The school complex serves Waldwick students grades six though twelve; the district's middle school was constructed in the 1990s on the campus of the Waldwick High School building.[3]
As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 424 students and 43.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.7:1. There were 3 students (0.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and none listed as eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Voters approved a referendum in June 1961 by a better than ten-to-one margin to provide for a $2.6 million bond covering the costs of construction.[4] Until the high school opened, Waldwick students had been enrolled at Midland Park High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship that led to overcrowding at the Midland Park school.[5] Through the late 1950s, students from Waldwick had attended Ramsey High School, which faced capacity issues, forcing the shift to Midland Park.[6]
The school was designed to accommodate 1,500 students in grades eight through twelve and was completed in 1963. The school opened with students in grades nine and ten, as students who had already been enrolled at Midland Park High School in previous years completed their education there. The first class of students graduated from Waldwick High School in 1966. The "Kids, Kids, Kids" preschool program was established in the 1970s, in which high school juniors and seniors work with preschoolers three days each week as part of an elective program for students that is available for a fee to the public.[7][8]
The school was the 73rd-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.[11] The school had been ranked 54th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 68th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[12] The magazine ranked the school 93rd in 2008 out of 316 schools.[13] The school was ranked 96th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[14] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 161st out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 59 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (79.3%) and language arts literacy (95.9%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[15]
The school offers a wide range of extracurricular activities that all students have a chance to join.[16] Drama Club allows students to participate in different musicals and perform them in a series of three shows for one weekend in the spring. In March 2017, Waldwick High School students performed in The Addams Family. Because the school is connected to the Waldwick Middle School, students have a chance to help younger students improve their acting and musical skills.
The school has a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) team where students visit other high schools and compete in these topics.
The school also has many ways for the students to get involved. There are 25 clubs to get involved with. Some have been around for many years, such as Photography Club, and some have been recently made, such as the Mind Over Matter club, which was created last school year, 2021-2022.
The Waldwick High School Warriors[2] participate in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which comprises small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson, Morris 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).[17][18][19] Prior to the realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Waldwick was a member of the smaller Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League (BPSL).[20] With 308 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.[21] The school's co-op football team with Midland Park High School was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I North for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 184 to 471 students.[22]
Interscholastic athletic programs offered include:
Varsity Cross Country, Varsity Golf,
Junior Varsity Golf,
Varsity Football,
Junior Varsity Football,
Freshman Football,
Boys Varsity Soccer,
Boys Junior Varsity Soccer,
Boys Freshman Soccer,
Girls Varsity Soccer,
Girls Junior Varsity Soccer,
Girls Freshman Soccer,
Girls Varsity Volleyball,
Girls Junior Varsity Volleyball,
Girls Freshman Volleyball,
Girls Varsity Tennis,
Varsity Wrestling,
Boys Varsity Basketball,
Boys Junior Varsity Basketball,
Boys Freshman Basketball,
Girls Varsity Basketball,
Girls Junior Varsity Basketball,
Girls Freshman Basketball,
Boys & Girls Winter Track,
Varsity Baseball,
Junior Varsity Baseball,
Freshman Baseball,
Varsity Softball,
Junior Varsity Softball,
Girls Lacrosse,
Boys Varsity Lacrosse,
Boys Junior Varsity Lacrosse,
Freshman Softball,
Boys Varsity Track,
Girls Varsity Track and
Boys Varsity Tennis.[2]
The school participates as the host school / lead agency in joint cooperative football and wrestling teams with Midland Park High School. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[23][24]
The football team finished the 1988 season with a 9-2 record after winning the NJSIAA North I Group I state sectional title with a 26-7 win against Cresskill High School in the championship game.[25][26]
The wrestling team won the North I Group I state sectional championship in 1988 and 1992.[27]
The 1995 boys soccer team finished the season with a 24-0 record after winning the Group I state title that year, defeating Arthur P. Schalick High School in the championship game and winning the Bergen County Tournament by a score of 2-1 against Ridgewood High School in the tournament final.[28][29] The team has won multiple North I, Group I state sectional championships, including in the 2006 fall season with a 1–0 victory over local rival Midland Park High School in the tournament final.[30]
^Stronger Schools 2021 Referendum: Frequently Asked Questions, Waldwick Public School District. Accessed February 5, 2024. "Why is so much of the proposed work focused on the High School? Waldwick voters last committed to a major, bond-funded investment in school facilities almost 20 years ago. That bond-funded project built the Middle School at the High School campus, the art/music rooms at the Traphagen campus, and the music room at Crescent."
^Greene, Rebecca. "Waldwick High School celebrates 50 years", Waldwick Suburban News, October 10, 2013. Accessed November 29, 2015. "In 1963, six years prior to her arrival, Waldwick High School opened in its current location at 155 Wyckoff Ave. Meant for 1,500 students, it had an enrollment in its first year of just freshman and sophomores, although it was built for students in Grades 8-12. That year, students in their junior and senior years attended Midland Park High School, where they began their high school careers."
^Fall 2011 Accreditation Actions, The Standard; A Newsletter from the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary School, Winter 2012. Accessed November 11, 2020. "Removal of Accreditation... Waldwick High School, Waldwick, NJ"
^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."
^Kurland, Bob. "Del Gaudio wins it for Waldwick", The Record, December 4, 1988. Accessed December 17, 2020. "He scored three touchdowns to lead Waldwick to a 26-7 victory over Cresskill for the Group 1, North Section 1 championship. The Warriors won their first New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association football title by defeating the defending champions. Waldwick (9-2) outrushed the Cougars, 264-37, with Del, Gaudio contributing 186 yards on 40 carries."
^McConville, Jim. "Title time in soccer", The Ridgewood News, November 23, 1995. Accessed February 25, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Three local teams have come away with state soccer championships, including a performance unheralded in Bergen County for at least 20 years. In the space of three days, Waldwicks boys soccer team won not only the Group 1 state championship, but also the Bergen County tournament and completed a perfect 24-0 season. No team has gone unbeaten and untied in the county for at least two decades, and the Warriors accomplished that feat by conquering the larger schools in the counties. A 2-1 win over Schalick gave the Warriors their first state title, and they followed with a 2-1 victory over Ridgewood in the county final."
^Kurland, Bob. "Waldwick Staves Off Becton With Late Run", The Record, March 8, 2000. Accessed July 31, 2007. "Waldwick captured its second straight Section 1 Group 1 boys basketball championship Tuesday night, but not before Becton threw a huge scare into the Warriors before a standing-room-only crowd at Northern Highlands."
^Staff. "Football: Waldwick H.S. alum named University of Maine head coach", Waldwick Suburban News, December 24, 2015. Accessed November 23, 2016. "Borough native Joe Harasymiak has been promoted from interim football coach at the University of Maine to head coach on a permanent basis, Black Bears athletic director Karlton Creech announced on Dec. 16. The 2004 Waldwick High School graduate, who quarterbacked the Warriors football team his junior and senior years, served the past two seasons as Maine's defensive coordinator and linebacker coach."
