Original Research by School Decision on New Milford High School
New Milford High School serves grades nine through twelve in the borough of New Milford, a densely built, entirely urban community in Bergen County. The school is the sole high school in the New Milford Public School District, which also includes an elementary school on Berkley Street, another elementary school named for Bertram F. Gibbs, and the David E. Owens Middle School. The borough itself is small in land area and was established long ago, its population steady in recent decades after a mid-century boom. The Hackensack River runs through town, and flooding has been a recurring concern. Historic New Bridge Landing, a Revolutionary War site shared with neighboring River Edge and Teaneck, sits near the borough’s edge and also serves as a stop on the Pascack Valley Line rail route, giving residents a transit link to Hoboken and beyond.
Enrollment at the high school is moderate for a comprehensive public high school, with roughly similar numbers of students at each grade level. The student body is diverse. About two-fifths of students identify as white, and roughly three-tenths as Hispanic. Asian students make up a sizeable share, while Black students and students who identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander form smaller but distinct groups. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that sits below the national average for public schools but signals that a meaningful portion of families face economic pressure.
State testing data for this high school was not available in the record, so a direct measure of academic performance in core subjects is absent. The graduation rate, a standard metric for high schools, was also not reported here. Because the data does not include these results, a parent cannot assess the school’s academic standing through the figures that typically guide that judgment. It may be that the school’s state test participation or reporting falls outside what was captured, or that the data simply was not drawn into this profile. Either way, a family considering this school will want to ask the school directly for its state assessment results and its graduation rate.
The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Information on program offerings, such as Advanced Placement courses, career and technical education pathways, or dual-enrollment opportunities, was not available in the record. No staffing data, discipline figures, or chronic absenteeism rates were present. Similarly, the record does not show whether the school receives Title I funding, which would indicate a federal designation for serving a high proportion of low-income students. These are gaps that a parent would want to fill by visiting the school’s website or speaking with the administration.
The district itself has not seen major parent-relevant changes in recent years, based on publicly reported information. A Long-Range Facilities Plan amendment was approved a few years ago, but it was a procedural step rather than a shift that would affect a family’s day-to-day experience.
New Milford High School sits in a borough that is compact, transit-connected, and historically settled, with a school building that is one of four in a small district. The student body is economically and racially mixed. Without assessment or graduation data, the academic picture is incomplete, and a parent should treat that as the first question to answer. The school fits a family that wants a midsized, comprehensive high school in a dense suburban setting with rail access to the region, and that is prepared to investigate the school’s outcomes beyond what is available in this summary.
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