In 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 107th of the 445 high schools in New Jersey and 2,643rd in the country, with 54% of students participating in Advanced Placement exams.[13]
History
Constructed using $1,650,000 in bond funding (equivalent to $17.9 million in 2023), the school included 38 classrooms designed to handle an enrollment of 750 students on a site in Warren Township covering 39 acres (16 ha). The school opened in September 1957 with 615 students in attendance.[14] Prior to the opening of the regional school, students from Warren Township and Watchung had attended an increasingly overcrowded North Plainfield High School, while students from Long Hill Township attended Bernards High School on an interim basis, after a previous relationship with Morristown High School had been ended.[15]
In 2016, an episode of Dance Moms, Season 5, Episode 3 entitled "JoJo with a Bow Bow", was filmed at the school. The school hosted the In10sity Dance Invitational on October 25, 2014, which was the subject of the episode.[16]
On November 5, 2019, the school's superintendent announced the condemnation of a photograph involving two students in blackface during an off-campus Halloween party, declaring that "hate has no place on our campus".[17]
In 2020, it was revealed that students from the school's special education program had been omitted from the 2020 yearbook.[18]
In 2021, the school announced that it would retain its Warriors team name, but updated its logo and branding to remove any images of Native American symbols and to help represent unity in the district.[19][20] The retired logo had featured a Native American headdress.[21]
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,702 students and 144.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1. There were 29 students (1.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 19 (1.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[2]
The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[23]
In 2021 Watchung Hills Regional High School was awarded the New Jersey Lighthouse award for its work towards Equity - specifically efforts toward recruiting and retaining a diverse staff.[26]
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 131st out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 24th among all high schools in New Jersey and 11th among the state's non-magnet schools.[27]
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 514th in the nation among participating public high schools and 42nd among schools in New Jersey.[28]
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 34th in New Jersey and 1,160th nationwide.[29] In 2008, Newsweek ranked the school as 919th in the nation.[30] In Newsweek's May 22, 2007 issue, ranking the country's top high schools, Watchung Hills High School was listed in 999th place, the 31st-highest ranked school in New Jersey.[31] In the magazine's 2006 survey, the school was ranked as 745th nationwide.[32] In their 2004 survey, Newsweek ranked WHRHS as the 583rd best high school in the nation.[33]
The school was the 50th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[34] The school had been ranked 44th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 48th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[35] The magazine ranked the school 49th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[36] The school was ranked 38th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.[37] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 96th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 276 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (86.0%) and language arts literacy (97.6%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[38]
Athletics
The Watchung Hills Regional High School Warriors[4] compete in the Skyland Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties and operates under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[39] With 1,469 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.[40] The football team competes in Division 5A of the Big Central Football Conference, which includes 60 public and private high schools in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Warren counties, which are broken down into 10 divisions by size and location.[41] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 893 to 1,315 students.[42]
The school's interscholastic sports team separated into three seasons include:[4]
Fall - cheerleading, cross country (boys and girls), field hockey, football, gymnastics, soccer (boys and girls), tennis (girls) and volleyball (girls)
Winter - basketball (boys and girls), bowling, cheerleading, fencing, ice hockey, swimming, track and field indoor and wrestling
Spring - baseball, golf (boys and girls), lacrosse (boys and girls), tennis (boys), track and field outdoor, ultimate frisbee, softball and volleyball (boys)
The men's cross country team won the 1974 Group IV state championship.[43] This was the first WHRHS team to have won a state championship.
