As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 839 students and 81.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.3:1. There were 79 students (9.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 18 (2.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]
Awards and recognition
The school was the 106th-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.[8] The school had been ranked 58th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 92nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[9] The magazine ranked the school 56th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[10] The school was ranked 81st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[11] Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 128th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 9 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (83.8%) and language arts literacy (95.9%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[12]
The school has been named as one of the Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation for more than 10 years.[13]
Curriculum
A dual enrollment program with Bergen Community College allows students to obtain college credit while fulfilling the high school requirements.[14]
Students may opt to enroll at the Bergen County Technical Schools and split their time between the high school general education coursework and the vocational coursework.[15]
Students have opportunities to participate in activities that have included as a student exchange program with France[17] and multiple day field trips (previous trips have been to Spain, France, Hawaii, and US National Parks)
Activities and clubs for students to participate in include:[18]
In 2025, the Westwood Regional High School WACADECA won the NJ State Academic Decathlon competition. [19]
In 2024, the Westwood Regional High School WACADECA (the school's abbreviation for their academic decathlon team) came in 3rd place at the National United States Academic Decathlon for Division II school.[20]
eSports
The Westwood Regional High School eSports team came in 2nd place at the National High School Rocket League Championship in 2024. The Cardinals were the Garden State eSports state champions for Rocket League in the spring 2024 champions league.[21]
In 2025, WRHS student Emma Lagatol won the New Jersey Hometown Documentary Short- High School category for her film "Forever a Cardinal'.[22]
Athletics
The Westwood Regional High School Cardinals[3] 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).[23] Before the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had previously participated in the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL) American Conference, which included public and private high schools located in Bergen and Hudson counties.[24] With 628 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.[25] The football team competes in the American Red 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.[26][27] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students.[28] Westwood Regional High School athletic teams are called the Cardinals. They wear school colors scarlet, white and black.[3] The school's original colors were scarlet and white, with black added later as an official school color.[citation needed]
Dan Vivino, the school's athletic director, was selected in 2024 as the Jim Grasso Athletic Director of the Year for Bergen County.[29]
The school participates in joint cooperative boys / girls swimming teams with River Dell High School as the host school / lead agency. River Dell also hosts a co-op ice hockey team that includes Emerson Junior-Senior High School and Westwood. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[30]
Fall sports: cross country (boys and girls), field hockey, football, soccer (boys and girls), tennis (girls), volleyball (girls)
Winter sports: basketball (boys and girls), bowling (boys), indoor track (boys and girls), wrestling
Spring sports: baseball, golf, lacrosse (boys and girls), outdoor track (boys and girls), softball, tennis (boys)
The boys' basketball team finished the 1951 season with a 21–1 record after winning the Group II state championship with a 68–48 victory against runner-up Ocean City High School in the tournament final.[31][32]
The boys cross country team won the Group II state title in 1963.[33]
The softball team won the North I state sectional championship in 1974 and 1975.[34]
The field hockey team won the North I Group II state sectional title in 1987 and won the Group II state title that year as co-champion after a 1–1 tie in the finals against Moorestown High School to finish the season with a record of 18-2-1.[35][36]
The girls volleyball team won the Group II state championship in 1989 (defeating runner-up Lyndhurst High School in the final match of the playoffs) and 1997 (vs. New Milford High School).[37]
The boys track team won the indoor relay championship in Group I in 1998[38]
The football team won the NJSIAA North I Group II state sectional championship in 2000, 2006, 2013, 2014, 2022 and 2023[39] and won the North I Group I title in 2004.[40] The 2000 team won the North II Group I state sectional title with a 33–7 win against Pompton Lakes High School in the championship final played at Kean University.[41] The 2006 team went to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford where they played the Indians of Pascack Valley High School in the North I Group II finals, beating them 9–8.[42] The school has had a football rivalry since 1976 with River Dell High School called the "Bird Bowl", in which the winner receives a trophy with a football inside of a bird cage. Westwood leads the series with an overall record of 20-18 through the 2017 season. NJ.com listed the rivalry as 28th on its 2017 list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football".[43] The team won the North I Group II sectional title in 2022, stopping a two-point conversion by Rutherford High School with seconds left on the clock to win 21-20[44] and repeated in 2023 with a 20-7 victory in the North I Group II sectional finals against Rutherford.[39]
The boys' spring track team won three consecutive Bergen County Tournament championships from 2004 to 2006. In Spring 2005 the team went undefeated in Bergen County, and won the North I Group II state championship by a record margin.[citation needed]
↑ Community and District Profiles, Westwood Regional School District, May 28, 2004. Accessed June 20, 2016. "The Westwood Regional School District serves the Borough of Westwood (population 10,400) and the Township of Washington (population 9,800). These two communities are located approximately fifteen miles northwest of midtown Manhattan."
