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Paramus High School is an American four-year comprehensive public high school, located in Paramus, New Jersey, operated as part of the Paramus Public Schools. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 2006.

Historically Paramus shared many municipal services with the township of Rochelle Park, including schooling. In 1922, the school situation was the hot topic of discussion. Residents felt that the schools were too far away and wanted to make sure that their children were safe when they went to school. It was because of this that Paramus decided to become a borough of its own, and it built the high school on Spring Valley Road in 1957. The 50th Anniversary was celebrated on September 28 and 29, 2007.

Paramus High School offers a wide range of course offerings to its students. Advanced Placement courses are offered in from ten to 14 subjects.

As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,421 students and 81 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 17.54.

Awards and recognition

For the 1988-89 school year, Paramus High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

The school was the 98th-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 77th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 45th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:

• Kurt Karcich, Principal
• Lina Guidelis, Vice Principal
• Louis Natalo, Vice Principal - Grades 11 & 12
• Dr. Michael Pilacik, Vice Principal - Grades 9 & 10

Notable alumni

Some notable Paramus High school alumni include:

• Joe Benigno (born 1953), talk show host on WFAN in NY. Was originally a caller who won the only contest for listeners to get their own show on the station.
• Spero Dedes (born 1979), Los Angeles Lakers radio commentator, NFL Network television host, and CBS NCAA tournament basketball announcer.
• Mark Fields, Executive Vice President, Ford Motor Company; President, The Americas, Class of 1979.
• Dean Friedman (born 1955), musician with the one-hit wonder, a top 20 tune "Ariel" in 1977 that is the only top 40 song to ever include the word "Paramus" in the lyrics.
• Peter Gennaro (1919-2000), dancer and choreographer.
• Matt Ghaffari (born 1961), Olympic silver-medal wrestler. Two-time Olympic team member and a 1996 Olympic silver medallist. Only wrestler with 4 World and Olympic Medals. Four-Time World Cup Champion. Seven-Time Pan-American Champion. Class of 1979.
• Jamie Gold (born 1969), class of 1987, won the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event.
• Rick Holdt (Class of 1969), college basketball player for North Carolina State University, drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 12th round of the 1973 NBA Draft. Played on the undefeated 1972-1973 team which was barred from entering the tournament due to recruiting violations.
• Lloyd Levin, class of 1976, film producer and executive.
• Elaine Zayak (born 1965), won the 1979 U.S. Figure Skating Championships with an injured leg. Her foot was severed in a lawn mower accident.
• Stacey Dash (born 1966), actress best known for her role as Dionne Davenport in the movie Clueless, as well as its television spinoff.

Notable faculty

• Michael Groveman, former president and CEO of Bill Blass Ltd.
• Bill Pascrell (born 1937), a social-studies and psychology teacher at the school from 1963 to 1973, was elected mayor of Paterson in 1990 and then as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996.
• Frank L. Ryerson (1905-1995) American trumpeter. Ryerson played trumpet with such big bands as Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra and Jimmy Dorsey. He also co-wrote the Dorsey hit "Blue Champagne" written in 1941 and covered by The Manhattan Transfer in 1975. He also wrote the stirring "Lament in D Minor". Ryerson wrote the Paramus High School, New Jersey alma mater lyrics (sung to the tune "Aura Lee" or for the Elvis Presley fans out there, "Love Me Tender") and was instrumental in bringing the big band sound to the Jazz ensemble.

References

1. ^ Paramus High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed May 29, 2011.
2. Paramus High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools. Accessed June 30, 2011.
3. PHS Renovation Update, Paramus High School. Accessed June 30, 2011. "The new main office and fitness center are a welcome addition to the high school which was originally built in 1957."
4. Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
5. CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
6. Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
7. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 8, 2011.
8. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
9. Administration, Paramus High School. Accessed May 29, 2011.
10. Sullivan, Tara. "Celebrating the 1969 Miracle Mets", The Record (Bergen County), August 23, 2009. Accessed May 29, 2011. "'A sports guy like me, we were aware there was so much going on, but we were so into what the Mets were doing,' said Joe Benigno, who had just entered his junior year at Paramus High School when the Mets won. Benigno, now a midday sports talk radio host on WFAN, was an avid Jets and Mets fan, making 1969 his perfect year.
11. Smith, Marcia C. "Behind the scenes with voice of Lakers", The Orange County Register, April 22, 2010. Accessed May 26, 2010.
12. Webster, Sarah A. "SAVING FORD HIS JOB 1 - WAY FORWARD: MORE PROBLEMS THAN EXPECTED SETBACKS: PICKUPS AND OTHER U.S. SALES OFF WORKING TO BE PROFITABLE BY 2009", Detroit Free Press, February 25, 2007. Accessed January 30, 2011. "That mix of Paramus High, Rutgers University, Zeta Psi and IBM worked like magic for the Fields boys."
13. Smith, Don E., Jr. "'Ariel' Singer Dean Friedman Remembers Paramus 30 Years Later", Paramus Patch, January 4, 2011. Accessed May 29, 2011. "The Paramus High School graduate sang, Way on the other side of the Hudson/ deep in the bosom of suburbia/I met a young girl, she sang mighty fine/Tears on My Pillow and Ave Maria. Standing by the waterfall in Paramus Park.... "Ariel" reached #26 and stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five months."
14. Capuzzo, Jill P. "THE ARTS; At the Paper Mill, On to the Next Act", The New York Times, January 19, 2003. Accessed February 8, 2011. "Born in New York City, Mr. Gennaro moved to Paramus in his youth and graduated from Paramus High School before attending Notre Dame."
15. Robbins, Liz. "OLYMPICS; Wrestler Two Victories From Dream", The New York Times, June 24, 2000. Accessed October 17, 2007. "To advance, Ghaffari had to pull out a trick he first used two decades ago at Paramus High School in New Jersey.... At 38, and a loss away from retirement, Ghaffari is still crafty and accomplished, compiling more Olympic and world championship medals than any other Greco-Roman wrestler with four."
16. Former Hollywood Talent Agent From Malibu Takes Texas Hold 'Em, PCH Press, August 16, 2006.
17. http://www.scacchoops.com/tt_archived_player_page.asp?hArchivedHeader=897
18. http://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1973.html
19. Amdur, Neil. "Miss Zayak Happy to Be Back in School; Miss Zayak Has Fun In School Impressed by Her Conduct", The New York Times, March 11, 1981. Accessed February 12, 2011.

External links

• Paramus High School web page
• School Performance Report for Paramus High School, New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Paramus Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• ParamusRunning.com - Paramus High School Cross Country and Track & Field Teams Website
• 40°55′40″N 74°03′44″W / 40.927748°N 74.062185°W / 40.927748; -74.062185

• Blue Ribbon schools in New Jersey
• High schools in Bergen County, New Jersey
• Educational institutions established in 1957
• Paramus, New Jersey