The girls swimming team won the Division B state championship in 1985-1987, 1989 and 1992.[46]
The baseball team won the 2005 North II, Group IV state sectional championship with an 11-0 win over Hunterdon Central Regional High School.[47] The team has won the Somerset County Tournament in 1975, 1982, 1983, 1993 and 2009; the program's five titles (through 2018) are the fourth-most in the tournament's history since it was established in 1973.[48]
The ice hockey team won the Monsignor Kelly Cup in 2005.[49] The team made it to the NJSIAA Public A State Finals vs. Ridge High School in 2008, falling by a score of 5-0; the most successful season for the six-year-old program.[50]
The girls' softball team won the Group IV state championships in 2016, defeating Egg Harbor Township High School by a score of 4-0 in the tournament final.[51][52] The girls' softball team won the Group IV state championships in 2022, a rematch of the 2016 championship, with a 2-1 defeat of Egg Harbor Township High School in the final game of the tournament.[53]
The boys' lacrosse team had their most successful season in 2018. They finished the season with a 20-3 record, in which two of those losses came in overtime, and their final loss came in the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions to the eventual winner, Delbarton. They made it to the county final, won the program’s first ever North Group IV sectional championship and won the Group IV state title, with a 10-3win against Lenape High School in the championship game.[54] Head Coach Jamie Lovejoy won NJ.com Coach of the Year and four players earned U.S. All-American honors (two of those players being Academic All-Americans), with five players going on to play college lacrosse. They were ranked fifth in the state of New Jersey by NJ.com and the 18th team in the country by MaxPreps.[55][56][57]
The girls spring track team was Group IV co-champion in 2018.[58]
The wrestling team won the North II Group V state sectional champion in 2018-2020.[59] The school has had four state champions: Michael Gatti (2003), Alex Caruso (2006), Brendan Ard (2008 and 2009) and Michael Magaldo (2012).[60][61]
The fencing team was the sabre team winner in 2020.[62]
In 2022, the men's track team won the county title for the first time since 1966.[63]
Co-curricular
Clubs are categorized as Academic, Academic-Honor Societies, Academic-Diversified Interest, Diversified Interest, Student Government, Performing Arts, Public Service, Social Justice, and Recreation. The school also offers an innovative academy program that allows students to specialize in a particular area of interest.
The district acknowledges the following co-curricular organizations. Each organization requires an advisor, a constitution and board of education recognition.[64]
Co-curricular awards and achievements
In 2022, the robotics team qualified for the World Championships in Houston, making it to the semi-finals of the Roebling Division.[65]
Core members of the school administration are:[1][66]
Elizabeth Jewett, superintendent
Timothy Stys, school business administrator and board secretary
William J. Librera, principal (with three vice principals)
Board of education
The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[67][68] The seats on the board are allocated based on the population of the constituent districts. Of the nine elected seats, five are allocated to Warren Township, two to Long Hill Township and two to Watchung; One seat is appointed for a one-year term by the Green Brook School District.[69][70]
^School Newspaper, Watchung Hills Regional High School. Accessed March 22, 2022.
^Folio, Watchung Hills Regional High School. Accessed March 22, 2022.
^Watchung Hills Regional Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Watchung Hills Regional High School, adopted October 20, 2003. Accessed December 18, 2024. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades nine through twelve in the Watchung Hills Regional High School School District. Composition: The Watchung Hills Regional High School District is comprised of all the area within the Township of Passaic in Morris County and the Township of Warren and the Borough of Watchung in Somerset County."
^"New Watchung Hills High School Opens Without a Hitch; 615 Pupils Report on First Day", Plainfield Courier-News, September 13, 1957. Accessed December 21, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The structure includes 38 classrooms and is geared to accommodate 750 students when ready for maximum use. Located on a 39-acre site, the school offers library, gymnasium, cafeteria and auditorium facilities to its student body. The Watchung Hills school was financed by a $1,650,000 bond issue of three member districts Passaic Township, Watchung and Warren Townships."
^"Schools Status Remains Same", Courier News, August 12, 1953. Accessed December 21, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Watchung and Warren Township pupils will continue to go to North Plainfield schools through 1956, but then due to overcrowded conditions the agreement will be terminated by the North Plainfield Board of Education. Passaic Township will send pupils to Bernardsville for the next three years after recently being eased out of the Morristown system."
^Remo, Jessica. "High school apologizes after special needs student wasn’t included in yearbook", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 18, 2020. Accessed July 20, 2020. "When a special needs student wasn’t included in Watchung Hills Regional High School’s 2020 yearbook, her sisters set off a firestorm on social media, posting that all special needs students were omitted. The school’s superintendent, however, says that information is 'simply incorrect,' but apologized to the student and her family for the omission. The district is investigating if any other students were left out, but says special needs students are included in the 2020 yearbook."