↑ Snyder, John. "First 8th Graders at 'True' Westwood Middle School in 2020", The Press Group, December 23, 2019. Accessed November 17, 2021. "Superintendent of School Raymond Gonzalez confirmed at the Dec. 19 meeting of the Westwood Regional Board of Education that the Regional Middle School expansion project is on track for the addition of eighth grade in September 2020.... The work will establish a grades 6–8 'true' middle school and a grades 9–12 high school, modernize and centralize middle school offerings, and improve academic and emotional supports."
↑ Schools and Courses, Bergen Community College. Accessed February 21, 2025. "Bergen Community College offers courses at the following high schools through our dual enrollment program:... Westwood Regional HS"
↑ "Westwood And Englewood Capture State Basketball Championships", The Record, March 19, 1951. Accessed December 15, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Bergen County did itself proud In the N.J.S.I.A.A. basketball tournament at Elizabeth Saturday by walking off with two championships. Westwood wrapped up the Group II title by belting Ocean City 68-48, and Englewood walked off with the Group III crown by mauling Woodrow Wilson of Camden 59-34.... Westwood's varsity had a 21-1 record, while its Jayvees compiled a 16-1 mark."
↑ "Westwood, Moorestown co-champs", The Record, November 23, 1987. Accessed February 28, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Jennifer Finley's goal with six minutes left gave Westwood (18-2-1) a 1-1 tie with Moorestown (19-0-3) in the Group 2 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association field hockey championships yesterday at Trenton State College. Neither team could score in the two overtime periods, so Westwood and Moorestown were declared co-champions."
1 2 Torres, Luis. "Westwood leaves no doubt, defeats Rutherford to win 2nd straight sectional title", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 10, 2023. Accessed November 19, 2023. "Behind its overwhelming defense and timely offense on fourth down, Westwood defeated Rutherford 20-7 on Friday to win the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 sectional championship of the 2023 NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics football state tournament. It’s the second consecutive sectional championship for Westwood (11-0) and the eighth overall for the Bergen County program."
↑ Schutta, Gregory. "Feeling good: Westwood finally wins the big one", The Record, December 3, 2000. Accessed December 26, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "When the horn finally sounded on Westwood's 33-7 victory over Pompton Lakes at Kean University, giving the Cardinals their first NJSIAA Group 2, Section 1 title and ending three years of championship frustration, there was no stopping O'Melia."
↑ Stypulkoski, Matt. "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 27, 2017, updated May 15, 2019. Accessed December 1, 2020. "28-River Dell vs. Westwood - The prize for winning the Bird Bowl Rivalry? A bird cage trophy with a football inside. This Bergen County rivalry between the Westwood Cardinals and River Dell Hawks has been played annually since 1976.... All-time series: Westwood leads, 20-18"
↑ Bove, Matt. "Westwood stops 2-point try in final seconds, edges Rutherford in wild N1G2 football final", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 12, 2022, updated February 16, 2023. Accessed November 19, 2023. "For Westwood, the one inch was the difference as Dario Mathurin combined with Yianni Constantinides to make the stop right before the goal line for Westwood to hold on for a 21-20 win over Westwood in the NJSIAA Rothman/Orthopaedics North 1, Group 2 championship game."
↑ Beuscher, Kristin. "A hero’s homecoming: Hillsdale turns out for local son Frank Hill", Northern Valley Press, November 17, 2023. Accessed March 28, 2025. "Francis Ackerman Hill was born in 1919, the fourth of nine children–eight boys and a girl—in the Hill household. He attended Westwood High School, where he was a bright student and a standout in football and track."
↑ Fard, Maggie Fazeli. "Washington Township native named newest four-star general", The Record, December 31, 2009. Accessed February 3, 2011. "Johns Jr., the eldest child of Doris and Raymond Johns Sr., grew up in Township of Washington with his younger brother, Kevin, and sister, Susan. He attended Westwood High School, where he met his future wife, Diana, and discovered what he wanted to do for the rest of his life."
↑ Rispoli, Michael. "ACORN sting 'pimp' is N.J. man who attended Rutgers University", The Star-Ledger, September 17, 2009. Accessed March 31, 2015. "The younger O'Keefe, a former Eagle Scout who graduated from Westwood High School, and a friend, 20-year-old Hannah Giles, a journalism student at Florida International University, spent their summer traveling to ACORN offices across the nation."
↑ Feldberg, Robert. "Feldberg: Shot for Westwood's Kyle Scatliffe to show range", The Record, February 3, 2017. Accessed November 22, 2017. "Kyle Scatliffe, who grew up in Westwood and began his performing life in the borough's high school, has had a notable start to his musical-theater career."
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