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Wayne Valley High School

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High school in Passaic County, New Jersey, US

Wayne Valley High School
Address
551 Valley Road
Wayne, Passaic County, New Jersey 07470
United States
Coordinates40°55′51″N 74°13′51″W / 40.9308°N 74.2307°W / 40.9308; -74.2307
Information
TypePublic high school
Motto"The Tribe with 'Pride'"
Established1952; 72 years ago (1952)
School districtWayne Public Schools
NCES School ID341728004964
PrincipalKenneth J. Palczewski
Faculty116.6 FTEs
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,241 (as of 2022–23)
Student to teacher ratio10.6:1
Color(s)  Blue and
  white
Athletics conferenceBig North Conference (general)
North Jersey Super Football Conference (football)
Team nameIndians
RivalWayne Hills High School
PublicationSmoke Signals
Websitewww.wayneschools.com/o/wvhs

Wayne Valley High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school, in Wayne, in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of the two secondary schools of the Wayne Public Schools, the other being Wayne Hills High School. The school is also accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education and has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1954. Wayne Valley's school colors are blue and white.

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,241 students and 116.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.6:1. There were 82 students (6.6% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 25 (2.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

History

Before the school opened in 1952, students from Wayne had attended Pompton Lakes High School.

The school was called "Wayne High School" until Wayne Hills High School opened in September 1966, at which time the word "Valley" was added to the original school's name in order to differentiate between the two.

Awards, recognition and rankings

In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 417th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 45th among all high schools in New Jersey and 28th among the state's non-magnet schools.

The school was the 91st-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. The school had been ranked 64th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 63rd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 46th in 2008 out of 316 schools. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 122nd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (85.9%) and language arts literacy (94.6%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

Sports

The Wayne Valley High School Indians compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, which was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. In the 2009-10 school year, the school competed in the North Jersey Tri-County Conference, which was established on an interim basis to facilitate the realignment. Prior to the realignment, the school had participated in the Northern Hills Conference's Skyline Division. With 994 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. The football team competes in the Freedom 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. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 893 to 1,315 students.

The school participates in a joint ice hockey team with Wayne Hills High School as the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.

The football team was awarded the sectional championship by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association in 1967, 1968 and 1970. Since the playoff system was introduced in 1974, the team has won the NJSIAA North I Group III state sectional championships in 1984, 1988, 1989 and 1991, and won the North II Group IV title in 2019. The 1984 team won the North I Group III title against Northern Highlands Regional High School by a score of 28-6 in the championship game to finish the season 11-0. The 1988 team finished the season with 10-0-1 record after winning the North I Group III title with a 49-10 win against Ramapo High School. The 1989 team won the North I Group III title by defeating Pascack Valley High School with a 19-14 win in the tournament final. The 1991 team finished the season with a 11-0 record after defeating Wayne Valley by a score of 7-0 in front of a crowd of 10,000 to win the North I Group III state sectional championship. The program won its fifth playoff championship in 2019 with a 21-17 win in the North II Group IV title game against Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley have participated in an annual rivalry since 2009, which Wayne Hills leads 11-2 through the 2017 season. NJ.com listed the rivalry in the 24th spot on their 2017 list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football".

The field hockey team won the North I Group IV state sectional championship in 1975 and 1979.

The varsity baseball team won the Passaic County Tournament championships in 1981, 1986, 1988, 2010, 2015 and 2019 A single in the bottom of the seventh of the 2016 PCT championship game gave the team the title with a 4-3 win against Pompton Lakes High School. The team won the PCT title in 2019, defeating Passaic Valley Regional High School by a 2-1 score in the finals.

The 2008 boys' basketball team, seeded 10th in the tournament, won the North I Group III state championship over top seed West Milford High School by a score of 48-45 in a game played at John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson, New Jersey. This was the team's first sectional title in just over a decade.

The Wayne Valley boys' track team went undefeated in the 2011 season, winning the county relays, conference and county meets. The girls' team went undefeated in the dual meet season, losing the conference meet to West Orange High School which came down to the last event, and won its fifth county title in a row.

The girls fencing team was the sabre team champion in 2012.

The wrestling team won the North I Group III state sectional title in 2014 and the North I Group IV title in 2019.

