Ridge High School

Ridge High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Bernards Township School District. Ridge High School opened in September 1961, ending a relationship under which students from the district had been sent to Bernardsville High School dating back to 1948.[3]

Ridge High School
Location
Ridge High School
Ridge High School
Ridge High School
268 South Finley Avenue
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

United States
Coordinates40.695006°N 74.548904°W / 40.695006; -74.548904
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1961
School districtBernards Township School District
NCES School ID3401650[1]
PrincipalRussell Lazovick
Asst. principalsKathleen Dusebout
Scott Graber
Cheryl Howarth
Scott Thompson
Faculty147.3 FTEs[1]
Enrollment1,864 (as of 2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio12.7:1[1]
Color(s)     Green and
     white[2]
Athletics conferenceSkyland Conference
Team nameRed Devils[2]
WebsiteSchool website

As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,864 students and 147.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.7:1. There were 18 students (1.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 2 (0.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]

History

The land on which the high school sits was donated by George Ludlow Lee Sr., who was the owner and chairman of the board of Red Devil, Inc. The school's team nickname derived from the company's logo, though the color was changed to green to avoid the red that was used by rival Bernardsville High School.[4]

Awards, recognition and rankings

During the 1986-87 school year, Ridge High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[5] the highest award an American school can receive.[6][7] During the 2009-10 school year, Ridge High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence for a second time.[8]

Ridge High School was the 37th best high school in the United States as rated by Newsweek in 2015

Ridge High School was the 9th-best public high school in 2012 as rated by the New Jersey Monthly magazine, and was the 194th best high school in the United States as rated by Newsweek, being the top-rated comprehensive high school in New Jersey, beating out other high schools rated higher on the New Jersey Monthly magazine.

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 215th in the nation among participating public high schools and 16th overall (ninth among non-magnet schools) in New Jersey.[9] The school was ranked 140th in the nation and eighth 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.[10]

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 3rd in New Jersey and 220th nationwide.[11] Ridge High School was ranked 194th, the second-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools.[12] The school was ranked 175th in Newsweek's 2009 ranking of the top 1,500 high schools in the United States and was the third-ranked school in New Jersey, with 3.132 AP tests taken in 2008 per graduating senior and 50% of all graduating seniors passing at least one AP exam; The school was ranked 136th nationwide in 2008.[13] The school was listed in 98th place, the second-highest ranked school in New Jersey in Newsweek's 2007 list of the Top 1,200 Public High Schools in the United States.[14] The school was listed in 116th place, the second-highest ranked school in New Jersey, in the 2006 issue.[15] Ridge High School was ranked as Number 91 in Newsweek's 2005 survey, third-highest in the state for that year.[16]

The school was the 13th-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.[17] The school had been ranked 9th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 12th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[18] The magazine ranked the school 24th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[19] Before that, the school was ranked 11th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[20] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 27th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 1 position from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (95.2%) and language arts literacy (98.0%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[21]

In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 71st out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 15th among all high schools in New Jersey and third among the state's non-magnet schools.[22]

Athletics

The Ridge High School Red Devils[2] competes in the Skyland Conference, which includes public and parochial high schools covering Hunterdon County, Somerset County and Warren County in Central Jersey. The conference operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[23] With 1,430 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North II, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,114 to 4,800 students in that grade range.[24] Interscholastic sports offered at Ridge include volleyball, baseball, hockey, football, fencing, basketball, cross country, soccer, gymnastics, cheerleading, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, ski racing, softball, swimming, tennis, track and wrestling.[2]

The school was the winner of the 2014-15 ShopRite Cup for Group II, finishing with 68 points, one point ahead of Hunterdon Central Regional High School.[25] The team repeated as winner of the Group II ShopRite Cup for 2015-16, behind first-place finishes in girls soccer, girls cross country and boys fencing, second-place finishes in girls tennis and girls golf, third place in football and ice hockey, with bonus points for having no disqualifications in the fall and spring seasons.[26]

The boys' soccer team won the Group II state championship in 1985, defeating Millburn High School in the final game of the tournament.[27] The girls' soccer team won the Group II state championship in 1996 (vs. West Morris Mendham High School) and the Group III title in 2003 (vs. Colts Neck High School).[28] An undefeated 2003 season led the girls' soccer team to take the #3 national ranking with a 22-0 record.[29]

The wrestling team won the Central Jersey Group II state sectional title and the overall Group II state championship in 1986.[30]

