As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,166 students and 107.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.9:1. There were 32 students (2.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 11 (0.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
History
Until October 1962, when the initial wing of Cresskill High School opened, Cresskil's students in grades seven to twelve had attended Tenafly High School. Students already in the Tenafly district for grades 11 and 12 when the Cresskill school opened remained at Tenafly High School until graduation.[6]
Awards, recognition and rankings
Tenafly High School was recognized by the National Blue Ribbon School Award by the United States Department of Education at a special assembly to the Tenafly High School community on September 20, 2005. Tenafly was the only high school in New Jersey and one of 38 public high schools in the U.S. to receive the 2005 Blue Ribbon School Award.[7]
The school was the 17th-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.[8] The school had been ranked 3rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 3rd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[9] The magazine ranked the school third in 2008 out of 316 schools.[10] The school was ranked 2nd in the magazine's 2006 rankings out of 316 schools included across the state.[11] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 68th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 42 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (89.2%) and language arts literacy (97.3%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[12]
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 19th in New Jersey and 720th nationwide.[13] Tenafly High School was the 2nd-highest ranked school in New Jersey in a 2007 listing by Newsweek magazine of the top 1,200 U.S. high schools .[14]
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 253rd in the nation among participating public high schools and 20th among schools in New Jersey.[15] The school was ranked 198th in the nation and 16th in New Jersey on the list of "America's Best High Schools 2012" prepared by The Daily Beast / Newsweek, with rankings based primarily on graduation rate, matriculation rate for college and number of Advanced Placement / International Baccalaureate courses taken per student, with lesser factors based on average scores on the SAT / ACT, average AP/IB scores and the number of AP/IB courses available to students.[16]
Extracurricular activities
In 2012, the Tenafly High School Marching Band came in first place for group 3A in the USBands Marching Band Competition in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.[17] In 2022 and 2023, the Band came in first place for group 4A in the USBands New Jersey State Championships.[18] In 2023, the band competed in the USBands National Championships for the first time and placed first in group 4A.[19]
Athletics
The Tenafly High School Tigers[2] 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).[20] Before the 2010 realignment, Tenafly competed in the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL) American Conference, which included public and private high schools located in Bergen and Hudson counties.[21] With 910 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.[22] The football team competed in the Ivy White 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.[23][24] The football team was one of the 12 programs assigned to the two Ivy divisions starting in 2020, which are intended to allow weaker programs ineligible for playoff participation to compete primarily against each other.[25] The team was promoted to the American Red division after an 8–0 record in 2020, and a 6–4 run in 2021.[26] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 700 to 884 students.[27] The name for the school's athletic teams is the Tigers, and its school colors are black and orange, adopted in the 1920s as a nod to those of Princeton University.[2][28]
The school participates as the host school / lead agency in a joint ice hockey team with Cresskill High School. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[29]
The boys' cross country team won the Group III state championship three consecutive years, from 1955 to 1957.[30]
The boys track team won the indoor relay Group III state championship in 1966, won the Group I-II title in 1967, 1968 and 1977, and won the Group II title in 1975. The program's five state group titles are tied for eighth-most in the state.[31]
The boys track team won the Group III spring / outdoor track state championship in 1957 and the Group II title in 1967.[32]
The 1975 boys' soccer team finished the season with a record of 18-1-2 after a scoreless tie in the playoff finals with Ewing High School made them the Group III co-champion.[33][34] In 2014, the boys' soccer team won their first state sectional title in 11 years with a 4–1 win against Wayne Hills High School in the North I, Group III state sectional final.[35]
