Wallington High School

{{short description|High school in Bergen County, New Jersey, US}} {{Use American English|date=August 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox school | name = Wallington Jr./Sr. High School | image = Wallington Jr.-Sr. High School, NJ, Jan. 2025.jpg | image_size = | motto = | established = 1951 | grades = [[seventh grade|7]]-[[twelfth grade|12]] | district = [[Wallington Public Schools]] | type = [[state school|Public]] [[Secondary education in the United States|high school]] | principal = Michael Fromfield | enrollment = 566 (as of 2023–24)<ref name=NCES/> | faculty = 40.3 [[full-time equivalent|FTEs]]<ref name=NCES/> | ratio = 14:1<ref name=NCES/> | us_nces_school_id = 341692000898<ref name=NCES/> | team_name = Panthers<ref name=NJSIAAprofile/> | athletic_conference = [[North Jersey Interscholastic Conference]] | colors = {{Color box|Royalblue}} Royal Blue and<br>{{Color box|White}} white<ref name=NJSIAAprofile/><ref>[http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/wallington-panthers-(wallington,nj)/football/home.htm Wallington High School Football], [[MaxPreps.com]]. Accessed June 23, 2012. "Mascot:Panthers Team:Varsity 12-13 Colors:Blue, White"</ref> | rival = [[Henry P. Becton Regional High School]] | newspaper = Wallington Courier<ref>[https://www.wboe.org//cms/lib/NJ01912975/Centricity/Domain/185/Wallington%20High%20School%20Club%20List.pdf Clubs 2020-2021], Wallington High School. Accessed March 23, 2022.</ref> | publication = | address = 234 Main Avenue | city = [[Wallington, New Jersey|Wallington]] | county = [[Bergen County, New Jersey|Bergen County]] | state = [[New Jersey]] | zipcode = 07057 | country = United States | coordinates = {{Coord|40.855443|-74.107702|region:US_type:edu|display=inline,title}} | information = | website = {{URL|https://www.wboe.org/o/whs}} }} '''Wallington Jr./Sr. High School''' is a six-year [[comprehensive high school|comprehensive]] [[state school|public]] [[Secondary education in the United States|high school]] that serves students in [[seventh grade|seventh]] through [[twelfth grade]]s from [[Wallington, New Jersey|Wallington]], in [[Bergen County, New Jersey|Bergen County]], in the [[U.S. state]] of [[New Jersey]], operating as the lone secondary school of the [[Wallington Public Schools]].

As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 566 students and 40.3 classroom teachers (on an [[full-time equivalent|FTE]] basis), for a [[student–teacher ratio]] of 14.0:1. There were 158 students (27.9% of enrollment) eligible for [[National School Lunch Act|free lunch]] and 47 (8.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.<ref name=NCES>[https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3416920&ID=341692000898 School data for Wallington Junior Senior High School], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed December 15, 2024.</ref>

==History== Before the opening of the high school, students from Wallington had attended [[East Rutherford High School]] as part of a [[sending/receiving relationship]] with the [[East Rutherford School District]] under which tuition was paid for students attendance.<ref>Lanza, Monica. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98209353/closure-of-east-rutherford-high-school/ "East Rutherford H.S.; This was theirs alone"], ''[[Herald News]]'', July 6, 1971. Accessed March 23, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Sharing has been an integral part of school life for every East Rutherford student since 1876 when Wallington began sending students to East Rutherford schools. In 1951, after 75 years of shared educational experiences, Wallington officials dedicated a high school building of their own."</ref>

The new high school opened in September 1951 for students in ninth grade. Students who had already been enrolled at East Rutherford High School or [[Lodi High School (New Jersey)|Lodi High School]] completed their education at the receiving school through their graduation.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98209977/opening-of-wallington-high-school/ "New High School Opens Wednesday"], ''[[Herald News]]'', August 30, 1951. Accessed March 23, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "The new high school will open Wednesday morning at 9:30 and students are to report to the home rooms assigned to them.... Wellington pupils who attend Lodi High School and Essex County Vocational and Technical High Schools are to report in person at the Wallington High School tomorrow morning to obtain but passes for the 1951-52 school year.... Wellington pupil who attend East Rutherford High School are to report in person at the Wallington School tomorrow morning between 10:15 and noon to obtain their bus tickets.... Wallington pupil who have previously attended high school will not enroll in the Wallington High School as a ruling by the State Board of Education makes it mandatory for them to complete their studies in the school in which they enrolled. Only first-year pupils will be enrolled in the Wallington High School this year."</ref>

The school, said to have the state's largest gymnasium at {{convert|116|by|72|ft}}, was formally dedicated in November 1951.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/81418854/pierson19511102/ "Wallington High School Dedicated Before 600; Scholarship Founding and VFW Gift Award Feature Ceremonies; Throng Sees Building"], ''[[Herald News]]'', November 2, 1951. Accessed March 23, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "More than 600 persons attended dedication ceremonies for the new High School last night and afterward toured the new building. Ceremonies began in the school's big new gym, reported to be one of the largest In the state with dimensions of 116 by 72 feet."</ref>

