Welcome To Northern Valley Regional High School District!
Welcome to the Northern Valley Regional High School District, a dynamic learning community that promotes excellence, supports innovation and creativity, is highly collaborative while promoting critical thinking, problem solving, and lifelong learning. Recognized as one of the top performing school districts in Bergen County, New Jersey, and across the country, the district embraces 21st Century Learning with global outreach within and beyond the walls of the classroom. Priority one in the commitment to high student achievement for the Northern Valley Regional High School District is to base every decision on what is best for students and to pursue excellence in academics, the arts, athletics and volunteerism.
In those regards our district values a balanced educational opportunity for all students in a nurturing environment supporting formal learning and social and emotional well-being. We encourage a broad understanding of ethical behavior and character education and encourage participation and involvement in extra and co-curricular activities. To maximize potential, many of our students often study abroad over the summer or go to third world countries to volunteer their services. We promote and support healthy perspectives on teamwork, setting goals, and learning how to deal with a variety of situations and outcomes as preparation for college, careers, and life!
Located in the upper North Eastern corner of the state, Northern Valley Regional is comprised of two high schools, Northern Valley at Demarest and Northern Valley at Old Tappan. The Region III special education program that services students from our consortium and other school districts as well as the Northern Valley Curriculum Consortium are also an important component of our district. Northern Valley embraces a collaborative and nurturing partnership with the sending school districts and prides itself in shared services in the areas of curriculum and instruction, special education, technology, business services and grounds and maintenance. Our long standing successful and cost efficient PK-12 consortium remains an exemplar model of shared services including seven local PK-8 districts that send their students to the regional high schools: Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan. We take great pride in our continued commitment to research based professional development and curriculum efforts through our outstanding Northern Valley Curriculum Center.
Northern Valley Regional High School District is proud of the outstanding achievements of our students and staff. Through a comprehensive experience of academic and elective offerings, various technologies including our 1:1 laptop program for all students and staff, field experiences, etc. our students emerge well prepared for the challenges ahead of them. Our students are exposed to blended learning and personalized learning experiences with a special focus on the lifelong development of the individual.
Continuing a tradition of excellence, last school year Northern Valley produced 4 National Merit Finalists and 33 National Merit Commendations. In addition to offering over 47 rigorous honors courses, Northern Valley offers 30 Advanced Placement courses. In May, 2017, 662 students took 1245 AP tests, with 75% of our scored tests earning a 3 or higher. 173 AP students were recognized as AP Scholars. Furthermore, our Class of 2017 averaged SAT scores of 591 in Critical Reading, 636 in Math and 615 in Writing. The same class averaged 26.4 on the ACT. These scores reflect strong academic readiness for college and demonstrate the effectiveness of our educational programs.
We continue to explore community partnerships to maximize student and staff opportunities. To this end, 48 of our courses are offered as dual-enrollment opportunities through Bergen Community College and Seton Hall University. In addition to the district’s BioMedical Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, we had more than 350 of our Seniors participate in Structured Learning Experiences (SLE) , including Community Service/Service Learning, Teaching Mentorships and Professional Internships – reflecting a focus on character education, career readiness and civic responsibility. The CTE and SLE programs are directly connected to the District's Career Pathways program which focuses our program of studies around state and nationally recognized career clusters.
Our college admissions reflect the collaboration among our students, parents and staff. We strive to prepare and assist students through a successful college search and application process. Consistent with the district’s prior achievements, over 93% of the Class of 2017 are set to attend two or four-year colleges. While we proudly commend approximately 82% of the Class of 2017 who will be attending institutions considered 'competitive' through 'most competitive' according to Barron’s (2013), we are proud that all Northern Valley students have worked hard to select appropriate post-secondary plans and that they are prepared for future success.
In summary, Northern Valley is a “beautiful place to grow and learn” for children of all ages! We welcome and invite you to contact us to learn more about our schools and community.
James M. Santana
Superintendent of Schools