Tenafly is noted for its tennis team, which has been coached by Anthony Zorovich.[36][37] The boys' tennis team won the Group I/II state championship in 1975 (vs. Princeton High School), and won four consecutive Group II titles in 2004 (vs. Haddonfield Memorial High School), 2005 (vs. Summit High School), 2006 (vs. West Essex High School) and 2007 (vs. Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School).[38] The 1975 team finished the season with a record of 17-1 after defeating Chatham Borough High School 5–0 in the semifinals and moving on to defeat Princeton 31⁄2-11⁄2 in the finals win the Group I/II state title.[39] The team won the 2006 Group II state championship, defeating Rumson-Fair Haven 3–2 in the semifinals and West Essex by 3–2 in the finals to take the title.[40] In 2007, the team won the state sectionals defeating Dwight Morrow High School 5–0 to win the North I, Group II championship, the team's sixth consecutive sectional title.[41][42] The team moved onto win the 2007 NJSIAA Group II state championship, defeating Rumson-Fair Haven 3–2 in the final match to earn their fourth consecutive Group II state championship.[43][44][45] The 2019 team won the Group III title over West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North 4–1 in the tournament final.[46]
The girls volleyball team won the Division B state championship in 1981 (against Park Ridge High School in the final match of the tournament) and won the Group II title in 1982 (vs. Garfield High School).[51] The 1981 team won the inaugural NJSIAA state title, winning the Group I-II championship in two games (15-11, 16–14) against finals opponent Park Ridge.[52] The 1982 team won the Group II title in two games (15–10 and 15–12) against Garfield.[53]
The ice hockey team won the McMullen Cup in 2002.[54] The team made the Public B state finals in 2012 but fell to Summit High School by a score of 2–1 in overtime.[55]
Administration
The school's principal is James O. Morrison. His administration team includes the vice principal and athletic director.[56][57]
^Alpine School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 3, 2016. "District students in Grades 9 through 12 can attend Tenafly High School which the partner school in a sending-receiving relationship. Enrollment is free for students with the cost of their tuition paid by the Alpine School District."
^Alvarado, Monsy. "Alpine to keep sending students to Tenafly", The Record, April 4, 2003. Accessed January 2, 2008."Alpine - The borough's high school students will continue to attend Tenafly High School under a new contract approved by the Board of Education this week."
^Slocum, John W. "New Jersey; Bergen", The New York Times, September 3, 1962. Accessed March 16, 2022. "Cresskill will open the first wing of its $2,800,000 high school on Oct 1. Of the 495 pupils in grades seven through twelve, 280 junior and seniors will study in Tenafly High School until graduation."
^Cooper, Darren. "Super Football Conference creating 'Ivy Division' for struggling programs", The Record, May 1, 2019. Accessed March 24, 2021. "Seeking to restore participation and enthusiasm to high school football programs that have struggled to compete consistently, the Super Football Conference announced plans to start a 12-team 'Ivy Division' in the 2020 season. Teams that compete in the 'Ivy Division' will play exclusively against each other and won't participate in the NJISAA football playoffs.... Twelve schools from Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Morris counties have applied to compete in the Ivy Division: Bergen Tech, Cliffside Park, Dickinson, Fair Lawn, Ferris, Memorial, Dover, Dwight-Morrow, Fort Lee, Glen Ridge, Marist and Tenafly."
^Farrell, Sean. "State of the Program: New coach brings 'Heart' and NFL background to Tenafly", The Record, August 2, 2023. Accessed November 16, 2023. "Tenafly is looking to get back on track in the Super Football Conference. The Tigers turned in back-to-back winning seasons in the Ivy Division for struggling programs (in 2020 and 2021), but never found their mojo last year after a promotion to the American Red."
^"Northern Valley News In Review - Tenafly", The Record, June 24, 1990. Accessed November 11, 2020. "An 18-inch hand-painted porcelain Bengal tiger was presented to the Tenafly High School Monday by Mr. and Mrs. R.G. Burrows of 71 Downey Drive.... The tiger is the school mascot, adopted sometime in the 1930s said Principal Louis Visco. He said the school first took Princeton's black and orange colors in the 1920s and later added the tiger nickname."
^Farber, Mike. "Tenafly gains share of title in Group 3", The Record, November 30, 1975. Accessed January 9, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The Tigers outplayed Ewing to a scoreless tie in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 3 soccer final, earning their first share of a State soccer title.... Tenafly finished its season 18-1-2, its only defeat coming on a penalty kick shootout against Ramapo in the first round of the County tournament."