==Awards, recognition and rankings== The school was the 223rd-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.<ref>Staff. [http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/top-schools-alphabetical-list.html "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014"], ''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'', September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.</ref> The school had been ranked 239th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 204th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.<ref>Staff. [http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/the-top-new-jersey-high-schools-alphabetical.html "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical"], ''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'', August 16, 2012. Accessed December 2, 2012.</ref> The magazine ranked the school 200th in 2008 out of 316 schools.<ref>Staff. [http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-high-schools-2010.html "2010 Top High Schools"], ''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'', August 16, 2010. Accessed August 18, 2011.</ref> The school was ranked 206th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.<ref>[http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-new-jersey-high-schools-by-rank.html "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank"], ''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'', September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.</ref>

==Athletics== The Wallington High School Panthers<ref name=NJSIAAprofile>[https://www.njsiaa.org/schools/wallington-high-school Wallington High School], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed October 20, 2020.</ref> participate in the [[North Jersey Interscholastic Conference]], which is comprised of small-enrollment schools in Bergen, [[Hudson County, New Jersey|Hudson]], [[Morris County, New Jersey|Morris]] and [[Passaic County, New Jersey|Passaic]] counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]] (NJSIAA).<ref>Mattura, Greg. [https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/high-school/basketball/2017/01/09/boys-basketball-north-jersey-interscholastic-conference-matt-stone-stan-fryczynski/96312432/ "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|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."</ref><ref>[https://www.northjerseyic.org/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5genie=265 Member Schools], [[North Jersey Interscholastic Conference]]. Accessed August 30, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/2020-2021-lc-officers-schools.pdf League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed October 20, 2020.</ref> Prior to realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, the school was a member of the [[Bergen County Scholastic League]] (BCSL) in the National Division.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724142847/http://www.njsiaa.org/NJSIAA/09leagueaffiliations.pdf League Memberships - 2009-1010], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]], backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of July 24, 2011. Accessed September 28, 2014.</ref> With 264 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.<ref>[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/general-classifications-2018-2020.pdf NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed November 20, 2020.</ref> The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group I North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 254 to 474 students.<ref>[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-08/football-2024-2026.pdf NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]], updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.</ref>

The school participates in joint girls soccer and boys tennis teams with [[Henry P. Becton Regional High School]] as the host school / lead agency. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.<ref>[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-12/fall-co-ops-2020-21.pdf NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed December 1, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-12/spring-co-ops-2020-21.pdf NJSIAA Spring Cooperative Sports Programs], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed December 1, 2020.</ref>

The 1986 girls volleyball team finished the season with a 20–2 record after winning the Group I state championship, defeating runner-up [[Bogota High School]] in two games (15–13 and 15–12) in the final match of the tournament.<ref name=NJSIAAGirlsVolleyball>[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-volleyball-history.pdf NJSIAA Girls Volleyball Group Champions], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed May 1, 2023.</ref><ref>deMarrais, Kevin. [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/495760448/ "Ridgewood stuns Paramus"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', November 23, 1986. Accessed February 25, 2021, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Secaucus, behind sisters Nadine and Shiela Ulrich, upset top-seeded Hawthorne in Group 2, 15-6, 15-11; and Old Tappan rallied to repeat in Group 3 with a 16-14, 16-14 win over Ramsey, and Wallington, which lost to Park Ridge in last year's final, took the Group 1 title with a 15-13, 15-12 win over Bogota.... Wallington put together scoring streaks at the end of both games to turn back Bogota. The sixth-seeded Bucs had gone ahead in the see-saw game 13-12, on Kristen Lukacs's three service points before Bonnie Poltorak followed with three points to give the Panthers (20-2) the game."</ref>

