Northern Valley Regional High School District

Northern Valley Regional High School District
Address
162 Knickerbocker Road Demarest , New Jersey , 07627 United States
Coordinates	40°57′50″N73°58′27″W / 40.963999°N 73.974245°W / 40.963999; -73.974245
District information
Grades	9-12
Superintendent	James Santana
Business administrator	Marc Capizzi
Schools	3
Students and staff
Enrollment	2,053 (as of 2022–23) [1]
Faculty	242.9 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio	8.5:1 [1]
Other information
District Factor Group	I
Website	www.nvnet.org
Ind. Per pupil District spending Rank (*) 9-12 average  %± vs. average 1A Total Spending $23,170 37 $18,891 22.7% 1 Budgetary Cost 16,730 30 15,592 7.3% 2 Classroom Instruction 9,461 28 8,807 7.4% 6 Support Services 2,612 34 2,294 13.9% 8 Administrative Cost 1,942 42 1,592 22.0% 10 Operations & Maintenance 1,793 17 1,954 −8.2% 13 Extracurricular Activities 900 29 873 3.1% 16 Median Teacher Salary 89,408 47 71,726 Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending. [2] *Of 9-12 districts with any number of students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=47

The Northern Valley Regional High School District is a comprehensive regional public high school district composed of two public high schools serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan, suburban communities in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ^{[3] [4]} Students from Rockleigh attend the district as part of a sending/receiving relationship. ^[5]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 2,053 students and 242.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.5:1. ^[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-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. ^[6]

The communities in the district, made up of upper-middle income families, consistently support the school budget, which provides for varied, in-depth college preparatory and career-oriented curricula. Courses range from the remedial to Advanced Placement.

The district participates in special education programs offered by Region III, one of seven such regional programs in Bergen County. Region III coordinates and develops special education programs for the 1,000 students with learning disabilities in the region, which includes the Northern Valley District, as well as those for the Alpine, Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan districts. ^[7]

History

The district's first high school facility opened in Demarest in September 1955, before which students from the constituent municipalities attended Closter High School, Dumont High School or Tenafly High School. ^[8]

After voters rejected a June 1959 referendum that would have raised $3.25 million for construction of the district's second high school in Old Tappan, voters narrowly approved a trimmed-down version of the plan in January 1960 that reduced the cost to $2.9 million (equivalent to $29.9 million in 2023). ^[9]

The Old Tappan school was opened with 740 students between the 9th and 11th grades in March 1962 to address overcrowding in the district's original school at Demarest that had been holding split sessions before the new school opened. ^[10] At its establishment, Northern Valley Old Tappan served students from Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan, as well as those from the northern portion of Closter. ^[11]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The district's high schools at Demarest and Old Tappan were respectively the 42nd and 55th-ranked public high schools 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. ^[12]

Extracurricular activities

The school faculty support and encourage student participation in the variety of sports, social and academic club activities. In each school, there are over 23 sports, which include participation at the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity level (46 teams) in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League, as well as 60 co-curricular activities.

Radio station

The Northern Valley Regional High School district has its own internet radio station, WNVW. The radio station can be accessed through the school's main website, and plays a variety of music in addition to sports, news, and occasional school announcements. ^[13]

Schools

Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ^[14] ) are: ^{[15] [16]}

• Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest ^[17] served 978 students from Closter, Demarest, and Haworth. ^[18]
  • Bruce Sabatini, principal ^[19]
• Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan ^[20] served 1,002 students from Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan, and Rockleigh. ^[21]
  • Timothy Gouraige, principal ^[22]
• Northern Valley Central ^[23] served 197 students in PreK to 18 years of age. The school, located in Norwood, provides a permanent home for special needs programs offered through the district. ^[24]

Both of the high schools in the district are accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and by the New Jersey Department of Education.

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are: ^{[25] [26]}

• James Santana, superintendent ^[27]
• Marc Capizzi, business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees 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 three 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. ^[28] Seats on the board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with two seats each allocated to Closter and Old Tappan, and the other five municipalities each assigned one seat. ^{[29] [30]}