^Bevensee, Rich. "H.S. boys' soccer: Tenafly flying high after winning North 1, Group 3 title", The Record, November 14, 2014. Accessed January 12, 2015. "Avrassoglou, a senior captain, sparked his team's relentless attack with a goal and an assist, and fourth-seeded Tenafly defeated sixth-seeded Wayne Hills, 4-1, in the championship of the North 1, Group 3 tournament."
^Farber, Mike. "Balance key to Tenafly success", The Record, May 28, 1975. Accessed February 21, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Platt could say that because Tenafly had its main course Saturday. The Tigers blasted Chatam Boro, 5-0, in the morning, and came back in the afternoon to upset Princeton, 3 1/2-1 1/2, to win the Group 1-2 championship, the first State tennis title ever for Tenafly."
^"Palisades Park wins sectional", The Record, May 22, 2007. "Top-seeded Tenafly won five matches in straight sets to defeat third-seeded Englewood, 5-0, for its fourth straight sectional title. The Tigers also won North 1, Group 3 in 2002 and 2003, giving them six sectional titles in the past six years."
^Celentano, Rob."Lee digs deep to clinch title", The Record, May 25, 2007. Accessed January 12, 2015. "Lee worked his way through a couple of cramps in the second set and rallied to beat Sean Pahler, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, at first singles as Tenafly defeated Rumson-Fair Haven, 3-2, at Mercer County Park to win its fourth straight Group 2 tennis title."
^Havsy, Jane. "Delbarton, Montgomery, Newark Academy extend tennis winning streaks", Daily Record, May 22, 2019. Accessed January 23, 2021. "Freshman cousins Luke Han and Andrew Kim played their third three-set tiebreaker in five days as Tenafly beat West Windsor North, 4-1, in Group III. It is the Tigers' first NJSIAA championship since a string of four Group II titles from 2004-07."
^Pompton Lakes captures crown, The Star-Ledger, October 13, 2007. Accessed October 25, 2007. "Tenafly defeated Pascack Hills, 5-0, in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 final at Old Tappan, marking the eighth sectional victory in the school's history."
^Henning, Rich. "Tenafly, Paramus roll to State titles", The Record, November 22, 1981. Accessed March 17, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Tenafly coach Ellen Nelson was speechless after watching her team defeat Park Ridge, 15-11, 16-14, Friday night to capture the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 1-2 volleyball championship at Fair Lawn High School."
^Czerwinski, Kevin T. "Ice hockey state final: Tenafly falls to Summit in overtime, 2-1", The Record, March 9, 2012. Accessed September 25, 2012. "Going to OT for a fifth consecutive game proved too much for Tenafly, which clearly was worn down by the time Summit's Riley Flynn scored the game-winner to give the Hilltoppers a 2-1 overtime victory and the Public B championship."
^Principal, Tenafly High School. Accessed December 22, 2024.
^Cowen, Richard; and Shkolnikova, Svetlana. "Russian pop star tied to Trump has Tenafly roots", The Record, July 13, 2017. Accessed February 28, 2018. "Russian pop star Emin Agalarov wore black leather, drove a souped-up moped and wanted to be the next Elvis Presley, having spent his teenage years living large and dreaming big on the streets of his adopted hometown, Tenafly. Twenty years after graduating from Tenafly High School, the Russian crooner this week hit it really big.... Emin Agalarov as a senior in Tenafly High School's 1997 yearbook."
^"Tenafly High names distinguished alums", The Record, May 15, 1991. Accessed July 19, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Matthew Densen, a 1987 graduate, and Ann Blackman Putzel, Class of 1964, are the Tenafly High School distinguished alumnus and alumna of the year, it has been announced."
