New Milford High School Makes Newsweek's Ranking of Top High Schools

New Milford High School has made it to Newsweek's ranking of top high schools in the country. Although its ranking of 1028 may seem modest, with more than 26,407 high schools nationwide, this puts New Milford in the top 3.8 percent in the country.

New Milford is ranked 13 out of all of the high schools ranked in Bergen County. Danielle Shanley, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, said that the ranking supports the long-term vision that the administration has been focused on for the past three years--a vision that includes making foundational changes that will better connect students to advanced learning and prepare them for college and beyond.

Shanley not only credits the ranking with the district's commitment to increasing the number of Advanced Placement (A.P.) classes, but to offering them to juniors and sophomores.

Advanced Placement courses include:

• Language and Composition
• Literature and Composition
• United States History
• European History
• Statistics
• Calculus AB
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Physics B
• Spanish 
• French
• Drawing
• Two Dimensional Design
• Three Dimensional Design

Shanley said that students put out money to take the exam, but if they score 3 or better the district will reimburse them for the cost of the A.P. exam as an incentive.

According to Shanley, the district has spent approximately $11,000 in earmarked local funds to reimburse students who scored a 3 or better.

Other factors contributing to the ranking include New Milford's high graduation rate of 98 percent and expansion of the guidance department to include four guidance counselors.

"Having more counselors helps us to better serve the students," Shanley said. "They guide students through the college application process and encourage at-risk students to focus on staying in school."

Shanley said that the counselors also work closely with college-bound students to find financial aide.

"Money for college is a big hurdle for many families in New Milford," Shanley said. "We want to do everything we can to help these students find money that is available to them for college."

Shanley added that in addition to focusing on the college-bound, the district is committed to focusing on students whose sights are not set on college. The district has hired Robert Hans as a job coach to find a way to prepare those students just as vigorously as college-bound students are prepared.

The end result of the program is to give those students who are not college bound a sense of direction--students whose interests and goals may be better served by attending a trade or specialty school.

"While we're focused on those students who are college bound, we are also focusing on those students whose plans do not include college," Shanley said.

Shanley said that the district will continue to move forward and raise the educational bar.

"We're beginning to see the results of the changes we began to implement three years ago," Shanley said. "And when we see the Bergen County schools that ranked ahead of us, and take into consideration their socio-economic backgrounds, we know we're headed in the right direction--up." 

The twelve Bergen County High Schools that ranked ahead of New Milford are:

• Glen Rock - 218
• Tenafly - 253
• Pascack Hills - 345
• Northern Valley - 351
• Cresskill - 361
• Ridgewood - 363
• Mahwah - 615
• Paramus - 705
• Ramsey - 805
• River Dell - 819
• Northern Valley Old Tappan - 831
• Fairlawn - 876

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