References

1. District information for Northern Valley Regional High School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
3. Northern Valley Regional High School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 30, 2017. "Our long standing successful and cost efficient Pre-K-12 consortium remains an exemplar model of shared services including seven local Pre-K-8 districts that send their students to the regional high schools: Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan."
4. Our Communities, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed May 31, 2016. "The seven towns that make up the Northern Valley Regional High School District - Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood, and Old Tappan - are situated in the northeast corner of Bergen County, New Jersey."
5. Board of Education, Borough of Rockleigh. Accessed September 4, 2024.
6. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 14, 2014.
7. Region III Overview, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed December 6, 2019. "Responding to this the Bergen County Superintendents Council almost 25 years ago, divided and reorganized the county into seven regions for special education. Bergen County Region III is comprised of nine participating districts: Alpine, Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northern Valley Regional High School District, Northvale, Norwood, and Old Tappan."
8. Beuscher, Kristin. "Back in Time: School Days at Demarest", Northern Valley Press, June 17, 2019. Accessed March 29, 2022. "Northern Valley Demarest (NVD) was still new at the time, having opened in September of 1955 in response to the post-war Baby Boom that had seen the region’s population rise drastically. Before this, students from the seven Northern Valley towns attended high school in Closter (that building became Village Middle School after 1955), Dumont, or Tenafly."
9. "Which Realities Do Voters Respond To?", The Record , January 21, 1960. Accessed March 29, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Last June 30 the Northern Valley Regional High School Board of Education submitted a proposal to build a second school in Old Tappan to relieve the split-session overcrowding at the existent one in Demarest The cost was to be $3.25 million. The proposal was solidly defeated. This past Tuesday a proposal essentially the same, except that the price has been shaved to $2,869,000, carried by the slender margin of 61 votes."
10. "Regional High School Opens Without A Hitch; Duff Says Students Have No Trouble Adjusting To Old Tappan Facilities", The Record , March 21, 1962. Accessed March 29, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "'It was not quite like a September opening because then at least three classes are familiar with the building.' Principal Donald T. Duff said yesterday after the second Northern Valley Regional High School opened.... With the opening of the new school on Central Avenue, the Demarest building resumed full-day sessions for the first time since 1958. There are 742 students at the new school."
11. Slocum, John W. "New Jersey; Bergen, The New York Times , September 3, 1962. Accessed March 29, 2022. "In the Northern Valley district, there will be a referendum on Oct. 18 on a $1,875,000 bond issue for extensive alterations and additions to the school in Demarest. This was opened in September, 1955 to serve seven municipalities. The rapid growth of the area forced the district to open another school, opened last March. This building, in Old Tappan, serves that borough, Northvale, Norwood, Harrington Park and the northern half of Closter."
12. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly , September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
13. WNVW, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed September 14, 2014.
14. School Data for the Northern Valley Regional High School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
15. School Performance Reports for the Northern Valley Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
16. New Jersey School Directory for the Northern Valley Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
17. Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed June 1, 2024.
18. Cheslow, Jerry. "If You're Thinking of Living In / Demarest, N.J.; Small Town, Large Sense of History", The New York Times , April 4, 1999. Accessed July 29, 2011. "Following eighth grade, students go on to Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, which the borough shares with Haworth and neighboring Closter."
19. Contact Us, Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest. Accessed June 1, 2024.
20. Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed June 1, 2024.
21. Home Page, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. Accessed July 29, 2011. "Welcome to Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, home of the Golden Knights. Old Tappan is one of two high schools in the Northern Valley District. Our students reside in the towns of Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood, and Old Tappan."
22. Contact Us, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. Accessed March 29, 2022.
23. Northern Valley Central Regional Programs, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed June 1, 2024.
24. Staff. "$5.9M School Purchase Gives District’s Valley Program A Home", Northern Valley Press, October 18, 2019. Accessed December 6, 2019. "About 150 students, teachers, parents and public officials gathered Oct. 17 in Norwood to celebrate the acquisition of a school building for the Valley Program—the first home for a program begun in 1994 to address the needs of children on the Autism Spectrum from pre-K through age 18.... 'It is a dream come true,' he said to growing applause from students and supporters filling seats outside the newly acquired school—now named Northern Valley Central."
25. Board of Education Office Directory, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed June 1, 2024.
26. New Jersey School Directory for Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
27. Superintendent's Message, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed June 1, 2024.
28. 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.
29. Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Northern Valley regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed May 1, 2024. "The Northern Valley Regional High School District is comprised of the municipalities of Closter, Demarest, and Haworth that are constituents of the high school in Demarest. Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood, and Old Tappan are constituents of the high school at Old Tappan.... The district is governed by an elected Board of Education, who serves three-year terms and is administered by a Superintendent of Schools, School Business Administrator/Board Secretary, and other appropriate administrators and supervisors. The Board seats are proportionate to student enrollment by town. The current membership consists of Closter (2), Demarest (1 ), Haworth (1), Harrington Park (1), Northvale (1), Norwood (1), and Old Tappan (2)." See "Roster of Officials" on page 17.
30. Board of Education Members and Committees, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed June 1, 2024.

External links

• Northern Valley Regional High School District
• School Performance Reports for the Northern Valley Regional High School District , New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Northern Valley Regional High School District, National Center for Education Statistics