Englewood Cliffs Examines Starting Own High School

Englewood Cliffs, a K-8 school district, will examine the feasibility of ending its relationship with Englewood's Dwight Morrow High School and opening its own high school, NorthJersey.com reports.

The borough's board of education last month approved a resolution to conduct a study exploring the feasibility of expanding to grades nine through 12, but thus far school officials have remained mum on the project. 

It wouldn't be the first time Englewood Cliffs has attempted to break away from Dwight Morrow, which ranks in the lower half of Bergen County high schools on average combined SAT scores and is one of three high schools in the county designated as state "Focus schools," due to the achievement disparity between different subrgroups of students.

In the 1980s, Englewood Cliffs attempted to sever ties with Dwight Morrow and send its high school-age students to Tenafly. A drawn out legal battle ensued that culminated in a state Supreme Court decision ordering Englewood Cliffs to continue sending its students to Dwight Morrow, but also requiring Englewood to make academic improvements at its high school.

If Englewood Cliffs were to break away and form a high school, it's unclear whether it would have an adequate number of students to satisfy the state board of education.

The district currently has fewer than 500 students and, based on the average class size of current students, would have fewer than 200 high school students, according to NorthJersey.com.

Wood Ridge High School, with 390 students during the 2011-2012 school year, is the smallest public school in Bergen County, according to enrollment data from the state's School Performance Reports.

Follow Englewood-Englewood Cliffs Patch on Facebook and Twitter or subscribe to our free daily newsletter. News tip? E-mail englewood@patch.com