The football team won the Central Jersey Group II state sectional title in 1987, the North II Group III championship in 2003 and the North II Group V title in 2013.[31]

The baseball team won the Group II state championship in 1987 vs. Hackettstown High School, in 2000 vs. West Morris Mendham High School and in 2002 vs. Dumont High School.[32]

The girls' track team won the Group II indoor relay state championship in 1987 and 2007 (as co-champion).[33]

The girls' field hockey team won the North II Group III state sectional championship in 2005.[34]

In 2007, the girls cross country team finished #3 in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet of Champions, and finished #6 in the Northeast Nike Team Regional Championships.[35] The next year, the team finished #2 in the Meet of Champions and won the Section 2 Group 4 Championships and the Group 4 Championships. In 2009, the team got 6th place in the Meet of Champions; in 2010, they took home fourth, and in 2011 they placed 6th in both the Meet of Champions and the Nike Northeast Regional Qualifier.[36][37]

The boys' cross country team finished #4 in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet of Champions in 2006. The team finished #6 in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in 2010.[38]

The ice hockey varsity team won the Public A state championship in 2008, with a 5-0 over Watchung Hills Regional High School in the tournament final.[39] In 2017, the team went on to win its second Public A state championship, defeating Watchung Hills by a score of 2-1 in the tournament final.[40] The team won the 2019 Public B state championship defeating Randolph High School.[41][42]

The boy's varsity ski team won the 2009 New Jersey Interscholastic Ski Racing Association (NJISRA) overall state championship.[43]

The boys' lacrosse team won the Group III state championship in 2010 (defeating West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in the tournament final) and the Group IV title in 2013 (vs. Southern Regional High School); the team won the 2013 Tournament of Champions vs. Don Bosco Preparatory High School.[44]

The Ridge girls' golf team won the 2015 Tournament of Champions, 26 strokes ahead of Red Bank Catholic High School in second place, marking the team's fifth consecutive state championship.[45]

The Ridge girls' volleyball team won the Group IV state championship in 2017, defeating Cherokee High School (New Jersey).[46]

Extracurricular activities

The Ridge High School Forensics Team (speech and debate) has had numerous national champions. They won the New Jersey state tournament every year from 2001 to 2016.[47][48] The team routinely competes on a national level and some members have won national titles.

The school's Marching Band program has won numerous awards and accolades. The program is composed of three groups, the "Ridge Marching Band", competing in the Fall season in the USBands circuit, and the "Ridge Winter Guard" and "Ridge Indoor Percussion Ensemble", which compete in the winter season in the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Network (MAIN) and USBands indoor circuits, respectively. The Marching Band won its first NJ state championship in 2015. The Marching Band placed 6th and 5th at USBands National Championships in 2012 and 2011, respectively. In 2012, despite being ranked 2nd going into National Championships, the band was unable to compete due to the damage in Basking Ridge from Hurricane Sandy. Prior to the creation of the USBands National Championships, the band placed 2nd at the USSBA Northern States Championships in 2005 and 2009, 3rd in 2008, and place in 2007.[49] Since the Winter Guard returned to competition in 2012, the guard has finished as high as 3rd in MAIN championships. The Indoor Percussion Ensemble, launched for the 2013 season, placed 2nd at USBands Indoor Championships with its inaugural program and won its first USBands Winter Standstill Percussion title in 2015.

Administration

The members of the school's administration are:[50]

  • Russell Lazovick, Principal
  • Kathleen Dusebout, Assistant Principal
  • Scott Graber, Assistant Principal
  • Cheryl Howarth, Assistant Principal
  • Scott Thompson, Assistant Principal

Notable alumni
gollark: There's definitely a post on it somewhere.
gollark: Actually, the sophont ones are considered people, it's not the same.
gollark: What seems to happen on those is that they design for a primary species/biochemistry and everyone else wears suits.
gollark: You would have (many of) the same issues on planets/habs...
gollark: Windows XP? Do they want to suffer?

