Indian Hills High School (New Jersey)

Indian Hills High School
Address
97 Yawpo Avenue Oakland , Bergen County , New Jersey 07436 United States
Coordinates	41°01′18″N74°14′03″W / 41.021584°N 74.2342°W / 41.021584; -74.2342
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	September 1964
School district	Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District
NCES School ID	341356000724 [1]
Principal	Gregory Vacca
Faculty	85.7 FTEs [1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	736 (as of 2022–23) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	8.6:1 [1]
Color(s)	Navy and   Gold [2]
Athletics conference	Big North Conference (general) North Jersey Super Football Conference (football)
Team name	Braves [2]
Rival	Ramapo High School
Website	indianhills.rih.org

Indian Hills High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is a part of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, serving students from Franklin Lakes, Oakland and Wyckoff. The high school is located in Oakland. Ramapo High School is the other high school in the district. Students from the three feeder districts may make the choice of which high school to attend by February of the year that they are in eighth grade. ^[3]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 736 students and 85.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.6:1. There were 25 students (3.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 5 (0.7% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. ^[1]

History

In less than a decade after Ramapo High School opened, district enrollment rose from 650 to more than 2,000, ultimately requiring the school to operate with double sessions. Constructed to alleviate the overcrowding at a cost of $3 million (equivalent to $29.5 million in 2023), the school opened in September 1964 serving 575 students in grades 9-11 from Oakland and the portions of Franklin Lakes closest to the new school, while students from Wyckoff and the rest of Franklin Lakes attended Ramapo High School. ^[4]

In 1999, the district allowed students from Franklin Lakes to choose which high school to attend, ending the policy under which students in the eastern half of Franklin Lakes were required to attend Ramapo High School while those in the borough's western half were assigned to Indian Hills High School. Oakland students were generally assigned to Indian Hills while Wyckoff residents could select which school to attend. ^[5]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 60th-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. ^[6] The school had been ranked 43rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 35th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. ^[7] The magazine ranked the school 40th in 2008 out of 316 schools. ^[8] The school was ranked 36th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. ^[9] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 89th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 5 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (86.9%) and language arts literacy (97.2%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). ^[10]

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post , the school was ranked 56th in New Jersey and 1,647 nationwide. ^[11]

The Indian Hills Academic Decathlon Team, coached by Lisa Acquaire from 1995-2009, represented New Jersey in the National Competition in 2001 (Anchorage, AK), 2006 (San Antonio, TX), and 2007 (Honolulu, HI). At the competition in Alaska, the Indian Hills Team was awarded Rookie of the Year and member Brent Morris earned a medal for his overall score that placed him as the third highest scoring decathlete at his level. In 2010, under coach Michael Catelli, the team ranked second in the state ^[12] and the 2012 team finishing third in the statewide competition. In 2014 the team competed in the online national competition and was ranked second in the nation in their division. ^[13]

Athletics

The Indian Hills High School Braves ^[2] compete in the Big North Conference, 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 (NJSIAA). ^[14] The school had participated in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League before the 2010 realignment. ^[15] With 808 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. ^[16] The football team competes in the Ivy White 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. ^{[17] [18]} The football team is one of the 12 programs assigned to the two Ivy divisions starting in 2020, which are intended to allow weaker programs ineligible for playoff participation to compete primarily against each other. ^[19] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 478 to 672 students. ^[20]

Indian Hills High School has a long-standing rivalry with Ramapo High School, most notably with the school's football, lacrosse, and ice hockey teams. ^[21] The Indian Hills-Ramapo football rivalry had been a yearly tradition since the founding of Indian Hills in 1964. Ramapo won the first two games of the series as only the class of 1966 was eligible to play for Indian Hills. However once that class became seniors Indian Hills began a dominant streak winning 20 of the next 24 games. After a period of even play Ramapo has dominated the modern era winning 12 of 13 games. Ramapo won the 2009 by a score of 41-0, though realignment and the disparity in size between the two schools makes continuation of the series for scheduled games increasingly unlikely. ^[22]

