As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 806 students and 54.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.9:1. There were 213 students (26.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 45 (5.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Before the district opened its own high school, students from East Paterson had been sent to attend Lodi High School until 1953 and then were shifted to East Rutherford High School starting in 1954 due to lack of capacity at the Lodi school.[5][6]
East Paterson Memorial High School opened in September 1957 with 1,075 students in grades 7-10 attending split sessions, to allow for the construction of unfinished portions of the complex.[7][8]
The school was the 214th-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.[9] The school had been ranked 248th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 210th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[10] The magazine ranked the school 201st in 2008 out of 316 schools.[11] The school was ranked 237th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[12]
The Elmwood Park High School Crusaders[3] participate in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference (NJIC), which comprises small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[13][14][15] Prior to realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Elmwood Park was a member of the smaller Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League (BPSL).[16] With 536 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.[17] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 478 to 672 students.[18]
The wrestling team won the North I Group II state championship in 1982 and 1986[19] In 2006, the Elmwood Park High School wrestling team won the BPSL Championship, had a record of 22–2 for the season, were semifinalists in the state sectionals, and ranked top ten in Bergen County.
The high school's football team had a 41-game losing streak that lasted from 2002 until September 30, 2006, when they defeated the Manchester Regional High School Falcons, 33–14, snapping the four-year-long losing streak that was North Jersey's longest for a football team.[20]
After going 20 years without a winning record, the Elmwood Park High School baseball team went 19–6 in 2006, winning the league championship and doubling their wins every year for three seasons. They were semifinalist in the state tournament and county qualifiers.
The 2003 boys' basketball team won the North I, Group I state sectional title, their first championship since 1984, with a 70–56 win against Park Ridge High School in the tournament final.[21][22] The boys' basketball team won the North I, Group I state championship in 2007, defeating Leonia High School 78–70 in a game played at Hudson Catholic Regional High School.[23][24]
Cora-Ann Mihalik (born c. 1954; class of 1972), former television news anchor and reporter who was best known for her role as co-anchor and news reporter for Fox WNYW and My 9 WWOR from 1987 to 2011[27]
^The Scarlet Quill, Elmwood Park Memorial High School. Accessed March 23, 2022.
^"2-Town Parley Plans Shift Of H. S. Pupils; East Paterson Board Tours, Okays School In East Ruthorford", Herald News, July 23, 1953. Accessed March 23, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Although formal approval is still pending final tuition negotiations, it seems a "sure bet next year's grammar school graduates will enter East Rutherford High School.... The only things standing In the way of final approval are negotiations on the tuition rate East Paterson must pay for its pupils. Starting next year, East Paterson must find new grammar school grads a new high school. Their present sending district, Lodi High School, la overcrowded, and the Lodi school board has notified the local board that it will not be able to accept any more new students after this year."
^"Expect 1075 Enrollment At Memorial High School", The Morning Call, September 7, 1957. Accessed March 23, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "An enrollment of 1,075 students is expected when the new Memorial High School open for its first year of operation on Monday. The, school will house students of grades seven through ten this year."
^Mattura, Greg. "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship", The Record, January 9, 2017. Accessed August 30, 2020. "The small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference may debut its own boys basketball tournament this season, one season after introducing its girls hoops championship. The NJIC is comprised of schools from Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties and the event offered to the 36 boys teams would serve as an alternative to likely competing against larger programs in a county tournament."
^"Go crazy, EP! Losing streak kaput", The Record, October 1, 2006. Accessed December 12, 2014. "Elmwood Park snapped North Jersey's longest football losing streak with a convincing 33–14 win over Manchester on Saturday."
^Arangure Jr., Jorge. "Unlikely hero lifts Elmwood Park", The Record, March 12, 2003. Accessed December 12, 2014. "Elmwood Park beat Park Ridge, 70–56, Tuesday at Marist High School in Bayonne to claim its first North 1, Group 1 sectional boys basketball title since 1984 with help from an unlikely source, sophomore Patrick Lowery."
^Roberts, Jeff. "Elmwood Park rallies past Leonia", The Record, March 7, 2007. Accessed December 12, 2014. "Leonia's Ahmad Hassan owned the first half, but Tillerson dominated when things mattered most. He scored 25 of his season-high 37 points in the second half to lead the Crusaders to a 78–70 victory in the North 1, Group 1 boys basketball final Tuesday at Hudson Catholic."
^Malfa, Joe. "From SJR to the Super Bowl: Vinny Ciurciu '98", The Guardian, January 29, 2016. Accessed August 29, 2018. "The road to a Super Bowl appearance featured many twists and turns for Ciurciu, and it did not actually begin at SJR. He spent his freshman year at Elmwood Park High School before transferring to SJR as a sophomore."
^Kubasik, Ben. "TV Spots; Mihalik's Advice to Graduates" , Newsday, June 23, 1989. Accessed March 6, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "WNYW/5 anchor Cora Ann Mihalik, class of '72, Elmwood Park (NJ) High School, returns to offer pointers to tonight's graduates."