Incidents

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2020)

On June 13, 2007, authorities found two bundles of what looked like half-sticks of dynamite in two lockers at Wayne Valley. All of the students were evacuated, and the Passaic County Sheriff's Department bomb squad extracted the devices. The devices were then detonated at the Paterson firing range. It is unknown whether the devices were intended to do harm or be used as part of a prank. On June 27, 2007, five members of the class that just graduated from the school were arrested for their roles in the incident.

Notable alumni

See also: Category:Wayne Valley High School alumni

References

  1. WVHS Overview, Wayne Valley High School. Accessed November 3, 2020. "Wayne Valley High School, which opened in September 1952, is a comprehensive high school, accredited by the Middle States Association of College and Secondary Schools and the New Jersey Department of Education."
  2. ^ School data for Wayne Valley High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  3. ^ Wayne Valley High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  4. Wayne Valley High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 7, 2012. Accessed March 30, 2015.
  5. Overview, Wayne Valley High School. Accessed November 15, 2021. "Wayne Valley High School, which opened in September 1952, is a comprehensive high school, accredited by the Middle States Association of College and Secondary Schools and the New Jersey Department of Education."
  6. 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."
  7. "School Enrollment Hits 11,000 and Still Growing", Paterson Evening News, September 13, 1966. Accessed November 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The district opened a new secondary school, Wayne Hills High School, last Wednesday, and has begun construction on a third junior high school."
  8. "The Hills are Alive With the Sound of Football...", The News, September 7, 1966. Accessed October 8, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "The 'old' in this case is the 'old' Wayne High School, which is now known as Wayne Valley. The 'new' is the new school, christened Wayne Hills."
  9. "Wayne Cuts Contractor's Bill", Paterson Evening News, November 9, 1965. Accessed November 18, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "In other business, the board adopted names for the new high school on Berdan Avenue and the existing Wayne High school on Valley Road. The new building, completion due in September 1966, was named 'Wayne Hills Senior High School' and the existing one, 'Wayne Valley Senior High School.'"
  10. Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
  11. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
  12. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 19, 2012.
  13. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 21, 2011.
  14. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 4, 2012.
  15. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  16. League Memberships - 2009-1010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed September 16, 2014.
  17. Home Page, Northern Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 28, 2011. Accessed December 15, 2014.
  18. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  19. 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."
  20. 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."
  21. NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  22. NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
  23. Conrad, JJ; and Iseman, Chris. "NJ HS football championships: How past finalists fared", The Record, November 27, 2016. "Although the state established the current playoff format in 1974, titles have been awarded for decades. Here are the most decorated North Jersey teams playing for a title this weekend, listed by their state championship totals:.... Wayne Valley (7): 1967, 1968, 1970, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1991"
  24. NJSIAA Football History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
  25. D'Alessandro, Cava. "Wayne Valley rolls to title; Indians jump in Highlands to complete unbeaten season", The Record, December 2, 1984. Accessed January 10, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "An argument can be made that yesterday's Group 3 championship game of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association playoffs was decided on the first play from scrimmage.... From under the pile that pinned Northern Highlands quarterback Greg DiFelice to the ground, Wayne Valley tackle Jerry Phelan came out with the ball.... In a game that was turned into a three-touchdown rout by intermission, the Indians captured the sectional championship with a 28-6 victory that capped a perfect 11-0 season."
  26. "School Sports: New Jersey; Wayne Valley Routs Ramapo", The New York Times, December 4, 1988. Accessed December 17, 2020. "Unbeaten Wayne Valley scored on six of its first seven possessions and rolled to a 49-10 victory over Ramapo yesterday in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 championship in Franklin Lakes."