The girls' soccer team won the all-groups state championship in 1980 and 1981 (defeating Steinert High School in the tournament final in both years), won the Group III/IV combined state title in 1984 (vs. Ewing High School), the Group III title in 1989 (vs. Holy Cross Academy), and the Group II title in 2002 (as co-champion with Delaware Valley Regional High School) and 2003 (vs. Cinnaminson High School). The program's six state titles are tied for eighth-most in the state. ^[23] The 1981 team finished the season with a record of 18-5 after winning the program's second straight all-groups title with a 3-1 win in the championship game against a Steinert (Hamilton East) team that came into the finals at 22-0. ^[24] The 1984 soccer team finished the season with a 23-2 record after defeating Ewing High School by a score of 3-0 in the Division A (since reclassified as Group III/IV) championship game. ^[25] The 2003 girls soccer team won the North I Group II tournament, defeating River Dell High School 1-0 in the final. ^[26]

The ice hockey team won the Handchen Cup in 1993. ^[27]

In 2005, the girls' tennis team took the North I, Group II championship, beating Tenafly High School 3½-1½. ^[28]

The baseball team took the North I, Group II state sectional title in 2007 with a 5-0 win over Westwood Regional High School. ^[29]

The 2009-10 winter track team won the League, North I Group II sectional Championship, and Group II state championship. ^{[30] [31]}

The 2010 spring track team won the League, County Group B, and North I Group II sectional championship making them triple crown winners two years in a row. ^[32]

The softball team won the Group II state championship in 2010 (defeating runner-up Overbrook High School in the tournament finals), and won the Group II title in 2013 (vs. Wall High School) and 2014 (vs. Ewing High School). ^[33] The team won the 2003 North I, Group II title over Hopatcong High School, winning by a score of 6-1. ^{[34] [35]} The 2010 team won leagues, counties, state sectionals and state groups with only two losses the entire season. Indian Hills got its 31st win of the season, defeating Pequannock Township High School by a score of 1-0 to take the North I, Group II, sectional title, making it the 14th team in New Jersey history to finish with 31 wins in a single season. ^[36] The 2013 team finished the season with a 32-3 record after winning the Group III title by defeating Wall by a score of 4-2 in the championship game. ^[37] The 2014 softball team won the Group III state championship, defeating Ewing High School in the tournament final by a score of 8-5 to become the first team in the sport to finish their season undefeated with a 34-0 record. ^[38] NJ.com / The Star-Ledger ranked Indian Hills as their number-one softball team in the state in 2010 and 2014. ^[39]

The boys cross country team won the Group III state championship in 2015. ^[40]

Administration

The school's principal is Gregory Vacca. His administration team includes two assistant principals. ^[41]

Notable alumni

• Jonathan Ames (born 1964), writer, artist and actor. ^{[42] [43]}
• Cindy Callaghan (born c. 1970, class of 1988), author of children's books whose first book, Just Add Magic , was adapted into an Amazon television series by the same name. ^[44]
• Karen McCullah, screenwriter and novelist. ^[45]
• Doug McKeon (born 1966), actor, director and screenwriter who first achieved notability as a juvenile performer in the television series The Edge of Night and the films Uncle Joe Shannon and On Golden Pond . ^[46]
• Jack Wallace (born 1998, class of 2016), ice sled hockey player who was a member of the gold medal winning US team in Para ice hockey at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. ^[47]