References
  1. School data for Ridge High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  2. Ridge High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 26, 2015.
  3. History, Ridge High School. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  4. "The History of the 1912 Bernards Township Town Hall – The Astor Estate in Basking Ridge", Mr. Local History Project. Accessed September 3, 2019. "However, the resident that had the most impact on the town belonged to George Ludlow Lee, who out of community pride, donated land where Ridge High School, War Memorial Park, and Cedar Hill School sit.... Locals know the name Lee as the Ridge High School field was named after him as well as the high school mascot, the “Red Devil”. While the Red Devils are named after George Lee’s company, the color is green because rival Bernardsville had red uniforms, so they chose green."
  5. Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
  6. "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."
  7. 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."
  8. 2009 Blue Ribbon Schools: All Public and Private Schools, United States Department of Education. Accessed October 29, 2009.
  9. Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013.
  10. Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2012", The Daily Beast / Newsweek, May 20, 2012. Accessed May 21, 2012.
  11. Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: Ridge High School", The Washington Post. Accessed July 22, 2011.
  12. Staff. "America's Best High Schools: The List", Newsweek, June 13, 2010. Accessed March 23, 2011.
  13. Staff. "The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,500 top U.S. high schools", Newsweek, June 8, 2009. Accessed June 10, 2009.
  14. The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools, Newsweek May 22, 2007
  15. The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools, Newsweek, May 8, 2006.
  16. "America's Best High Schools", Newsweek, August 5, 2005.
  17. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  18. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 26, 2012.
  19. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 11, 2011.
  20. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
  21. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 24, 2012.
  22. Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
  23. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 15, 2020.
  24. General Public School Classifications 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of December 15, 2015. Accessed December 12, 2016.
  25. Twelfth Annual ShopRite Cup 2014-2015 Final Standings, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed August 10, 2015.
  26. 13th Annual ShopRite Cup 2015-2016 Final Standings, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 22, 2017.
  27. History of NJSIAA Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 30, 2017.
  28. History of NJSIAA Girls Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 30, 2017.
  29. Sebastian, Freddy. "State Champs", Courier-News, November 23, 2003. Accessed June 22, 2011. "It was appropriate that the Ridge High School girls soccer team ended its perfect 22-0 season the way it had hoped Saturday, with a 4-1 rout of Colts Neck, in the Group III championship at The College of New Jersey."
  30. History of the NJSIAA Team Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 26, 2016.
  31. Goldberg, Jeff. NJSIAA Football Playoff Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 19, 2015.
  32. History of the NJSIAA Baseball Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 26, 2016.
  33. History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 22, 2017.
  34. History of the NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 26, 2016.
  35. 2007 NIKE TEAM REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - NEW YORK & NORTHEAST, November 24, 2007. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  36. 2008 NJSIAA/The Star-Ledger/M-F Athletic - Boys and Girls State Group Championships: Group IV Girls, November 16, 2008. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  37. Cross Country State Group Team Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 22, 2017.
  38. "2006 NJSIAA/The Star-Ledger Boys and Girls State Cross-Country Championships", Morris County Track Association, November 18, 2006. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  39. Staff. "Ridge takes 2008 Public A State title over Watchung Hills", New Jersey Devils, March 22, 2008, backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 26, 2008. Accessed June 22, 2011. "One season after stumbling in the semifinals of the NJSIAA tournament, the Red Devils got 22 saves from Bill Higley for a 5-0 shutout win over the Watchung Hills Warriors in their 2008 Public A High School Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday."
  40. Gould, Brandon. "Complete coverage: Ridge wins 2nd title in program history, beats Watchung Hills in Public A final", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, March 5, 2017. Accessed May 28, 2017. "Second-seeded Ridge scored twice in the second period on its way to a 2-1 victory over 13th-seeded Watchung Hills in the NJSIAA/Devils Public A Tournament final on Sunday at Mennen Arena.The win brought home the second state championship in program history for Ridge, which also beat Watchung Hills in the 2008 final."
  41. Havsy, Jane. "Randolph falls in hockey final again", Daily Record (Morristown), March 4, 2019. Accessed September 12, 2019. "But for the second year in a row, Randolph tumbled in the finale. Ridge scored three third-period goals for a 4-1 victory against the Rams on Monday afternoon. It is the Red Devils' second NJSIAA title in three seasons, following a Public A victory in 2017 — also against Randolph. The Rams have won eight overall, the last in '15."
