve the communities of Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes, and Oakland. I) It has been indicated by the Glenwal Company, general contractor for construction of this high school, that the school will not be ready for occupancy on Sept. 10, 1956.... In the past the Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes students attended Ramsey High School, while the Oakland students attended Pompton Lakes High School."
Midland Park's withdrawal was forced by Pompton Lakes. Those by Wayne and Oakland were voluntary; Wayne's was to accommodate the growth of the towns in the 1950s while Ramsey led to Oakland's.Staff. "Enrollments Tax Schools In Bergen; Auxiliary Rooms Are Being Converted for Classes and Construction Is Pushed", The New York Times, September 4, 1954. Accessed November 14, 2017. "Crowding is a critical problem in the high schools of the triangular area embracing Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland. They have united in a plan for a regional high school. How soon this plant will be ready is problematical, but there is pressure in the fact that Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes students will not be accepted at Ramsey High School after the fall of 1956.""Regional High At Polls Jan. 26", The Morning Call, January 14, 1954. Accessed April 6, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland voters will go to the polls at a special election Tuesday, Jan. 26 to vote on whether or not they, approve Board of Education plans for a regional high school for the three towns. Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes now send pupils to Ramsey High school and Oakland sends to Pompton Lakes High School." Pompton Lakes mandated Midland Park to leave after the end of the 1956-57 school year; this led Midland Park to open their high school.Abma, Rebecca K. "The History of School Referendums in Midland Park", Midland Park Press, January 28, 2013. Accessed September 29, 2015. "But in 1954, Pompton Lakes school officials announced it would no longer have room for Midland Park students after 1957, which lead Midland Park to explore a high school of its own. On June 2, 1955, voters approved a $1.4 million bond referendum to construct the Midland Park Junior-Senior High School on 22.2 acres of the Blom's Dairy property. The school opened September 1957 with 32 classrooms, a library, gymnasium, three guidance offices, administrative space, music and industrial rooms, homemaking rooms and a double cafeteria."
Riverdale began their efforts to send their high school students to the school as early as 1975, and they started to attend in 1991, after the Riverdale district ended their sending/receiving relationship with the Kinnelon Public Schools, under which they had sent their high school students to Kinnelon High School; a far lower cost per student at Pompton Lakes and proximity were the main reasons for the change."Riverdale Students to Go to Pompton Lakes High", The Star-Ledger, June 29, 1988, p. 13. Accessed June 7, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "In noting reasons some of the reasons it is seeking a sending-receiving student contract with Pompton Lakes, Board President John Lucente cited the closer proximity of Pompton Lakes High and what Riverdale felt were 'excessive' rates being charged by Kinnelon. The distance between Riverdale and Kinnelon High is seven miles compared to two miles from Riverdale to Pompton Lakes High." Riverdale accounted for 114 of the 560 students attending the high school in 1995, nearly 20% of enrollment at the school.Branch, Linda. "School Districts Review Sender-Receiver Pacts", The Star-Ledger, December 13, 1995. Accessed May 26, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "Prior to 1991, Riverdale had a sender-receiver relationship with Kinnelon that was broken primarily for financial reasons."Branch, Linda. "Riverdale Reconsiders High School Sender-Pact", The Star-Ledger, June 11, 1995. Accessed May 26, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "The return of Riverdale's high school students to Kinnelon High School could be a possibility if a sender-receiver contract between Riverdale and Pompton Lakes is not renewed, according to officials. 'It's a business negotiation, and it makes good sense to identify all your options,' said Riverdale Superintendent Irene Benfatti, whose district has 114 students attending Pompton Lakes High School.... The K-8 school district pays Pompton Lakes approximately $3,000 per student to send its students on to Pompton Lakes High School. When Riverdale left the Kinnelon fold, officials were paying that district $12,500 per pupil.... Approximately 19 percent of the 560 students at Pompton Lakes high are Riverdale students."
Awards, recognition and rankings During the 1986-87 school year, Pompton Lakes High School was awarded the 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.Staff. "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."Staff. "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 153rd-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 85th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 173rd 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 156th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed May 24, 2011. The school was ranked 188th 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 as 127th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 2 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 February 13, 2012.
Academics Advanced Placement (AP) courses offered include AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP United States History, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Spanish Language, AP German Language, AP French Language, AP 2-D Art and Design, AP Environmental Science, and AP Computer Science.School Performance Reports for Pompton Lakes High School, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 7, 2022. Click on "College and Career Readiness" tab.
Clubs
There are many different clubs that students can participate in at Pompton Lakes High School, including: Assembly Planning Committee, Book Club, Environmental Club, FBLA, Health and Wellness Coalition (HAWC), Health Careers Club,