References

1. School data for Indian Hills High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
2. Indian Hills High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
3. Eighth Grade School Choice, Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District. Accessed November 25, 2019. "All eighth grade students from Franklin Lakes, Oakland, and Wyckoff may choose to attend the high school of their choice within the following regulations, which are subject to review and revision: 1 - The choice is open to all students entering the district as freshmen only. 2 - The choice must be exercised by February 14 of the eighth grade year."
4. Mulligan, Nancy. "Ramapo District Welcomes Indian Hills", The Sunday News , August 19, 1964. Accessed April 6, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Indian Hills High School, although located in Oakland, is not an Oakland School. It is an active part of the Ramapo Regional High School District. Although, because of its location, its student body will be made up mostly of Oakland youngsters, some Franklin Lakes students will also attend.... All Franklin Lakes students living within that distance will attend Indian Hills High. For this year only, Indian Hills will operate as a partial school, with only freshmen, sophomores and juniors.... Indian Hills this year, with only three classes, will have 575 students to start.... A bond issue approved by the voters in Oakland, Franklin Lakes and Wyckoff, the three communities within the District, totaled $2,865,000. An additional $200,000 was raised, and the total expenditure will include construction, equipment and athletic facilities."
5. Aberback, Brian. "Split's end turns out successful", The Record , June 29, 2003. Accessed April 6, 2022. "Four years ago, the students in the classes of 2003 at Ramapo High in Franklin Lakes and Indian Hills High in neighboring Oakland were the first to enter the district after the school board abolished a controversial policy known as the 'Franklin Lakes split' The policy determined which of the two high schools students from Franklin Lakes could attend. It created a suburban soap opera in Northwest Bergen County, replete with feelings of bitterness and resentment and accusations of class elitism. Under the policy, students from the more affluent east side of well-to-do Franklin Lakes went to Ramapo. Students on the west side had to go to Indian Hills, regarded as a fine school but not quite the equal of Ramapo in some respects..... In 1999, after years of debate, the 27-year-old split was abolished, giving all students from Franklin Lakes a choice between the two schools."
6. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly , September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
7. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2012. Accessed December 1, 2012.
8. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2010. Accessed June 16, 2011.
9. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly , September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
10. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011 ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 1, 2012.
11. Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Indian Hills High School", The Washington Post . Accessed August 21, 2011.
12. . N.J. State Academic Decathlon Results - March 2010, Academic Decathlon of New Jersey. Accessed June 25, 2012.
13. 2012 State Results, Academic Decathlon of New Jersey. Accessed June 25, 2012.
14. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
15. League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed November 19, 2014.
16. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
17. 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."
18. 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."
19. Cooper, Darren. "Super Football Conference creating 'Ivy Division' for struggling programs", The Record , May 1, 2019. Accessed March 24, 2021. "Seeking to restore participation and enthusiasm to high school football programs that have struggled to compete consistently, the Super Football Conference announced plans to start a 12-team 'Ivy Division' in the 2020 season. Teams that compete in the 'Ivy Division' will play exclusively against each other and won't participate in the NJISAA football playoffs.... Twelve schools from Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Morris counties have applied to compete in the Ivy Division: Bergen Tech, Cliffside Park, Dickinson, Fair Lawn, Ferris, Memorial, Dover, Dwight-Morrow, Fort Lee, Glen Ridge, Marist and Tenafly."
20. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2022–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
21. Cummins, Jeff. "Indian H. stuns Ramapo", The Record , November 29, 2003. "Nathanson kicked a 38-yard field goal in The driving rain with 42 seconds left to give Indian Hills a 16-14 win over arch-rival Ramapo on Friday night."
22. Staff. "Devonshuk leads Ramapo over rival Indian Hills", Franklin Lakes - Oakland Suburban News, September 24, 2009. Accessed August 4, 2011. "With the start of the 2010-11 school year, Ramapo and Indian Hills will be in different leagues and will not play football against each other due to the disparity in the two schools' enrollment. Ramapo has considerably more students and is a Group 3-sized school; Indian Hills is a Group 2 school."
23. NJSIAA History of Girls Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
24. Barnes, Jill. "Freshman leads Indian Hills to State", The Record , November 22, 1981. Accessed March 17, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "However, she did a few special things on the field as Bernhard scored two goals to lead Indian Hills to a 3-1 victory over previously-unbeaten Hamilton East, giving the Braves (18-5) their second consecutive New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association girls soccer final victory over the Spartans."
25. "Indian Hills wins girls soccer title", Daily Record , November 18, 1984. Accessed December 14, 2020. "Indian Hills captured its third Division A girls soccer state championship yesterday with a 4-0 victory over Ewing.... Indian Hills completes its season with a 23-2 record."