^Ceva, Claudia. "Helmet chosen as new logo to represent Watchung Hills Warriors", Echoes-Sentinel, March 22, 2021. Accessed December 21, 2021. "The students have spoken: the new mascot logo to represent the Watchung Hills Regional High School Warriors will be a helmet, with a design to be chosen later."
^Knego, Lauren. "Watchung Hills to review Warriors logo; no changes planned for Piscataway", Courier News, July 17, 2020. Accessed December 21, 2021. "The Watchung Hills Regional High School Board of Education has decided to retire the school’s Warriors logo. A petition supporting the removal of the logo, which is a depiction of a Native American in headdress, mascot and name, has circulated online."
^Kinney, Mike. "Big Central revises 2020 football schedule for its shortened inaugural season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 12, 2020. Accessed April 18, 2021. "The newly formed Big Central Football Conference has released a revised 2020 schedule for its inaugural season.... the BCFC is comprised of schools from Middlesex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties."
^Schumacher, Russ. "Hills Girls' Tennis Team Takes Championship", Echoes-Sentinel, June 3, 1976. Accessed February 26, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Watchung Hills' girls' tennis team, pulling off an amazing comeback, won the state championship Friday afternoon at Princeton University when its undefeated first doubles team of Pam Struhl and Donna Rosamilia won a nine-point tie-breaker after a deadlocked third set to decide the thrilling match, won 3-2 by the Warrior girls over Ridgewood High.... An ecstatic Uhl remarked, 'What's a better climax to a 21-0 season!' Watchung's victory, giving the school only its second state championship in its 20 years of existence (The 1974 cross country team was the other state champion.), was the result of incredible comebacks by the two Warrior doubles teams."
^Pincus, Simeon. "Softball: McCabe's gem helps lift Watchung Hills to Group IV championship", Courier News, June 10, 2016. Accessed June 26, 2017. "Friday, in the NJSIAA Group IV final, McCabe not only added another wrinkle to her already impressive arsenal, but added another dominant shutout in a big game, this time to secure the biggest victory in the Watchung Hills High School softball team's history.... And thanks to the addition of a drop curve to her repertoire that kept then-undefeated Egg Harbor Township off balance, as well as the kind of laser-focused, fundamentally rich brand off softball the Warriors have used to become one of the state's most successful clubs, Watchung Hills secured the first state championship in program history, 4-0 at Kean University."
^Nemcek, Jake. "WHRHS Softball: Watchung Hills Defeats Egg Harbor in Nine Innings for NJSIAA Group 4 State Championship", TAP into Warren, June 4, 2022. Accessed September 7, 2022. "Warriors win! Ella Stevinson smacked a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Watchung Hills the state championship on Saturday. Jules Raymond threw two strikeouts in the top of the ninth inning to hold off the Eagles and give the Warriors a chance."
^Gould, Brandon; and Kinney, Mike. "Boys lacrosse Final 50: N.J.'s top teams for 2018", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 15, 2018, May 14, 2019. Accessed November 3, 2020. "5-Watchung Hills (20-3) A senior-dominated group that had been plugging away together since childhood made program history by securing the Warriors’ first Group 4 state title when they defeated Lenape, 10-3."
^Gould, Brandon. "Jamie Lovejoy is the NJ.com boys lacrosse Coach of the Year for 2018", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 19, 2018, updated August 23, 2019. Accessed November 3, 2020. "The ride this season was one that Watchung Hills, No. 5 in the NJ.com Top 20, will never forget and one that saw the Warriors make history on the way to a Group 4 title and a trip to the Tournament of Champions.... Each game brought a different challenge, but throughout it all, Watchung Hills (20-3) stay dedicated to the process and the results were record-breaking. Watchung Hills coach Jamie Lovejoy helped lead the way during that campaign and has been named the 2018 NJ.com boys lacrosse Coach of the Year."
^Clubs/Activities, Watchung Hills Regional High School. Accessed March 22, 2022.
^"RoboWarriors reach Semifinals of robotics World Championship", Echoes-Sentinel, April 28, 2022. Accessed September 24, 2024. "The Watchung Hills High School RoboWarriors reached the semifinals at the FIRST Robotics World Championships, held last April at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston."
