Mahwah High School

• Name — Mahwah High School • District — Mahwah Township Public Schools • Type — Public high school • Address — 50 Ridge Road • City — Mahwah • County — Bergen County • State — New Jersey • Zipcode — 07430 • Country — United States • Principal — Danielle Wood • Enrollment — 829 (as of 2024–25) • Faculty — 90.9 FTEs • Ratio — 9.1:1 • Us Nces School Id — 340933000586 • Campus — Suburban • Team Name — Thunderbirds • Rival — Ramsey Rams • Colors — Columbia Blue and Black Black • Athletic Conference — Big North Conference (general) North Jersey Super Football Conference (football) • Website — https: hs.mahwah.k12.nj.us/

Through the 1957-58 school year, students from Mahwah joined those from Allendale, Saddle River and Upper Saddle River who attended Ramsey High School as part of sending/receiving relationships with the respective districts and the Ramsey Public School District. Allendale and Mahwah left the Ramsey district in September 1958 once Mahwah High School was opened. With construction delayed due to labor actions, Mahwah High School started the year with afternoon classes housed in space rented at Ramsey High School. Completed at a cost of $3.6 million (equivalent to $ million in), the high school facility opened for students in February 1959. Construction on the $3.25 million campus-style facility began in August 1958, with 13 buildings spread out over 20 acres of the 62 acres property to accommodate 600 students from Mahwah and Allendale. Delays in starting the work meant that the initial set of classrooms would not be available until November 1958, with completion of the 1,200-student capacity facility due for February 1959. Before the buildings opened, the district rented space from Ramsey High School, with Allendale and Mahwah students who had already started in the Ramsey district remaining there until graduation. With the opening of the high school, the Mahwah district's elementary schools were changed from K-8 to K-6, with the new high school serving students in grades 7-12. In May 1963, voters in Allendale and Upper Saddle River approved a referendum to create Northern Highlands Regional High School, with the expenditure of $3.65 million to build a facility on a 40-acre site, with plans to complete the building in time to start classes in September 1965. The Northern Highland school building, completed at a cost of $4 million, was dedicated in February 1966. The first all-Mahwah graduating class was in 1967. The present school building was constructed in 1984 with three floors on the site of the original school, with an addition completed in "March 2005" (along with the expansion of Ramapo Ridge Middle School), according to a plaque in the new wing. In Fall 2009, the Freshman Advisory, a full year freshman transition program, was implemented. Freshman Advisory is a required course for all freshman students, and it is taught by upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) and supervised by the high school faculty. The following topics are addressed: study and organizational skills, time management, coping skills, peer pressure, Habits of Mind, and college/post-secondary planning. In Summer of 2018 construction began on a new extension to the high school. Named the STEAM room and also known as The Thunderbird Think Tank and houses new science rooms and computer labs. The extension was completed August, 2019 and opened for students in September, 2019.

Mahwah High School offers 20 Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which include AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, AP Economics (includes one semester of macroeconomics and one semester of microeconomics), AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP European History, AP French Language and Culture, AP Music Theory, AP Physics, AP Psychology, AP Spanish, AP Statistics, AP Studio Art, AP Psychology AP United States Government and Politics, and AP US History. In the 2009-10 school year, 128 students participated in Mahwah High School's AP course offerings, taking a total of 258 examinations that year of which 87% achieved a grade of 3 or higher.

