Pope John XXIII Regional High School is a Roman Catholic high school in Sparta, in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school was founded in 1956, originally as Our Lady Of The Lake SchoolHistory of Pope John, Pope John XXIII Regional High School. Accessed November 24, 2014. "In 1956 - the year of groundbreaking ceremonies for the high school - thirty-six freshmen met in the activity hall of Our Lady of the Lake Church, where they were taught by Sister Mary Angelina Garbowksi and Sister Mary Eustace Harczynska, assisted by two priests." and is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson.Sussex County Elementary / High Schools, Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. Accessed January 15, 2023. The school name was changed to honor Pope John XXIII after his death in 1963. The school has been accredited by Cognia since 2010.Pope John XXIII High School, AdvancEd. Accessed October 29, 2020.
As of the 2026–27 school year, the school had an enrollment of 565 students.School data for Pope John Xxiii High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed September 1, 2025.
In 2016, grades 5-7 at the Rev. George A. Brown Elementary School were moved into the newly built Pope John XXIII Middle School, which shares its campus with the high school. To do this the schools of Immaculate Conception Regional School (in Franklin), Saint Joseph's Regional School (in Newton) and Saint Michael's Regional School (in Netcong) were all closed and merged into Pope John Middle School.Scruton, Bruce A. "Catholic schools to merge at Pope John campus", New Jersey Herald, January 28, 2016. Accessed January 15, 2019. "Four Catholic elementary schools, three in Sussex County and the fourth in Netcong, are merging, and by the end of the next school year, students will be housed on a campus at Pope John XXIII Regional High School that will include a new Pope John Middle School, parents were told at a meeting Wednesday..... The plan announced at the meeting will keep the current elementary schools open for the start of the next school year, but, depending on a construction schedule for a new middle school on the Pope John campus, local schools will close and grades will be split, with pre-kindergarten through fourth grade housed at the Rev. Brown school and grades 5-7 combining into the new middle school.... With the opening of Pope John XXIII Middle School, three current elementary schools -- Immaculate Conception Regional School in Franklin, St. Joseph Regional School in Newton and St. Michael School in Netcong -- will close."
Philosophy and coursework Pope John XXIII Regional High School has a Catholic philosophy in accordance with Church teaching. The school also has a college prep course of study in academic subjects. Students are required to not only take state required courses but an additional year of Math and Science. Theology coursework is required for every marking period a student is enrolled at the school. Two years of a foreign language such as Spanish and French are also required as well as a fine art course. Twenty-three Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered. Moreover, Pope John offers 8 concurrent enrollment courses with Sussex County Community College and St. John's University An eighth grade honors program for math, history, English and science is also offered The math and science taught to the eighth grade honors students is also taught to the freshman. The school's music department was founded in the mid-1970s by John-Michael Caprio, who would go on to be director of music at New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral in the 1990s."Church gets music head", Herald News, August 29, 1974. Accessed May 1, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "Caprio has founded music departments at Pope John XXIII Regional High School, Sparta, and at Paul VI Regional High School." In addition to the eighth grade honors program for area Catholic schools, Pope John launched their own eighth grade class in the 2009–2010 academic year, but only accepted eighth grade students who were previously from public schools.
Like most Catholic schools, students are required to wear uniforms. The uniform policy is enforced to ensure students live up the proper standard expected of them by the administration and faculty. Uniforms, for example, include uniform dress shoes, ties (for boys), and dress pants and skirts, respectively, which are coordinated by class and change as a student moves to the next grade. The school also does not allow for any facial hair on boys or any "hair that reaches past the ear or below the collar;" infractions of proper uniform often result in punishment by the administration or faculty.
The school maintains a mainstream Roman Catholic theological position, with 80% of the student body being Catholic, though students from all denominations and religions are accepted.
2026 At a Glance 20 Average Class Size
120+ Courses Offered
1210 Mean SAT score
32 Varsity Sports
91% Student Involvement in sports, clubs and activities
51% Student Body enrolled in Fine Arts Courses
123 AP Scholars
$32.3M College scholarships earned by Class of 2026
5,411 Service Hours completed by students last year
Athletics The Pope John LionsPope John XXIII High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).Home Page, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. Accessed August 27, 2020. "The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference prides itself on being one of New Jersey's premier high school conferences and is comprised of 39 high schools located in Northwest New Jersey."League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the Sussex County Interscholastic League, which included public and private high schools located in Sussex County and northern Morris County.Home page, Sussex County Interscholastic League, backed up by the Internet Archive as of May 9, 2009. Accessed December 16, 2014. With 510 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public A for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 381 to 1,454 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group II for public schools).NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the United White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions." The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Non-Public Group B (equivalent to Group I/II for public schools) for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 140 to 686 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The 1964 baseball team won the Non-Public C state championship, defeating Saint James High School in the tournament final.Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. Note that team is listed as Our Lady of the Lake.