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Watchung Hills Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed September 24, 2024. "The Watchung Hills Regional High School District (the 'Board' or the 'District') is an instrumentality of the State of New Jersey, established to function as an education institution. The Board consists of nine elected officials from Warren Township, Long Hill Township and the Borough of Watchung and one appointed representative from the Green Brook Board of Education. The Board is responsible for the fiscal control of the District. A Superintendent of Schools is appointed by the Board and is responsible for the administrative control of the District. A School Business Administrator/Board Secretary is also appointed by the Board and oversees the business functions of the District." See "Roster of Officials" on page 17.
^Board of Education, Watchung Hills Regional High School District. Accessed December 18, 2024.
^"Local Watchung Hills alum need votes to win 'Oscar' contest", Echoes-Sentinel, January 22, 2011. Accessed August 16, 2021. "Scott Braun and Alexandra Cotoulas, both of Warren Township and 2007 graduates of Watchung Hills Regional High School, are looking for votes to be chosen the MTV’s Red Carpet Correspondent Team at the Oscars."
^Pelter, Lorraine. "Warren Youth Wins Speedway Honor", Echoes-Sentinel, June 15, 1972. Accessed February 13, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Warren - Ken Brenn Jr. of Mountainview Rd. has only been racing stock cars for two months, yet he was named last week as Remington Speedway's 1972 Rookie of the Year.... The 20 year-old-graduate of Watchung Hills Regional High School inherited his racing enthusiasm from his father, Kenneth Brenn Sr., who has been maintaining racing cars over the past 17 years."
^"Watchung Hills junior competes with U-16 Boys’ National Team", Echoes-Sentinel, November 18, 2019. Accessed July 20, 2020. "Daniel Edelman, a junior at Watchung Hills Regional High School, competed for USA’s U-16 Boys’ National Team against the Netherlands, Turkey and the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team in the Nike International Friendlies in Lakewood Ranch, Fla."
^Dunleavy, Ryan. "Who is Mickey Gall? Rutgers graduate faces ex WWE wrestler CM Punk in UFC 203", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 9, 2016. Accessed September 20, 2016. "A former football captain and wrestler at Watchung Hills before moving on-campus at Cook College for one year and off the College Avenue campus for three, Gall was signed to UFC specifically for this fight so that CM Punk had an equally inexperienced opponent, according to FOX Sports."
^Mathews, Eleanor. "Robert Hovanec of Meyersville honored as scholar-athlete", Echoes-Sentinel, June 22, 2012. Accessed January 26, 2020. "Robert Hovanec of Meyersville was the Watchung Hills Regional High School’s student athlete representative at the 19th annual Scholar Athlete Luncheon of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) on Sunday, May 15, at the Pines Manor in Edison."
^Mathews, Eleanor. "Watchung Hills High School names its 2013 Hall of Fame honorees", Independent Press, April 13, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2013. "The Watchung Hills Hall of Fame committee has announced its 2013 honorees, persons who have served or brought honor to the high school through their efforts or achievements.... Chris Kratt and Martin Kratt, brothers whose educational television programs and films about wildlife and animals are aired on National Geographic Channel and PBS."
^Bishop, Chris. "The Myddle Class", GarageHangover, July 14, 2005. Accessed October 14, 2015. "In any case, the King Bees had started by 1964: Dave Palmer was a student at Watchung Hills Regional High School along with Rick Philp, and he became their singer."
^Johnson, Brent. "Somerset teen brings home gold from Winter Paralympics", The Star-Ledger, March 24, 2010. Accessed March 28, 2011. "Josh Pauls didn't dress like the rest of his classmates at Watchung Hills Regional High School today. He was decked in a U.S.A. hockey jersey — the same one the 17-year-old wore on the ice last week at the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. And as he rolled his wheelchair around the high school's hallways, a glistening, new gold medal hung from his neck."
^Hall of Fame Class of 2009: Keith Sims, Watchung Hills Regional High School. Accessed February 12, 2024. "Being in a hall of fame is not new for Keith, as he has been inducted into the Iowa State University Hall of Fame. The WHRHS Hall of Fame is also happy to welcome Keith Sims, Class of 1985."