  42. NJSIAA Ice Hockey State Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 12, 2019.
  43. Staff. "Carroll sparks Ridge to boys' team title; Vernon girls' have Merritt (High school Boys Skiing news)", The Star-Ledger, February 28, 2009. Accessed July 22, 2011. "Ridge, behind Carroll and fellow seniors Merritt Branch, Chris Samuels, Spud Faison and James Needell, captured its first overall team title in a combined 9:20.38 at the New Jersey Interscholastic Ski Racing Association championships at Hidden Valley yesterday in Vernon."
  44. History of the NJSIAA Boys' Lacrosse Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 22, 2017.
  45. Davis, Alyssa. "Ridge wins team title at girls golf Tournament of Champions", Courier News, May 21, 2015. Accessed September 26, 2015. "The gloomy weather didn't dull the shine of Ridge High School as it took the team title scoring a combined 314 which was 26-points better than the second place team, Red Bank Catholic.... This marks the fifth year in a row that Ridge can boast the Tournament of Champions title."
  46. NJSIAA Girls Volleyball History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 12, 2019.
  47. 2005 National Results, National Forensic League. Accessed June 22, 2011.
  48. "Ridge Speech and Debate Team wins 15th consecutive state championship. Ridge Forensics Team wins 2016 New Jersey Speech and Debate League Championships!", Basking Ridge, NJ Patch, March 16, 2016. Accessed December 23, 2019. "The Ridge Forensics Team, Ridge High School's interscholastic speech and debate program, achieved its fifteenth consecutive Overall Team Championship title this past weekend at the 2016 New Jersey Speech and Debate League's State Championship held at the Bridgewater-Raritan School District."
  49. Competition Results, Ridge Marching Band.
  50. Administration, Ridge High School. Accessed December 23, 2019.
  51. Staff. "Film by Ridge High alum, J.C. Chandor, critically accclaimed at Cannes", The Bernardsville News, May 24, 2013. Accessed June 19, 2013. "Chandor, a 1992 Ridge High School graduate, wrote and directed his first feature-length film released in 2011, the critically acclaimed Margin Call, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Original Screenplay category."
  52. "Chris Daggett, Independent candidate for governor of NJ, to deliver policy address, Oct. 7", Princeton university. Accessed December 1, 2012. "Daggett, a lifelong resident of New Jersey, was born in Orange, and moved to Linwood before settling in Bernards Township. He attended Ridge High School, graduated from the University of North Carolina with a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies and the University of Massachusetts with a doctorate in education."
  53. Birkby, Robert. Mountain Madness: Scott Fischer, Mount Everest & a Life Lived on High , Citadel Press, 2009. ISBN 0-8065-2876-1, p. 21. Accessed February 11, 2011. "Scott liked school and developed an interest in theater, taking part in The Crucible and appearing on the stage at Ridge High School dressed as a Puritan."
  54. Jarryd Goldberg, Boston College Eagles. Accessed February 11, 2011. "Earned All-State, All-Area and All-Conference honors as a senior midfielder at Ridge High School"
  55. Mueller, Mark. "Families savor a great day for 'the Jersey girls'", The Star-Ledger, August 22, 2008. Accessed February 11, 2011. "Heath's family could not be reached yesterday, but Todd Hebden, who coached her as a sophomore and junior at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, said he wasn't surprised Heath had made it to the national team and the Olympics."
  56. "Father of the Bride to be staged at Ridge", New Jersey Hills, May 9, 2002. Accessed September 3, 2019. "The Ridge High Drama Club will stage the 2002 spring play Father of the Bride at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 30, through Saturday, June 1, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 2, at the Ridge High School auditorium on South Finley Avenue. As the play opens, Mr. Stanley Banks, played by Matt Joachim, learns that the young man who has been visiting his daughter lately is about to become his son-in-law when young Kay, played by Drama Club Secretary Kelly Anne Lyons, announces the engagement."
  57. Kelly-Anne Lyons (Actress), Amazing Women Rock, backed up by the Internet Archive as of June 15, 2009. Accessed September 3, 2019. "Kelly-Anne Lyons (who plays the role of Chelsey Pucks in the online video series called Chelsey OMG, two excellent segments of which AWR features here), grew up along the East Coast of the USA. She spent the younger part of her childhood in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, her adolescence and teenage years in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and attended University in New York City.... Alongside dance, she attended Ridge High School, where she maintained honor role status, was very active in sports (field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse), student council, and numerous clubs."
  58. Perry, W. Jacob. "Ridge grad loses bid for U.S. Senate seat", The Bernardsville News, December 18, 2009. Accessed September 12, 2019. "The local alumni, Steve Pagliuca, 54, who was in the Ridge High Class of 1973, placed fourth in a contest triggered by the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on Aug. 25."
  59. Kelly Williford, Virginia Tech Hokies women's tennis. Accessed September 3, 2019. "High School: Ridge; Hometown: Basking Ridge, N.J."
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