The Mahwah High School Thunderbirds compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen 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). Prior to the 2010 realignment, Mahwah was one of the member schools of the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League. With 676 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. The football team competes in the American 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 II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students. Interscholastic sports offered include (those listed with an asterisk, although they are technically two teams that compete and score separately, usually practice and have their events with each other): • Fall sports: Cross country (boys)*, Cross country (girls)*, Football (boys), Soccer (boys), Soccer (boys), Soccer (girls), Tennis (girls), Volleyball (girls), Marching Band and Fall Cheerleading. • Winter sports: Basketball (boys), Basketball (girls), Bowling (boys)*, Bowling (girls)*, Ice hockey (boys), Track (boys)*, Track (girls)*, Wrestling (boys) and Winter Cheerleading • Spring sports: Baseball (boys), Golf (boys)*, Golf (girls)*, Softball (girls), Tennis (boys), Track (boys)*, Track (girls)*, Lacrosse (boys) and Lacrosse (girls) The football team was awarded the sectional championship by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association in 1960 (as co-champion). Since the playoff system was introduced in 1974, the team has won the NJSIAA North I Group I state sectional championship in 1978, 1979, 1981, 2015 and 2016. The 1978 team finished the season with a 10-1 record after a 48-20 win against Park Ridge High School in the North I Group I state sectional championship game. The team won the 1979 North I Group I sectional title with a 49-16 win against Pompton Lakes High School in the finals. In 1981, the team finished the season with a 9-1-1 record after winning the North I Group I state sectional title by defeating Park Ridge High School by a score of 21-11 in the championship game. In 2015, the football team finished with a team record 11 wins, defeating Glen Rock High School by a score of 38-13 in the tournament final at MetLife Stadium to win the North I Group II state sectional title. In 2016, the team won its second consecutive North I, Group II state sectional title with a 35-28 win against Westwood Regional High School in the tournament final, the program's fifth title in the playoff era. The boys cross country running team won the Group II state championship in 1975. The girls' basketball team won the Group II state title in 1993, defeating Delran High School by a score of 34-27 in the tournament final played at Monmouth College. In 2010, the boys lacrosse team defeated Bergen Catholic High School in the BCCA Lacrosse Championship 10-6 to win a county title in only its second year of varsity existence. The girls' soccer team won the Group I state championship in 1985 (defeating Maple Shade High School in the tournament final) and won the Group II title in 2010 (vs. Arthur L. Johnson High School). The 1985 team finished the season with a 15-3-3 record after winning the Group I title with a 4-0 victory against Maple Shade in the championship game played at Mercer County Park. In 2010, the girls soccer team, ranked 15th in the state by The Star-Ledger, defeated Arthur L. Johnson High School in the NJSIAA Group II state finals, with a final score of 3-1. The team had made it to the 2009 NJSIAA Group II State Finals, before losing 2-1 in overtime to Haddonfield Memorial High School. The girls tennis team won the Group I state championship in 1985, defeating Haddonfield Memorial High School in the tournament final. The team won the 1985 title with a 4-1 win against Metuchen High School in the semifinals and a 5-0 victory in the finals against Haddonfield. The 2012 baseball team defeated Buena Regional High School by a score of 11-4 to capture the Group II state championship, earning the first baseball state championship in the team's 52 seasons. In 2014, the boy's winter track and field team defeated a field of over 20 teams and won the North I Group II state sectional title.

Some of the extra-curricular activities offered at Mahwah High School include Ani-Pals, Art Club, Athletes in Action, Audio-Visual Club, Calliope (literary magazine), Chinese Honor Society, Current Events Club, Environmental Club, Executive Student Council, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), French National Honor Society, Gay-Straight Alliance, Junior Classical League, Marching band, Mock trial, Model United Nations, Multi-Cultural Club, National Honor Society, Omni Club, Philosophy Club, Reaching Everyone By Exposing Lies (REBEL), Science National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Stage Crew, Ski Club, Step Dance, Student Council, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), Thunderbird (yearbook), Tom-Tom (school paper), Ultimate Frisbee Club, Interact, Wood Tech Club and Young Politicians Club. Additionally, freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior class activities are offered.

One of the older clubs in the school, the Robotics Club Team 1672, was started in 2005. This team is part of the FIRST Robotics Competition. This club encourages all students with or without knowledge in the STEM field wishing to learn more about mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, as well as running a business. Teams of high school students around the world compete in annual competitions.

The mock trial team has won four Bergen County titles, in 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2014.

The school's principal is Danielle Wood. Her administration team includes two assistant principals.

Mahwah High School alumni • Curt Blefary (1943–2001), professional baseball player who was American League Rookie of the Year in 1965 • Frank Chamberlin (1978–2013), NFL linebacker with the Houston Texans • Brad Fischetti (born 1975), member of the pop band Lyte Funky Ones • Jared Greenberg, basketball sideline reporter for the NBA on TNT • Kevin Haslam (born 1986), NFL offensive tackle with the Jacksonville Jaguars • Vlad Holiday (born 1989), singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who is the lead singer and founder of the New York City-based indie band Born Cages • John Hollinger (born 1971), Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Memphis Grizzlies • Bob Kratch (born 1966), former guard who played in the NFL for the New York Giants and New England Patriots • Maria Pitillo (born 1966), actress who appeared in the 1998 film Godzilla (attended) • Randy Reutershan (born 1955), defensive back who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers • Kyle Teel (born 2002), catcher for the Chicago White Sox • Chris Wragge (born 1970), news anchor for WCBS-TV