^Shwalb, Bob. "Tenafly's Brown finding hockey swagger in NAHL", The Record, December 22, 2017. Accessed May 2, 2023. "Matt Brown already knew what a jackalope was. Good thing, because last month, the Wood-Ridge native and Tenafly graduate became a member of the Odessa (Texas) Jackalopes of the North American Hockey League."
^"Ambitious Stage For Tenafly Teens; Yearly Show Fuels Theater Dreams." The Record May 23, 1997.
^ abRohan, Virginia. "North Jersey-bred and talented too", The Record, June 18, 2007. Accessed July 5, 2007. "Hope Davis: Class of 1982, Tenafly High School.... Ed Harris: Class of 1969, Tenafly High School"
^Dicker, Ron. "Ever Hopeful Davis", San Francisco Chronicle, January 1, 2006. Accessed October 25, 2011. "Davis makes a striking indie queen. She has acted in 24 movies, many of which were darlings of critics but forgotten stepchildren of the box-office. After graduating from Tenafly High School in New Jersey, she studied science at Vassar, then took up acting during a semester in London."
^Eran Ganot, Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball. Accessed May 11, 2017. "Hometown: Tenafly, N. J.... A 1999 graduate of Tenafly High School in New Jersey, Ganot was a two-time all-league first-team pick and was named to the all-county team as a senior."
^Levin, Jay. "Alan Geisler, 78; food chemist, hot dog hero", The Record, January 9, 2009, backed up by the Internet Archive as of December 26, 2016. Accessed October 9, 2018. "Alan Geisler of Mahwah, a food chemist who created the tangy red onion sauce that pushcart vendors slather over Sabrett hot dogs, died Tuesday at his winter home in Hernando, Fla. He was 78.... In 1960, Mr. Geisler -- a Tenafly High School graduate who received a bachelor's degree in food technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- founded a company that manufactures emulsifiers, shortenings and other ingredients for the baking industry."
^Kampfe, John. "Tenafly: Small Town, Big Stars – Part 2", Jerseywood, June 13, 2016. Accessed October 9, 2018. "Alexander Gemignani — The son of renowned Broadway music director Paul Gemignani is known primarily for his work on the New York stage.... Gemignani was born in New York City but grew up in Tenafly and, yes, he too is a Tenafly High alum (1997)."
^Peters, Craig; Smith, Eric; and Young, Lindsay. "A Dozen Join Vikings as 2020 Undrafted Rookie Free Agents", Minnesota Vikings, April 28, 2020. Accessed January 2, 2022. "Nakia Griffin-Stewart... Hometown: Tenafly, N.J.... At Tenafly High School, Griffin-Stewart played tight end, outside linebacker, defensive end, receiver, slot and safety."
^Seung YeonArchived December 24, 2010, at archive.today, gokpop.com. Accessed October 25, 2011. "Han Seung-yeon was born on July 24, 1988, in Seoul, South Korea. She left Korea to study at Tenafly High School in the United States. However, she left high school mid-course in order to pursue a singing career."
^Jacobson, Mark. "The $2,000 an-Hour Woman", New York (magazine), July 10, 2005. Accessed September 8, 2008. "As Jason doesn't mind telling you, he has known many women since he lost his virginity not too long after his bar mitzvah at the Fort Lee Community Jewish Center, doing the deed with the captain of the Tenafly High School cheerleader squad."
^Newman, Richard; Yellin, Deena; and Superville, Denisa R. "Tenafly grad takes helm at Yahoo", The Record, May 15, 2012. Accessed May 17, 2012. "In choosing former Tenafly resident Ross Levinsohn as its interim CEO on Monday, embattled Yahoo! Inc. picked a man who is focused, driven and confident.... Levinsohn graduated in 1981 from Tenafly High School, where he was a goalkeeper on the soccer team before switching to football to be the team's kicker in his senior year."
^Birkner, Michael J. McCormick of Rutgers: Scholar, Teacher, Public Historian, p 3. Accessed May 11, 2017. "Never having considered that he might aspire to a college education, McCormick followed the 'general curriculum' at Tenafly High School."
