Northvale Public Schools
# Northvale Public Schools

The Northvale Public School is a community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade from Northvale in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Students from Rockleigh, a non-operating school district, attend the district as part of a sending/receiving relationship.

As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 545 students and 48.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1.

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "FG", the fourth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades attend Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, together with students from Harrington Park, Norwood and Old Tappan, along with students from Rockleigh who attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship. The school is one of the two schools of the Northern Valley Regional High School District, which also serves students from the neighboring communities of Closter, Demarest and Haworth at the Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest. During the 1994-96 school years, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education. As of the 2020–21 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,103 students and 94.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1.

The district participates in special education programs offered by Region III, one of seven such regional programs in Bergen County. Region III coordinates and develops special education programs for the 1,000 students with learning disabilities in the region, which also includes the Alpine, Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Norwood and Old Tappan districts, as well as the Northern Valley Regional High School District.

## History

For the 2012-13 school year, Thomas Jefferson School (for grades K-4) and Nathan Hale School (for grades 5-8) were combined to create the Northvale Public School, as part of an effort to reduce costs associated with running two separate schools that share a common campus and corridor.

## Schools

Northvale Public School had an enrollment of 519 students in grades K-8 as of the 2020–21 school year.

* Michael Pinajian, principal

## Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:

* Michael Pinajian, superintendent
* Louis Turco, business administrator and board secretary

## Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of five members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.

