Passaic Valley Regional High School makes changes, moves up in the ranks
Passaic Valley Regional High School is on the rise academically, which is giving its reputation a nice boost.
This week the school learned that Niche, one of the top school rating services, had leapfrogged Passaic Valley Regional High School in Little Falls ahead of the Pompton Lakes, Lakeland and West Milford districts, and placed the Hornets as the fifth-highest-rated high school of 22 in Passaic County.
Ahead of them are the Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy, Wayne Hills, Passaic County Technical Institute and Wayne Valley. Just trailing them is Pompton Lakes High School.
Niche ranks the schools using quantitative data from state and federal sources to evaluate staff, resources and facilities, extracurricular activity opportunities and ratings from current students, alumni and parents.
For instance, Passaic Valley Regional saw its advanced placement scores improve and best the state averages in biology, calculus and English language and composition, Superintendent of Schools Bracken Healy said.
Healy said the district saw its graduation rate rise from 90% to more than 95%.
Local officials also noted that Healy has lived up to expectations. More than two years ago, the school board hired Healy to revamp academic performance and to keep more students in the district. For years, more and more students left the district and opted to attend Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne or private schools.
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Healy said the enrollment at the regional high school has increased in recent years from 981 to 1,062 students. Since the start of September, 40 students returned to Passaic Valley Regional after choosing another option before the start of the school year.
Totowa Mayor John Coiro said this is something his constituents have noticed.
"It is not something I can put my finger on. It is largely anecdotal," Coiro said. "People are saying they are seeing positivity at the high school."
A new turf field and enhanced facilities are getting noticed by residents in all three feeder towns, Totowa, Little Falls and Woodland Park.
Part of that positivity, Healy said, is a new eight-period schedule that has created additional instructional time during the day. Eliminating homeroom, adding instructional time at the end of the day and a few other measures have given students more time for extra help, tutoring, or to complete their homework.
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This has enhanced both student and staff performance.
Healy said treating students like adults, such as allowing juniors and seniors to leave campus for lunch or to visit local shops, empowers them.
"If you treat them like adults, they will act like adults," he said. "We are creating an environment where they are ready and willing to learn."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Passaic Valley Regional High School makes changes, moves up in ratings