^Henderson, Kathy. "Lea Michele", Broadway.com, January 17, 2008. Accessed July 6, 2008. "Oh, totally. I went to Tenafly High School [in New Jersey], and I was on the debate team."
^Schwartz, Paul. "Josette Norris ends college career with fourth-place NCAA finish", The Record, June 26, 2019. Accessed October 24, 2021. "And after all that Norris had gone through in the five years since she graduated Tenafly High School as one of the top distance runners in the nation – the injuries, the transfer from North Carolina to Georgetown, the occasional loss of confidence – it was all forgotten as she began the final 400 meters of her college career."
^Coutros, Evonne. "Ex-Tenafly Classmates Give Justice High Marks", The Record, November 21, 2000, backed up by the Internet Archive as of November 4, 2012. Accessed October 9, 2018. "'You try to put yourself in her shoes and identify with the incredible task and responsibility she has,' said Jeff Riedl, a Wyckoff lawyer who, like Pariente, was a member of Tenafly's class of 1966."
^Stinson, Patricia W. "Rothenberg returns for her pro debut", Northern Valley Suburbanite, November 9, 2005. Accessed March 7, 2022. "Of course, she gets lots of encouragement from her older brother, Adam Rothenberg, another THS graduate -class of 1998. He is pursuing a Hollywood acting career and he just won a part on a new WB (Warner Brothers) television show called Misconceptions, scheduled to debut this January."
^"Obituary: Peter F. Secchia", Blue Book Services, October 21, 2020. Accessed January 12, 2021. "Born April 15, 1937, Peter spent his early years in Tenafly, NJ, graduating from Tenafly High School and then serving in the United States Marine Corps with NATO and the 2nd Battalion 6th Marines in Beirut."
^Beckerman, Jim. "Film by Tenafly actors premieres at Tribeca Film Festival", The Record, April 24, 2016. Accessed January 25, 2018. "That's Wally as in Wally Marzano-Lesnevich. And Michael as in Michael Sorvino.... The two Tenafly natives, pals and co-stars since their high school theater days (Tenafly High School, class of 1996), are again working side by side in the new movie Almost Paris, having its world premiere today at the Tribeca Film Festival."
^"Weddings: Kahn, Spike", The Record, May 29, 1973. Accessed February 11, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Miss Michele Kahn and John Spike were married Saturday in Our Lady of Mount Carmel R.C. Church in Tenafly.... Mrs. Spike is a graduate of Tenafly High School and Connecticut College."
^Palmer, Joanne. "Big data is watching you; JCC U talk to focus on the role of googled analysis in social research", The Jewish Standard, February 15, 2018. Accessed June 14, 2020. "Dr. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz and the 1999 Tenafly High School JV baseball team.... Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, who grew up in Alpine, went to high school in Tenafly, where he played on the baseball team, earned an undergraduate degree at Stanford and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard, worked at Google — and he’s just 35! — and now studies and writes, in outlets including the New York Times, about big data, will be at the Kaplen JCC in Tenafly to explore how big data changes our understanding of the world (and also how it does not)."
^Klemsrud, Judy. "Movies: Trish? Mrs. Scott? Both?", The New York Times, December 31, 1972. Accessed June 14, 2020. "Trish, whose dream since the age of 4 was to become an actress, was active in speech and drama at Tenafly High and then at Ohio Wesleyan University, where she met and married a fellow student named Grant Van Devere."
^Voger, Mark. "Hippiefest: Gary Wright interview", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, July 29, 2011. Accessed September 21, 2015. "Born in Cresskill and a graduate of Tenafly High School, Wright is coming home to perform on Aug. 9 in Red Bank, Aug. 10 in Morristown and Aug. 12 in Englewood as part of the Hippiefest tour alongside Felix Cavaliere, Mark Farner, Dave Mason and Rick Derringer."
^Sofie Zamchick, LinkedIn. Accessed March 7, 2022. "Education... Tenafly High School 2008 - 2012"