As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,264 students and 102.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1. There were 541 students (42.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 103 (8.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
History
Garfield High School, constructed at an estimated cost of $1.8 million (equivalent to $20.2 million in 2023), opened in September 1956 with about 1,040 students registered, in excess of the maximum designed enrollment of 1,000. The new school replaced two former elementary schools that had been used on an interim basis to accommodate high school students.[4]
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 294th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 337 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2016 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools".[5] The school was the 307th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's 2014 rankings of the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[6]
The school had been ranked 321st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 286th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[7] The magazine ranked the school 285th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[8]
Schooldigger.com ranked the school 292nd out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 19 positions from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[9]
In 2012, Schooldigger.com ranked Garfield High School 306th out of 389 New Jersey High Schools in combined HSPA scores in the state, an increase of 10 positions from 2011.[10]
Athletics
The Garfield High School Boilermakers[2] participate in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which is comprised of small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[11][12][13] Prior to realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Garfield was a member of the smaller Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League (BPSL).[14] With 810 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.[15] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 893 to 1,315 students.[16]
The school participates as the host school / lead agency for joint boys / girls swimming teams with Hasbrouck Heights High School. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[17]
The 1939 football team defeated Miami (Fla.) High School in a game played at the Miami Orange Bowl in front of a crowd of 25,000 by a score of 16–13, capturing the program's first ever national championship.[18]
The boys baseball team won the North I Group IV state sectional championships in both 1962 and 1965.[19]
The wrestling team won the North I Group II state sectional championship in 1990.[21]
The girls track team won the Group II indoor state championship in 1991.[22]
The 2015 boys soccer team defeated Dover High School by a score of 4-2 in the tournament final to win the North II Group II state sectional championship, the program's first state title since 1975.[23] The team defeated Holmdel High School by a 2-1 margin, scoring twice with a little more than two minutes remaining in the game, to win the Group II state title at Kean University and capture the program's first state championship.[24][25]
Administration
The school's principal is Dora D'Amico. Her administration team includes three vice principals.[26]
^"Garfield's New High School", Herald News, September 17, 1956. Accessed March 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The city's first school built expressly to be a high school has opened. Previously, Garfield High School students went to Schools 6 and 9, old elementary schools which had been converted and which were at best makeshifts. The new high school was designed for 1,000 pupils. Already it is bulging, as 1,047 students have registered.... The final cost of the high school is not yet known, but it is expected to come to approximately $1,800,000."
^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."
^Conrad, J.J. "H.S. football: Garfield to commemorate 1939 national championship", The Record, October 10, 2014. Accessed December 10, 2016. "Garfield went 10-0 and captured a national championship that year, defeating Miami (Fla.) High School, 16-13, in a game coined the 'Infantile Paralysis Bowl' in honor of then President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who suffered from the affliction better known as polio. The Boilermakers — who were invited to play what would be considered today as a 'plus-one' game — were hand-picked to take on the undefeated Florida power riding an 18-game winning streak in the prestigious Orange Bowl before a crowd of what Young estimated to be approximately 25,000."
^Miles Austin, Cleveland Browns. Accessed October 25, 2014. "A native of Garfield, N.J., Austin was a two-year letterman as a wide receiver and defensive back at Garfield High School."
^Riley, Lori. "The Road Is Fruitful For Peaches", Hartford Courant, November 18, 1999. Accessed June 25, 2022. "She lives in Lodi, N.J., but she grew up with Knebl in nearby Garfield.... Knebl was sophomore at Garfield High School when she first tried out for the Peaches, the most successful team in the league."
^Luis Castillo player profile, National Football League Players Association. Accessed July 24, 2007. "Hometown: Garfield, N.J....SuperPrep All-America at Garfield High School in Garfield, New Jersey…first-team all-state and all-county as junior and senior by Associated Press and Newark Star-Ledger…three-time first-team all-league choice…team captain and team MVP as senior…also lettered in track and wrestling as state's top heavyweight"
^Hermoso, Rafael. "Garfield's Chrebet Hopes To Impress Jets", The Record, May 4, 1995. Accessed December 5, 2007. "Wayne Chrebet wasn't exactly overconfident when he began his football career as a sophomore at Garfield High School."
^City Manager's Office, City of Garfield. Accessed June 28, 2020. "Thomas J. Duch attended Columbus School #8, graduated from Garfield High School, graduated from Lehigh University with High Honors, and completed his legal education at Seton Hall University School of Law where he received a Doctorate of Jurisprudence."
^Gianfranco Iannotta, Team USA. Accessed December 13, 2019. "Birthplace: Passaic, N.J. Hometown: Garfield, N.J. High School: Garfield High School (Garfield, N.J.) '12"
^Sam Sebo, profootballarchives.com. Accessed August 20, 2018.
^Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1985, p. 279. Accessed June 28, 2020. "Assemblyman Visotcky was born in Garfield Oct. 3, 1929. He is a graduate of Garfield High School, and is a collection office representative for the Public Service Electric & Gas Company."
^Dick Vitale bio, ESPN.com. Accessed July 17, 2024. "He began coaching at the high school level at Garfield High School, where he coached for one season (1963-64)."
Further reading
Hank Gola, City of Champions: An American Story of Leather Helmets, Iron Wills and the High School Kids from Jersey Who Won It All. Croton-on-Hudson, NY: TATRA Press, 2018.