Emerson Junior-Senior High School is a six-year public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Emerson, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Emerson School District. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1968.Emerson Junior - Senior High School , Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed August 21, 2011.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 440 students and 47.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.3:1. There were 52 students (11.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 11 (2.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Emerson Jr Sr High, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
History The district announced plans in December 1960 for a junior-senior high school facility that would serve an enrollment of 860 students and would be constructed on a site covering . The new school would allow the district to end a sending/receiving relationship under which Emerson students attended Hackensack High School."Board Expects Big Hike In Emerson School Tax; Increase Of $20.50 For $1,000 Valuation Predicted By Trustees", The Record, December 16, 1960. Accessed March 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Local students currently attend Hackensack High School.... The trustees said the proposed school will house 860 students and be located on a 40-acre tract on Main Street, across from the Armenian Home for the Aged.... The tentative project budget includes $1,749,000 for the total building cost and the remaining $551,000 for other costs."
An August 1962 tornado caused significant damage to the construction site for the new high school, ripping off significant portions of the roof, twisting girders and knocking over masonry."Twister Delays School Opening; $40,000 Damage Delays Construction; Target Date Was September", The Record, August 9, 1962. Accessed March 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Tuesday's tornado damage has made it doubtful that the new high school will be ready for occupancy in September, according to Board of Education Trustee Dominick Sipala."
The school was completed at a cost of $2.3 million (equivalent to $ million in ), opening to students in March 1963 after the August tornado caused over $70,000 in damage and prevented the school from opening in September 1962 as originally planned, with students who had enrolled at Hackensack High School completing their education there through graduation.Slocum, John W. "New Jersey; Bergen", The New York Times, September 3, 1962. Accessed May 22, 2012."Emerson School to Open in Fall; Junior-Senior High Is Planning For First Full Year", The Record, August 21, 1963. Accessed March 24, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Junior-Senior High School will open its doors next month for its first full year of operation. The school, originally scheduled to open last September, was delayed due to labor trouble and last summer's tornado, and students did not enter until March. The new $1.5 million structure will house students up to the 11th grade this year, with seniors comnleting their secondary education at Hackensack High School. The local school will have its first graduating class in June 1965."
In 2020, Emerson Junior-Senior High School, was used as a filming location in the movie Chemical Hearts, starring Lili Reinhart.
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 85th-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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 77th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 34th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed December 1, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 55th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed June 13, 2011. The school was ranked 51st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 99th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 8 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (85.7%) and language arts literacy (97.6%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 3, 2012.
EHS also has an award-winning journalism program, having won several prestigious awards for its Adopt-A-Journalist Program under the guidance of Ava Annese and The Record. Recent adopted journalists include Pulitzer Prize-nominated photographer Thomas E. Franklin, ESPN-online writer Bob Klapisch, and stand-up comic and The Record columnist Bill Ervolino. Awards received for the program include: 1999 NJ Best Practices.1998-99 Best Practices Award for Emerson Junior-Senior High School, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 15, 2007. 2000 A+ for Kids Network Grant 2002 Newspaper Association of America Innovators in Newspaper Education Award
In 2003, Ava Annese received the New Jersey High School Teacher of Civics Education award from the VFW. In the national contest, she received third place.Ms. Ava Annese-Media profile , Emerson Public School. Accessed November 1, 2007.
Emerson's Musical Theatre program has been recognized by The Metros, Paper Mill Playhouse and the New Jersey Metropolitan chapter of The Cappies.
Athletics The Emerson High School CavaliersEmerson Jr.-Sr. High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. (commonly known as the Cavos) participate in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which is comprised of small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson County, Morris County and Passaic County counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).Mattura, Greg. "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship", The Record, January 9, 2017.Accessed August 30, 2020. "The small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference may debut its own boys basketball tournament this season, one season after introducing its girls hoops championship. The NJIC is comprised of schools from Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties and the event offered to the 36 boys teams would serve as an alternative to likely competing against larger programs in a county tournament."Member Schools, North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. Accessed August 30, 2020.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. Prior to the NJSIAA's realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Emerson was a member of the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL).New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association League Memberships – 2009-2010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed November 26, 2014. With 243 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The school's co-op team with Cresskill High School was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The school participates as the host school / lead agency for joint cooperative girls lacrosse and wrestling teams with Park Ridge High School, while Emerson is the host school for boys / girls bowling, cross country running. boys / girls golf and boys lacrosse teams. River Dell High School is the host school for a co-op ice hockey team with Emerson and Westwood Regional High School as participants. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.NJSIAA Spring Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
Emerson is known for its wrestling team led by coach Stan Woods, who was named District, Region and New Jersey Coach of the Year for the co-operative Emerson/Park Ridge High School team of 2006–07. Woods has led his teams to 30 league championships, nine county championships, and eight state sectional championships. Woods' 602nd career victory, achieved in February 2011 with a win against Nutley High School, made him the winningest coach in New Jersey wrestling history.Fitzsimmons, Brian. "Woods is Second to None" , MSG Varsity, February 4, 2011. Accessed August 21, 2011. "Emerson/Park Ridge wrestling coach Stan Woods notched career win No. 602 in a quad meet on Saturday, surpassing Ralph Ross of Highlands Regional as the state's all-time leader. The Cavos defeated Old Tappan to give Woods his 601st, and then upended Nutley, 54-25, for the record-breaking milestone." The wrestling team won the North I Group I state sectional championships in 1980, 1983–1987, 2001, 2003, 2018 and 2020, and won the North I Group II sectional title in 2016. The team won the Group II state championship in 2016 with a 29–28 win against Delaware Valley Regional High School in the final match of the tournament.Boys Wrestling Championship History 1934–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated October 2024. Accessed November 1, 2025.Fortenbaugh, Rick. "Delaware Valley wrestling comes up one point short of group championship", The Trentonian, February 14, 2016. Accessed November 22, 2020. "Delaware Valley fell in the group final to Emerson, 29-28"
The girls bowling team won the overall state championship in 1976.History of NJSIAA Girls Bowling Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.