Under Hall of Fame coach Leonard J. Smith, the Panthers 1959 football team finished the season undefeated with a record of 7–0–1 and were awarded the North I, Group I state championship.<ref>Levin, Jay. [http://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/top-obituaries/hall-of-fame-coach-leonard-j-smith-dies-1.1189286 "Hall of Fame coach Leonard J. Smith dies"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', January 9, 2015. Accessed November 16, 2015. "He moved on to Wallington, where he was an assistant for three years and head coach for four. His 1959 team went undefeated and was named State 1, Group 1 champion."{{dead link|date=October 2024}}</ref><ref>[http://bergenpassaicfootball.com/?page_id=1450 Wallington], Bergen Passaic Football. Accessed November 16, 2015.</ref> In the playoff era, the team has won the North I Group I state sectional championship in 1990 and 2010.<ref>[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-football.pdf NJSIAA Football History], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed May 1, 2023.</ref> The team won the 1990 North I Group I sectional title with a 28–22 win in the championship game against [[Cresskill High School]].<ref>Kurland, Bob. [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/499550414/ "Wallington Stuns Cresskill"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', December 2, 1990. Accessed December 1, 2020, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "A quest for respectability turned into the impossible dream Saturday as Wallington, came from behind to dethrone defending Group 1, Section 1 champion Cresskill, 28-22."</ref> The team won the 2010 North I Group I sectional championship, beating [[Mountain Lakes High School]] by a score of 23–21 at [[MetLife Stadium|New Meadowlands Stadium]]. The defeat ended a 35-game winning streak for Mountain Lakes, at the time the longest such streak in New Jersey.<ref>Vasquez, Andy. [http://www.northjersey.com/sports/120410_Wallington_captures_North_1_Group_1_title_with_23-21_win_over_Mountain_Lakes.html "Wallington captures State title with 23-21 win over Mountain Lakes"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', December 3, 2010.Accessed August 21, 2011. "It wasn't easy for Wallington, but the Panthers held off a feverish second-half rally from Mountain Lakes for a 23-21 win and the North 1, Group 1 title on Friday. Wallington (11-1) won its first State sectional title since 1990. And the final accomplishment – ending Mountain Lakes' 35-game winning streak, the longest in New Jersey – secured the legacy of this squad."</ref> Wallington has maintained a rivalry with [[Henry P. Becton Regional High School]] since the two schools first played each other in 1973, which was listed by ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'' as one of the best in Bergen and Passaic counties; through the 2017 season, Becton leads with a 15–5 record in games between the two schools.<ref>Cooper, Darren; Farrell, Sean; and Mattura, Greg. [https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2018/07/16/nj-football-best-public-school-rivalries-rivalry/778701002/ "North Jersey football: Best public school rivalries; Read up on the top rivalries in Bergen and Passaic counties, and vote for the one you think is best in the poll at the bottom of this page"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', July 17, 2018. Accessed May 13, 2021. "Becton vs. Wallington... First meeting: 1973; Series history: Becton leads series 15-5."</ref>

The boys' soccer team won the 2009 North I, Group I state sectional title with a 4–0 win vs. [[Leonia High School]].<ref>[http://highschoolsports.nj.com/tournament/3283/ Boys' Soccer - 2009 NJSIAA Tournament - North 1, Group 1], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed August 21, 2011.</ref> The team won the 2010 North I, Group I state sectional tournament for a second consecutive year with a 2–1 win over [[Midland Park High School]].<ref>Kensik, Edward. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/108865714_Panthers_win_the_sectional_crown.html "Panthers win the sectional crown"], ''Community News'', November 18, 2010. Accessed August 18, 2011. "Wallington boys' soccer did its part by defeating Midland Park, 2-1, on Thursday to win the Group 1, North 1 state sectional title in Rutherford on the turf. Wallington raised its record to 21-2. This is the team's second consecutive sectional title."</ref><ref>[http://highschoolsports.nj.com/tournament/5512/ Boys' Soccer - 2010 NJSIAA Tournament - North 1, Group 1], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed August 21, 2011.</ref> The soccer team went on to win the Group I state championship, the first for the team in school history, with a win in the tournament finals against [[South River High School (New Jersey)|South River High School]] by a score of 1–0.<ref>Giuffra, Brian A. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/109764929_Wallington_1__South_River_0.html "Wallington wins its first State soccer championship"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', November 21, 2010. Accessed August 21, 2011. "Plewa scored the game-winning goal in leading Wallington to a 1-0 victory over South River in the Group 1 boys' soccer final, giving Wallington its first state championship in program history."</ref><ref name=NJSIAAsoccerB>[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/21-boys-soccer-history.pdf NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer], [[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]. Accessed May 1, 2023.</ref>

==Administration== The school's principal is Michael Fromfield. His core administration team includes the vice principal.<ref>[https://www.wboe.org/o/whs/staff?search=principal Staff Directory], Wallington High School. Accessed March 18, 2026.</ref>

==Notable alumni== * [[Ralph Kirchenheiter]] (born {{Circa|1939 or 1940}}, class of 1957), former head football coach and [[athletic director]] for [[Muhlenberg College]]<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-lt-kirchenheiter-ends/174062808/ "Lt. Kirchenheiter Ends Orientation"], ''The Morning Call'', November 16, 1961. Accessed June 22, 2025, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Kirchenheiter, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, is a 1957 graduate of Wallington High School and a 1961 graduate of Wofford College in Spartanburg, S. C."</ref> * [[Nick Zielonka]] (born 2002), professional [[association football|soccer]] player who plays as a [[Forward (association football)|forward]] for [[New York Cosmos (2026)|New York Cosmos]] in the [[USL League One]]<ref>[https://www.nycosmos.com/news/2025/12/03/new-york-cosmos-accelerate-2026-roster-build-with-addition-of-four-new-players/ "New York Cosmos accelerate 2026 roster build with addition of four new players"], [[New York Cosmos (2026)|New York Cosmos]], December 3, 2025. Accessed March 18, 2026. "Zielonka, 23, hails from Wallington, NJ, and after starring for Wallington High School and the New Jersey Stallions, he played at both UMass Amherst and Kentucky."</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == *[https://www.wboe.org/Domain/8 Wallington High School] *[https://www.wboe.org/ Wallington Public Schools] *{{NJReportCard|03|5430|050|Wallington High School}} *[https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3416920 School Data for the Wallington Public Schools], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallington High School}} [[Category:Public high schools in Bergen County, New Jersey]] [[Category:Public middle schools in New Jersey]] [[Category:Wallington, New Jersey]]