As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 533 students and 45.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1. There were 107 students (20.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 22 (4.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Nearly $1.9 million (equivalent to $20.5 million in 2023) was allocated for construction of the high school, which would include 28 classrooms and other facilities.[7]
The dedication of the school in September 1958 was celebrated with a parade.[8][9]
The school was the 176th-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.[10] The school had been ranked 96th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 112th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[11] The magazine ranked the school 135th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[12] The school was ranked 97th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[13] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 127th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 130 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (86.3%) and language arts literacy (93.8%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[14]
The school's publications are The Crown monthly newspaper,[3] the Serendipity literary and arts magazine[4] and Epilogue yearbook.[5]
The Marching Royals Marching Band, under the direction of K-12 Music Supervisor Matt Tracey and high school band director is the largest Group I marching band in the state of New Jersey.[citation needed] The band participates annually in the NCAA Men's college basketball tournament "Coaches vs. Cancer" at Madison Square Garden and at the NCAA Men's college basketball tournament "Legends Classic" at the IZOD center in the Meadowlands sports complex. The band has performed for Michael Jordan's basketball classic (also held at Madison Square Garden). In 2009, the Marching Royals were the Grand National Marching champion at the Orlando All-star music festival.[citation needed]
The Ridgefield Choirs are led by Tom Voorhis.
The Academic Decathlon team has consistently gone to the state competition for the past 14 years[when?], and has received awards and medals, including in the 2002–03 season, which saw them represent New Jersey in the National Finals in Phoenix, Arizona.[15]
The Ridgefield Memorial High School Royals[2] participate in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, which comprises small-enrollment schools in Bergen, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties, and was created following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[16][17][18] Prior to the realignment that took effect in 2010, Ridgefield was a member of the Bergen County Scholastic League (BCSL).[19] With 387 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.[20] The school's co-op team with Cliffside Park High School was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 1,317 to 5,409 students.[21]
The school has 22 varsity sports programs. Interscholastic sports offered at the school include:[2]
Fall: Cross Country (Boys/Girls), Cheerleading, Soccer(Boys/Girls), Tennis(Girls), Volleyball
Winter: Basketball (Boys/Girls), Indoor Track (Boys/Girls), Competition Cheer Leading
The football, soccer and track events are all held at Willis Field.
The Royals golf team won five consecutive league titles from 2006 to 2010. The Royals boys' cross country team also won a league title during the 2009 fall season.
The baseball team won the North II Group I state sectional championships in 2012 with a 6-4 win against Dunellen High School.[22] The team won the North I, Group I title in 2014 with a 2-1 win against Cedar Grove High School in the tournament final.[23][24]
For the 2015 season, the school fielded only a JV football team, after only 13 players participated in a fall football camp. The school forfeited all of its varsity games, repeating what was done in the 2011 season after the team had lost its first three games. The future of the varsity football program is unclear, but the NJSIAA offers schools the option of creating a co-op program with another school.[25][26]
^"Building Contracts Awarded At Session", Bergen Evening Record, March 5, 1957. Accessed November 29, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "The remainder of the $1,886,000 appropriation for the Ridgefield Memorial High School is expected to be used for school furnishings. The school, expected to be opened by September 1958, will consist of 28 classrooms, one auditorium, a library, a lunchroom, and a double gymnasium."
^De Santis, Mauro. Ridgefield, p. 92. Arcadia Publishing, 2017. ISBN9781467126571. "The Ridgefield Memorial High School was built in 1958 on what was once Jacobus Pond. Prior to its inception, high school students from Ridgefield would attend Englewood, Dwight Morrow, and Leonia High Schools."
^Academic Decathlon, Ridgefield Education Association, March 21, 2011. Accessed July 23, 2011.
^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."
^Czerwinski, Mark J. "H.S. baseball roundup: Ridgefield regains North 1, Group 1 title", The Record, May 31, 2014. Accessed June 2, 2016. "Ridgefield didn't hit a ball out of the infield in the seventh inning Friday night. But that didn't stop the Royals from reclaiming the North 1, Group 1 baseball crown.... It's Ridgefield's second title in three years after waiting 42 seasons for a championship. The Royals (19-10) face Dayton on Tuesday at Ramapo College."
^Cooper, Darren. "Cooper on H.S. football: Ridgefield will play only a JV schedule", The Record, August 27, 2015. Accessed October 1, 2015. "Ridgefield Royals football will be back. But the news that the program is dropping down to the junior varsity level for 2015 comes at a time when people question whether football is worth it anymore.... This is not the first time Ridgefield has been down this road. In 2011, the Royals lost their first three games, then forfeited the rest of them.... The Royals reportedly had only 13 players come out for fall football camp."
^"Ridgefield Seniors Given Scholarships", The Record, May 25, 1959. Accessed December 25, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Three Memorial High School seniors have been awarded scholarships totalling $2,900, the 1959 scholarship committees of the Board of Education, Exchange Club, and Ridgefield Manufacturers Association announced last night. The award winners are Allan R. Cerny, Louise Sciacchetano, and Stephen Havlicek.... Miss Sciacchetano of 593 Pros pect Avenue won the school board's $500 scholarship."
^New Jersey State Sen. Joe Lagana, LegiStorm. Accessed January 28, 2022. "Education... Ridgefield (N.J.) Memorial High School - Diploma"
^Anthony Suarez, Borough of Ridgefield. Accessed October 13, 2014. "Anthony is a product of the town's school system, graduating from Ridgefield Memorial High School, and Saint Peter's College in Jersey City."