North Bergen High School

I can agree with all the bad reviews here. I went here back in 1996 to 2000 and sadly it was the same. What is more depressing is that 11 years later it is still ranked so low. OBVIOUSLY it is due to bad LEADERSHIP and TEACHERS. Principal TENARO needs to be relieved of his duties, but it is sad because it is all about politics. MAJOR SACCO is a DUSCH as well. I am glad I was able to join the NAVY and get an education through community colleges and finally University of Cincinnati but this high school did not help much, Invest in private school for your kids even if you have to get a second job they will forever be grateful!

I would first like to say that in my four years in North Bergen High School, I have never been so disgusted by the way the education system is handled in North Bergen. The saving grace of this school is that it does have a dedicated and powerful faculty that do indeed try to ATTEMPT to teach us. They place strict rules on everything unnecessary and amongst them, my greatest issue is with the ID rule. Who made it so these people have the GALL to dare deprive you of your education because you're not wearing a piece of plastic as a necklace! To err is human, we sometimes forget but that doesn't give you the right to force us to stare at a wall for six hours when we could be doing something productive! The bathrooms are riddled with this stench and is not kept at hygienically acceptable levels at any time. Their sinks are broken down, i can hardly get enough water out to clean my own hands! Entire sections of the ceiling are missing in some areas. Lockers are not well kept and often I would be assigned a locker that is sticking out of the wall from cracks made years ago. Overall, North Bergen is barely a high school. Somebody address this PLEASE for the sake of future students
--Submitted by a student

It's just unbelievable that North Bergen High School which ranks so poorly in the state is recognized as a "benchmark public high school for academic achievement." This makes no sense. In addition, what the school seems to be doing in assigning mediocre work in order to pass the students along to the next grade --this is NOT a school that is preparing students for a college career - let alone a challenging college career. The proof is in state testing scores, SAT, ACTs, etc. While we know there are many challenges like overcrowding, the educators, some of who hold multiple jobs on the taxpayers dime, are way overpaid. Those who hold high positions in the district earn way too much -- and they need to figure out how to dramatically improve the students' overall achievement. It is just wrong that the district continues to operate in failure mode, while the taxpayer, students, parents pay the price. Get some TRUE educators who hold PhD's, dedicated, and have vast experience in turning around failing schools - these are the people who should be rewarded with hefty paychecks.
--Submitted by a parent

I don't know where They are getting this top ranking because they are actually on the bottom rank . The school was the 296th-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 294th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[4] The school was ranked 285th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.
--Submitted by a parent

My child attends NB HS, and they truly do not care about the needs of their students. There motto is based on keeping faces, as long as it looks like they are working to better the education of the kids then that's where it ends! There is no incentive for creativity, or involvement for either the kids or the parents. Just give them the passing grades needed so they can boast about being among the top ranking high schools in the county. The teachers and staff are so unprofessional. Lead by an arrogant principal that will convince anyone that his or her child should feel priviledged in receiving a metiocre education. There is no guidance for the students that work to do better, and go above following the crowd of other students that treat it like a hang out. And if you are a parent that cares and asks to many questions you are treated with the same lack of enthusiasm as any of the students. Very disappointing.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a '73 Graduate of NBHS and am very proud of the education I received there. As with the previous posting, I could list many excellent, involved teachers I had who really cared about us as students. If, indeed, what the other postings say is true, I am very sad to hear that the quality of teachers and education has fallen so low.

I am a 1975 graduate of NBHS and a high school English teacher. It was long ago, but I had excellent, professional teachers, some of whom are still there: Mark McClellan, Rob DiGrazia, John Pepe, Dave Corso. It is equally ironic and apalling to note the nearly illiterate quality of the postings by those who have the most negative things to say. The quality of the language offered in these postings is overwhelming support of the notion that an individual is most responsible for his or her level of intellectual development no matter the teachers, the type of building nor the administrators. How sadly disturbing.
--Submitted by a parent

I was one of the first attendees of this school (class of '63). Lots of political contracts awarded in those years. Hudson County was a den of bribery, cronyism and blackmail and I doubt it's changed much since. The highschool was a prime example. I believe NB Mayor Sarubbi had the contract. I remember floods and ceilings falling and half done parts of the building. 40 teachers quit in protest of school politics in June 1962, the end of the first academic year. The education itself was better than kids receive now. It was largely due to the high quality of the teachers. Sadly, some of the best teachers were recruited for administration roles after the mass exodus in June 1962.

Staff at this location are very rude. These are complaints I have received from my child, my friend who actually dropped by to leave a present for my daughter, and myself the parent. Deeply disturbing to me is the fact that my daughter states the teachers dont care about the students ( I tend to concur as I have seen the level of academic work and emphasis placed on performace) The enviorment at this school is not one that fosters creativity, or excellence. All about it is mediocar at best. The teachers here only come in for a paycheck, and thats were it ends. God forbid your child require attention in any area, because here.... he or she will be swept under the rug.
--Submitted by a parent

great staff-great courses-great kids---an wonderful model of diversity!
--Submitted by a teacher