Paramus Catholic High School is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school located in Paramus in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school, founded in 1965, under Archbishop Thomas A. Boland, and Superintendent of Schools, Monsignor Joseph P. Tuite, Paramus Catholic operated as a co-institutional school until 1995. Paramus Catholic was staffed by the Brothers of Christian Schools under the leadership of Bro. James P. Kelly, FSC, Principal, and Paramus Catholic Girls' High School by the Sisters of Charity of Convent Station, New Jersey, under the leadership of Sr. Helen Demetria, SC, Principal. There was a sharing of the plant and facility, however, the two schools operated as separate academic institutions. Paramus Catholic was the last secondary school established by the Archdiocese of Newark in Bergen County. The two schools were unified into one by the Archdiocese of Newark beginning in the 1995–1996 school year. When the school was unified to one academic institution, the Christian Brothers withdrew from involvement, and the Sisters of Charity took over leadership, until their withdrawal from the school in the early 2000s. Paramus Catholic High School is one of several high schools in the Archdiocese of Newark. It has the largest enrollment of any Roman Catholic high school in the state of New Jersey.
Paramus Catholic is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1996 and is accredited through July 2027. Only one student is accepted for every four applicants.
As of the 2017–18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,353 students and 103.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.1:1. The school's student body was 33.1% (448) White, 22.9% (310) Hispanic, 18.8% (254) Black, 14.8% (200) Asian and 6.9% (93) two or more races.
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Extracurricular activities and athletics
The Paramus Catholic High School Paladins compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Prior to the 2010 realignment, the school participated in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League (NBIAL). With 914 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public A for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 381 to 1,454 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group III for public schools). The football team competes in the United Red 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. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Non-Public Group B (equivalent to Group I/II for public schools) for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 140 to 686 students. In addition to football, cheer and girls basketball, they are also a consistent power in ice hockey, girls swimming, and boys basketball. Their biggest rivals include Bergen Catholic High School, Immaculate Heart Academy, St. Joseph Regional High School, Academy of the Holy Angels and Don Bosco Preparatory High School.
The school is known for its cheerleading squad and dance team. They both have won many national and state titles such as the 2002 State cheer champions, 2003 EDA National dance champions, 2004 Spirit Championship champions, 2005 NDA junior varsity pom national champions, 2006 Spirit Sports National champions, 2007 State Parochial cheer champions, 2007 EDA National dance champions and 2008 EDA National Dance Champions-Varsity Jazz/JV Jazz and Pom and Prop. 2009 EDA National Dance Team Champions- JV Jazz and Pom and Prop. 2010 EDA National Dance Team Champions- Varsity Hip Hop and Variety and JV Jazz and Pom.
The boys cross country running team won the Non-Public Group A state championship in 1972 and 1975.
The boys' track team won the Non-Public indoor relay state championship in 1977.
The girls basketball team won the Group III state championship in 1978 (vs. Edgewood Regional High School) and in 1979 (vs. Ocean City High School), won the Non-Public A title in 1984 (vs. Notre Dame High School), 1985 (vs. Bishop George Ahr High School) and 1986 (vs. Paul VI), and was the Non-Public B champion in 2013 (vs. Morris Catholic High School). The program's five state titles are tied for tenth-most in the state. Led by Anne Donovan, the 1978 team finished the season with a 27–2 record after winning the Group III state title with a 60–58 win against Edgewood in the championship game. The 1984 team went 28–0 after defeating Notre Dame in the tournament final by a score of 72–44 to win the Parochial A state title. The team won the 2001 Parochial North A title with a 49–42 win over Immaculata High School.
Weekend school
As of November 2022 the Japanese Weekend School of New Jersey (ニュージャージー補習授業校), a Japanese supplementary weekend school, holds classes at Paramus Catholic, while the school offices are in Fort Lee. It is one of the two weekend Japanese school systems operated by the Japanese Educational Institute of New York (JEI; ニューヨーク日本人教育審議会 Nyūyōku Nihonjin Kyōiku Shingi Kai), a nonprofit organization which also operates two Japanese day schools in the New York City area.
Notable alumni
E. J. Anosike (born 1997), basketball player
David Brock (born 1962), journalist and author
Brendan Burke (born 1984), sportscaster for Fox Sports, the New York Islanders, and formerly the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League
Juwann Bushell-Beatty (born 1995), offensive lineman for the St. Louis BattleHawks
Nunzio Campanile, offensive coordinator for the UConn Huskies football team
Anthony DiCosmo (born 1977), former American football player and current Vice President of Sports Marketing at Air Jordan Brand
Anne Donovan (1961–2018), Connecticut Sun basketball coach and head coach of the United States women's national basketball team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Danielle Etienne (born 2001), footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Haiti women's national team
Rashan Gary (born 1997), linebacker for the Green Bay Packers
Malachi Goodman, American football offensive tackle for the Penn State Nittany Lions
Jason Hernandez (born 1983), Manager for Player Engagement with Toronto FC
Darren Lemke (born 1969/70), screenwriter who co-wrote the 2010 film Shrek Forever After and director of the 2004 thriller film Lost, which he also wrote
Christian Mahogany (born 2000), guard for the Detroit Lions