26. 2003 Girls Soccer - North I - 2, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed April 29, 2007.
27. NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
28. 2005 Girls Team Tennis - North I, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed April 29, 2007.
29. 2007 Baseball - North I, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 22, 2007.
30. Vorkunov, Mike. "NJSIAA Group II Track - Zebras' Barlow wins girls hurdles; Rahway boys finish 2nd", MyCentralJersey.com, February 20, 2010. Accessed June 16, 2011. "Rahway finished second in Group II boys with 36 points. Indian Hills won the group with 44 points."
31. Boys Winter Track and Field Championship History: 1922-2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated November 2023. Accessed February 1, 2024.
32. NJSIAA/Star-Ledger Track & Field Championship Sectionals - North I - Groups II and III - 5/21/2010 to 5/22/2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 4, 2011.
33. Softball Championship History 1972–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated July 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024.
34. "Emerson shuts out Midland Park", The Record , May 30, 2003. Accessed September 16, 2015. "North 1, Group 2: Indian Hills 6, Hopatcong 1 - Danielle DeCarlo, Ashley Funari, and Erin Kindle each had an RBI as the top-seeded Braves jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of the sectional final."
35. 2003 Softball Tournament - North I, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed April 29, 2007.
36. Reilly, Sean. "Softball - 2010 NJSIAA Tournament - North 1, Group 2 - Round 4 - Game 1 - Softball", The Star-Ledger , May 28, 2010. Accessed June 16, 2011. "Perri Goldberg of Indian Hills figured that yesterday's game against Pequannock for the championship of the NJSIAA/Blue Ribbon Awards North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 tournament was going to be a close one.... Katie Enright (29-2) pitched a five-hitter for Indian Hills (31-2), which became the 14th team in state history to win 31 games in a season."
37. "Wall falls to Indian Hills in Group III softball title game", USA Today High School Sports, June 9, 2013. Accessed July 7, 2021. "Durando threw a complete game with 13 strikeouts as Indian Hills defeated Wall, 4-2, to win the Group III championship Sunday at Toms River High School North. Indian Hills (32-3) won its first state title since capturing the Group II crown in 2010."
38. Holcomb, Dave. "Softball state championships: Indian Hills beats Ewing for Group 3 title and finishes 34-0", The Star-Ledger , June 7, 2014. Accessed June 9, 2014. "Not only was the team defending its Group 3 state title, Indian Hills needed one more victory to become the first New Jersey softball team ever to complete a season 34-0.... St. John Vianney (2004) and Indian Hills (2010) were the only teams in New Jersey to win 33 games in a season. This year's Indian Hills squad was the first team to win 34 and remain unbeaten."
39. "Softball: Every No. 1 team in the state from 1979 to 2015", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 21, 2015, updated August 24, 2019. Accessed January 4, 2021. "Following are the teams that finished as the NJ.com No. 1 softball team in the state with year and record.... 2014: Indian Hills (34-0)... 2010: Indian Hills (33-2)"
40. NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
41. Administration, Indian Hills High School. Accessed December 27, 2022.
42. Staff. "Bored to Death", The Oakland Journal, September 2009. Accessed April 22, 2012. "Jonathan Ames is also the author of several novels, a performance artist, and an occasional actor. He is less well known for being an alumni[ sic ] of Indian Hills High School."
43. Barone, Matt. "Happy to Be 'Bored to Death'", Inside Jersey , April 2011. Accessed April 24. 2012. "The prolific 47-year-old writer was born and raised in Oakland, where he attended Indian Hills High School."
44. "Amazon Prime Conjures More of Cindy Callaghan's Just Add Magic", Broadway World, January 10, 2018. Accessed February 1, 2018. "A New Jersey native (she grew up in Franklin Lakes and is a graduate of Indian Hills High School in Oakland) and Delawarean since 1990, the University of Delaware undergrad and masters graduate frequently uses a fictionalized version of Wilmington, Del., and other areas in the state as settings for her novels."
45. Longsdorf, Amy. "N.J. writer puts her mark on Hollywood", The Record , July 20, 2009. Accessed August 4, 2011. "Screenwriter and former Oakland resident Karen McCullah Lutz is the first to admit she owes New Jersey a big debt of gratitude. Spending four years at Indian Hills High School sparked her love of Springsteen and the Paramus Park Mall, but Lutz is particularly grateful for an even more lasting Garden State gift."
46. Klein, Alvin. "Silver Screen is Gold for Bergen Youth", The New York Times , December 20, 1981. Accessed October 19, 2016. "Oakland... The young actor, who lives in this Bergen County community, considers himself, at 15, a 'veteran of show business'... Having finished three more films since On Golden Pond, Doug is in what he calls a 'hiatus,' which means that he's back in Indian Hills High School as a sophomore and taking exams, instead of traveling around with a tutor."
47. Stoltz, Marsha A. "Jack Wallace of Franklin Lakes to represent U.S. at Paralympics in Korea", The Record , March 5, 2018. Accessed May 28, 2020. "Franklin Lakes — A 2016 Indian Hills High School graduate who lost his right leg above the knee at age 10 will represent the United States on the sled hockey team at the Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Jack Wallace, 19, has the support of his hometown, where a banner across the pillars in front of Borough Hall sends good wishes from its 10,952 residents for his performance in the upcoming Games, which begin Wednesday and run through Sunday, March 18."

External links

• Indian Hills High School website
• School Performance Report for Indian Hills High School , New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for Indian Hills High School, National Center for Education Statistics