Community
Cliffside Park is a residential community of approximately 23,000 and a geographical size of one square mile. It is a suburb of and less than one mile from New York City. The neighboring town of Fairview is a K – 8 district and Cliffside Park is the receiving district for Fairview’s 9 – 12 students. Fairview has a population of approximately 13, 300.
High School
Cliffside Park High School is a public, co-education, four-year comprehensive high school located in Bergen County, New Jersey. We offer a wide range of courses, which meet the various needs of our students. Our enrollment is approximately 1080. A distinctive feature of this population is that our language survey annually shows that nearly 30 different languages are spoken in the homes of our students. 50.4% of our students speak a language other than English at home. 10.3% of our students attend English as Second Language classes.
In addition to the above characteristic, Cliffside Park High School’s annual mobility rate (incoming/transferring) typically approaches 25 – 30%.
Accreditation: Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
New Jersey Department of Education
The Class of 2005 included a New Jersey Governor’s School Scholars and a New Jersey Governor’s School Finalists. It also included four Edward J Bloustein Distinguished Scholars and eleven Urban Scholar recipients.
Post-Secondary Education
Of the 220 graduates of the Class of 2005, 79.5% planned on attending a 2- or 4-year college.
Program Instruction
Cliffside Park High School operates on a 9-period day 5 days per week. Each class is 40 minutes in length. The majority of classes are yearlong. This approach allows for a structured and consistent approach to a student’s year.
Graduation requires completion of 130 credits within the following requirements: English (4 years, 20 credits); social studies (3 years, 15 credits); mathematics (3 years, 15 credits); science (3 years, 15 credits); visual, performing, fine, or practical arts (2 years, 10 credits), physical education/health (1 course per year), proficiency on New Jersey’s High School Proficiency Assessment which currently involves Language Arts Literacy and Mathematics, and a service requirement of 20 volunteer hours per year.
Curriculum
Honors courses: English 9, 10, and 11. Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus. Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Advanced Biology.
Advanced Placement: English Literature; US History; Calculus; Biology; Environmental Science; Spanish Literature.
Grading System
Cliffside Park High School calculates a weighted GPA and rank. Honors and Advanced Placement classes are weighted as follows:
Advanced Placement: A=6 B=5 C=4 D=3
Honors: A=5 B=4 C=3 D=2
Grade point average and rank begin from 9th grade and include all classes, except remedial classes (“Fundamentals”), self-contained special education classes, and any subject graded by Pass/Fail. Mid-year GPA and rank are calculated.
SAT 1
Though a large percentage (46.4% in 2005) of our college-bound seniors plan to attend two-year community colleges that typically do not require the SAT for entrance, our school encourages all of our students to take the test regardless of post-secondary goals or academic background.
The mean SAT scores for all seniors in 2002 were: Verbal – 423; Math – 463.
The mean SAT scores for all seniors in 2003 were: Verbal – 455; Math – 476.
The mean SAT scores for all seniors in 2004 were: Verbal – 447; Math – 460
The mean SAT scores for all seniors in 2005 were: Verbal – 457; Math – 477.
The mean SAT scores for seniors in 2002 with both SAT 1 and SAT II scores were: Verbal – 523; Math – 649
The mean SAT scores for seniors in 2003 with both SAT 1 and SAT II scores were: Verbal – 613; Math – 641
The mean SAT scores for seniors in 2004 with both SAT 1 and SAT II scores were: Verbal – 584; Math – 610
The mean SAT scores for seniors in 200t with both SAT and SAT II scores were: Verbal – 525; Math – 606.