As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 3,582 students and 305.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1.[1]
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[4]
Tenafly High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award, awarded 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 be recognized with the award that year.[7]
The district's high 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, and had been ranked 3rd in the state of 328 schools in 2012.[8] Tenafly High School was the 3rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 3rd in 2008 out of 316 schools.[9] The high school was the 2nd ranked public high school in the state out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools.[10]
The Tenafly Middle School 8th grade string orchestra, conducted by Erika Boras Tesi, won first place in the American String Teachers Association's National Orchestra Festival in 2006, earning the title of number one public middle school orchestra in the United States.[11]
Victor Anaya, school business administrator and board secretary[29]
Board of education
The district's board of education is comprised of nine members who set policy and oversee the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[30][31][32][33]
Adolf Hitler assignment controversy
In April 2021, a fifth-grade teacher at Maugham Elementary School instructed her 5th grade students to do a presentation on famous people in the first person.[34] After a recently immigrated Asian student asked to choose Anne Frank as a topic for her paper in order to learn more about her Jewish classmates, another student asked to choose Adolf Hitler as a topic. After consulting with her rabbi and considering the student's intent, the teacher decided to allow the student to proceed. The student dressed up as Hitler and presented an essay that she had written from the perspective of the Nazileader touting his "accomplishments" as a part of a class assignment.[35][36][37][38][39] The student wrote a biography of Hitler that glorified the Nazi leader, stated that Hitler's "greatest accomplishment was uniting a great mass of German and Austrian people" in his support, framed the Holocaust in a positive light, and added that Hitler was "pretty great".[36][40][41] Subsequent to the presentation, the student reiterated her intention to the class and a substantive discussion ensued. The student's essay was displayed publicly within the school's hallway during the month of April.[34][36][42][43][44] In May 2021, the details of the school assignment became known to the public, leading to outrage in the community, which has a substantial Jewish population.[34][36][42][45] The subsequent social media maelstrom misconstrued the intentions of the student and teacher, resulting in harassment and the family's eventual departure from the district. After initially defending the teacher and the school's actions and asserting that "it is unfair to judge any student or teacher in this matter",[46][47][48] the districts' board of education suspended the teacher and the principal of the school with pay in June 2021 and opened an investigation into the incident.[49][40] Following the investigation, the teacher resigned and the principal was reinstated in July 2021.[50][51]
^Tenafly Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Kindergarten through twelve in the Tenafly School District. Composition: The Tenafly School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Tenafly."
^Alpine School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 20, 2017. "The District's students in Grades 9 through 12 can attend Tenafly High School which is 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, backed up by the Internet Archive as of May 16, 2011. Accessed November 20, 2017. "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."
^About the BOE, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022. "The Tenafly Board of Education is comprised of a 9-member board of trustees, the chief school administrator and the board secretary/district business administrator."
^Board Members, Tenafly Public Schools. Accessed December 8, 2022.
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Tenafly Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2021. Accessed December 8, 2022. "The Tenafly Board of Education (the 'Board' or the 'District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an education institution. The Board consists of nine elected officials and is responsible for the fiscal control of the District. A Superintendent of Schools is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District. A School Business Administrator/Board Secretary is also appointed by the Board and oversees the business functions of the District."
^ abcDeMarco Jerry. "Tenafly 5th Grader Dresses As Hitler For Class Project: ‘Pretty Great Wasn’t I?'", Englewood Daily Voice, May 31, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2024. "Students selected their individual figures from history as part of a 'character development' presentation to the class, the parents said.... Writing in the first person, the student cited 'accomplishments' by the mass-murdering Nazi Party tyrant."
^"New Jersey teacher resigns after student’s Hitler assignment", Associated Press, July 13, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2024. "On Monday at a school board meeting, the board voted to accept the teacher’s resignation after the unnamed teacher was on leave of absence since May. The board also reinstated Principal Jennifer Ferrara to Maugham Elementary School, reported NorthJersey.com."
^Noda, Stephanie. "Principal returns, teacher resigns in Tenafly after Hitler assignment", The Record, July 13, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2024. "The decision was announced at Monday night’s Board of Education meeting, where the board voted to approve Superintendent Shauna DeMarco's recommendations to accept the teacher’s resignation after a leave of absence ends in January and allow the return of Principal Jennifer Ferrara to Maugham Elementary School."