  27. "Injury-ridden Ramapo falls to undefeated Wayne Valley", The Ridgewood News, December 8, 1988. Accessed December 18, 2020. "The 49-10 rout gave Wayne Valley its first state title since 1984 and gave coach Fred Keil his sixth championship season. He had three at DePaul, one with West Essex and now two at Wayne Valley. The Indians finished with a 10-0-1 record and the Raiders wound up 8-3."
  28. Jones, Jim. "Pascack Valley denied title", The Ridgewood News, December 7, 1989. Accessed January 10, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Pascack Valley High's Cinderella football season ended on a losing note Saturday as the Indians fell in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 final at Wayne Valley, 19-14, but it was a campaign to remember."
  29. Fox, Ron. "Wayne Valley prevails in defensive struggle", The Record, December 8, 1991. Accessed January 30, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "They play a terrific brand of football in Wayne. The burden of proof was delivered Saturday when the township' two public schools met for the State Group 3, Section 1 championship, and neither team was soundly thrashed. Wayne Valley prevailed on a second-quarter touchdown, while the only score by Wayne Hills, a 63-yard pass play with 6:20 left, was erased by a motion penalty. The 7-0 victory gave Valley its third championship in four years. The first-ever meeting between the two schools was witnessed by more than 10,000 fans."
  30. Patti, Ryan. "Football: Wayne Valley road warriors close book on 28-year state title drought", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 23, 2019. Accessed November 23, 2019. "All Wayne Valley head coach Roger Kotlarz could do was cry when he hugged his wife, Hillary, after his team’s 21-17 victory in Old Tappan on Friday night.... The fifth-seeded Indians (10-2) took down second-seeded Old Tappan (8-4) in the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 championship, capturing the school’s first state title since 1991."
  31. 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. "24-Wayne Hills vs. Wayne Valley... So much so that Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley only met three times — all in the postseason - in 39 years prior to 2009. Now, both schools meet annually.... All-time series: Wayne Hills leads, 11-2"
  32. History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 1, 2022.
  33. Baseball Champions, Passaic County Coaches Association. Accessed February 26, 2021.
  34. "Baseball: Passaic County Tournament full history", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 13, 2019, updated August 22, 2019. Accessed February 26, 2021.
  35. ^ Perez, Braulio. "Wayne Valley captures its first Passaic County title since 2010 with Chris McClurg's walk-off single (photos)", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 11, 2015, updated August 24, 2019. Accessed February 27, 2021. "Wayne Valley senior Chris McClurg was patiently waiting for his shot.... And sure enough, McClurg did just that, hitting a walk-off RBI-single to score Joe Namendorf to win the Passaic County Tournament championship against Pompton Lakes on Monday night."
  36. "Controversial call looms as Wayne Valley walks off in PCT final (PHOTOS/VIDEO)", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 16, 2019, updated August 22, 2019. Accessed February 27, 2021. "Wayne Valley stormed left fielder Zach Byle in the shallow right field. His two-out hit had just capped off a bottom of the seventh rally that propelled the Indians to a 2-1 win over Passaic Valley in the Passaic County Tournament final, but the celebration was cut short by a livid Passaic Valley coaching staff arguing with the game's three umpires."
  37. 2008 Boys Basketball - North I, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed March 9, 2008.
  38. Zagoria, Adam. "Wayne Valley guard comes up big", The Record, March 5, 2008. Accessed March 9, 2008. "Valley (20-9) has won four consecutive road tournament games to capture its first sectional title since 1997, when the Indians beat Indian Hills, led by current Valley head coach Joe Leicht."
  39. NJSIAA History of Girls Fencing Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  40. NJSIAA Wrestling Team Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
  41. Heininger, Claire; Sterling, Guy; and Heyboer, Kelly "Pyrotechnics force evacuation of school", The Star-Ledger, June 13, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2007. "Wayne Valley High School was evacuated this morning after pyrotechnic devices capable of causing "catastrophic" damage were found in the building a day before final exams were to begin, authorities said. No one was injured in the scare, which began around 9:15 a.m. when a student spotted wires protruding from his second-floor locker, authorities said. The locker, which the student had cleaned out the day before, and another nearby each contained two bundles of pyrotechnics - 16 half-sticks of the material in all, authorities said."
  42. Schweber, Nate. "5 Charged in Planting of Devices at School", The New York Times, June 28, 2007. Accessed July 1, 2007. "Five teenagers who graduated last week from Wayne Valley High School have been arrested in connection with the discovery of 16 devices with fuses in lockers at the school, forcing the evacuation of 1,400 students on the last full day of classes. The young men, three of them 18 and two 17 at the time of the evacuation, face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty, said James Wilson, chief of the arson unit for the Passaic County prosecutor.
