As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 671 students and 67.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.9:1. There were 29 students (4.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 13 (1.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
In March 1955, the Board of Education began plans for a new high school for the district, after the Butler Public Schools indicated that incoming students from Pequannock Township would not be accepted at Butler High School starting in the 1955-56 school year.[5]
Formally established in 1956,[6] the school building had its formal dedication in January 1958.[7]
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 29th-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.[8] The school had been ranked 25th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 46th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[9] The magazine ranked the school 100th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[10] The school was ranked 78th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[11]
Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 31st out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (94.1%) and language arts literacy (97.9%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[12]
U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 33rd out of all public high schools in New Jersey, and 942nd in the nation, in its 2014 edition of "America's Best High Schools".[13]
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 237th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 40th among all high schools in New Jersey and 23rd among the state's non-magnet schools.[14]
In 2013, PTHS was one of nine schools in the nation to have an entire class of 18 or more students attain a 5, the highest possible score, on the College Board's AP Calculus AB exam.[15]
The Pequannock Township High School Golden Panthers[2] compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools located in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties in Northwestern New Jersey, operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[16][17] Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the Suburban Division of the Northern Hills Conference, which included schools located in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.[18] With 520 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 486 to 758 students in that grade range.[19] The football team competes in the American Blue 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.[20][21] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students.[22]
The school participates in a joint cooperative ice hockey team with West Milford High School as the host school / lead agency, operating under an agreement scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[23]
The field hockey team won the North II Group II state sectional championship in 1976, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1989, won the North I Group II title in 2001 and 2003 and won the North I Group I title in 2019; the team won the Group II state championship in 1983 (defeating Collingswood High School in the tournament final) and 1985 vs. Hopewell Valley Central High School.[25] The 1983 team won the Group II title with a 2-1 win against Collingswood in the championship game. The 1985 team finished the season with a 22-1 record after winning the Group II title after defeating Hopewell Valley in overtime by a score of 2-1 in the playoff finals.[26]
The wrestling team won the North II Group II state sectional title in 1984, 2000 and 2003, the North II Group I title in 1995 and the North I Group I title in 2005[27]
The baseball team won the Group II state championship in 1988 (defeating Delran High School in the finals of the tournament) and 2009 (against Shore Regional High School), and won the Group I title in 2023 (vs. Buena Regional High School).[28] The 1988 team finished the season with a 17-10 record with a 3-0 win in the Group II final against Delran, a team that entered the championship game with a 24-2 record.[29]
The football team won the North II Group II state sectional championship in 1999 and 2000.[30] The team won the North II Group III sectional title in 2000 with a 21-7 win against Dover High School, overcoming an early deficit with three fourth-quarter touchdowns.[31]
The ice hockey team won the Halvorsen Cup in 2008 and 2010.[32]
The softball team won the Group II state title in 2009 (vs. Cranford High School) and 2012 (vs. Robbinsville High School).[33] The 2012 team won the Group II title with a 3-0 win against defending champion Robbinsville in the playoff finals.[34]
The golf team won the 2014 NJSIAA Group I state championship, the first state title in the program's history.[35]
Administration
The school's principal is Richard M. Hayzler. His core administration team includes two assistant principals.[36]
^About, Pequannock Township High School. Accessed January 20, 2022. "Pequannock Township High School was established in 1956 and serves a student body of 700 students."
^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."
^Jackson, John. "Athlete of the Week", The Record, December 3, 1985. Accessed February 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "As a freshman, she played on the freshman and junior varsity teams before moving up to the varsity and becoming a starter as a sophomore in 1983. With Maloney at first link that year, Pequannock defeated Collingswood, 2-1, to win the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 2 championship. Last week, Maloney assisted on the game-winning goal and made several key defensive plays from her center halfback position to help the Panthers (22-1) beat Hopewell Valley, 2-1, in overtime to win another Group 2 title."
^Borders, Andrew. "Robbinsville High softball blanked in state final", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 10, 2012, updated March 30, 2019. Accessed December 24, 2020. "A year after beating Nielsen and Pequannock for the Group II state title, Robbinsville was shoved out of the senior pitcher’s way.... In a 3-0 Pequannock win, Nielsen made the Ravens look like neither of those things."
^Hague, Jim. "Morristown, Pequannock golf teams win TOC titles", Daily Record, May 19, 2014. Accessed March 27, 2019. "Pequannock also won its respective Group title, taking home the overall Group I state trophy. It was also the first time that Pequannock captured a state golf title."
^Leadership Team, Pequannock Township High School. Accessed December 29, 2022.
^"Pequannock High's Finest Alums Are Honored", Home Town News, November 21, 2018. Accessed August 18, 2019. "Professor Michael T. Cahill was the next to be honored. Following high school graduation, Cahill received a B.A. from Yale University and J.D. and M.P.P. degrees from the University of Michigan, graduating magna cum laude and working on the Michigan Law Review."
^Londner, Carey. "Dance troupe is a 'cultural treasure'", Herald News, September 27, 1987. Accessed June 24, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Two of the company's 16-year-old performers, Susan Misner and Cathy Peine, agreed. 'I've gotten a lot of discipline', said Misner, a Pequannock Township High School junior."