  43. Winters, Debra. "Indie film continues production", Wayne Today, February 4, 2010. Accessed February 21, 2011. "Both Della Valle and Beatty are graduates from Wayne Valley High School just a year apart in classes of 1996 and 1997."
  44. Rohan, Virginia. "North Jersey-bred and talented too", The Record, June 18, 2007. Accessed June 25, 2007. "Lisa Edelstein: Class of 1984, Wayne Valley High School"
  45. Push to Sochi: Jazmine Fenlator, USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. Accessed March 30, 2015. "I was recruited by Rider based off of [sic] my track and field accomplishments at Wayne Valley High School and potential in the sport with further elite development."
  46. Levin, Jay. "Stage, TV director John Ferraro, 64, Wayne Valley grad", The Record, December 21, 2010, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 22, 2012. Accessed October 8, 2018. "Mr. Ferraro graduated from Wayne Valley High School and received a bachelor of fine arts degree from New York University."
  47. Sullivan, William J. "Harraka balances college with racing in NASCAR's minor league", The Star-Ledger, October 26, 2008. Accessed November 5, 2017. "As a junior at Wayne Valley High School, Harraka took honors courses and kept his GPA above 4.0; he also drove to rookie of the year honors in the Whelen Series. He moved to North Carolina for his senior year, during which he earned his diploma while interning in the engineering department of Joe Gibbs Racing."
  48. "Military Notes", The Record, May 9, 1995. Accessed October 7, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Wayne: Army 1st Lt. Jack A. James, son of Sheila M. James of Wayne and Jack A. James of Sarasota, Fla., has arrived for duty at Wheeler Army Airfield, Oahu, Hawaii. He is a 1987 graduate of Wayne Valley High School and a 1992 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y."
  49. Wayne Valley High School (1984). Embers, The Yearbook of Wayne Valley High School. Winston-Salem, NC: Hunter Publishing Company. p. 240. Retrieved October 6, 2024 – via E-yearbook.com.
  50. Best Boys Tennis Team of the Century, The Star-Ledger. Accessed December 10, 2007.
  51. Staff. "This crossword puzzle writer and poker champ generating 20% returns; Peter Muller founded Morgan Stanley's successful PDT quant unit; dubbed 'brilliant' by Clifford Asness", InvestmentNews, July 7, 2011. Accessed July 21, 2017. "The family moved into a shingled ranch house in the New Jersey suburb of Wayne, 21 miles (34 kilometers) west of New York. At Wayne Valley High School, Muller was named one of two class mathematicians."
  52. Hubbard, Daniel. "N.Y. Jets Sign Wayne Valley Alumnus; Chris Pantale, who played tight end at Boston College, was signed by the Jets as a undrafted free agent Saturday night.", WaynePatch, April 28, 2013. Accessed April 29, 2013. "Chris Pantale, an alumni of Wayne Valley High School, was signed by the New York Jets on Saturday night following the third and final day of the National Football League's annual draft, bleacherreport.com reported."
  53. Schweich Handler, Cindy. "Francesca Russo has an Eye on the Olympics", Wayne Magazine, Fall 2017. Accessed August 4, 2021. "Since fencing for Wayne Valley and Bergen Fencing Club, Francesca Russo has scored some memorable victories – among them, winning the sabre competition for the University of Notre Dame as a freshman, and a second National Collegiate Fencing Individual championship in the women’s sabre last spring."
  54. "Wayne's Justin Shackil goes from Dotterweich Field to Yankee Stadium". Northjersey.com. July 27, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  55. Art Thoms player profile Archived February 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, database Football. Accessed August 11, 2007.
  56. Art Thoms Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Oakland Raiders. Accessed August 11, 2007. "I started playing football in high school. It was the freshman team at Wayne High School in Wayne, N.J. I played two years there and then my family moved to Brickjohn [sic], NJ. I played the last two years of high school ball there."
  57. Klein, Alvin. "In Person; A Young Performer With a Few Tricks of His Own", The New York Times, March 15, 1998. Accessed October 24, 2012. "The not-so-simple stuff that Michael, 16, a sophomore at Wayne Valley High School, uses in school involves video and computer equipment for his electives, advanced television production and graphic arts."
  58. Meredith, Jon "Ferris". "Wayne Valley’s Ryan Van Demark – From High School Project to College Prospect to NFL Product", TAPinto Wayne, May 8, 2022. Accessed September 6, 2023. "Ryan Van Demark was not the best football player for the Wayne Valley Indians before he graduated in 2016, but he had a lot of potential.... For the young man from Wayne, this is just another opportunity in a long series, where he has proved himself time and time again."

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