Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School

History

A school building constructed in 1893 served students through tenth grade, after which they attended Red Bank High School. With a new high school on the way, the district received state permission to grant four-year diplomas starting in 1933. Students completing tenth grade advanced a grade each year, with the first graduates completing twelfth grade in 1935. A new high school facility was approved by voters in July 1934, ground was broken that November and students started attending school in the building in January 1936. The high school enrollment in the 1934–35 school year was 192, which included students from Fair Haven, which began sending students that year. Completed in Rumson with a mix of loans and grants from the Public Works Administration covering more than 80% of the cost, Rumson High School had a total price of $230,000 (equivalent to $5.4 million in 2025). Students from Fair Haven began attending as soon as the new school opened and the regional district was established in 1956. Since its original construction, the school facility has had three significant additions.

In fall 2004, information about Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School and several other U.S. schools was recovered from a CD found on the body of a dead Iraqi insurgent killed in Baghdad. It was discovered from the body of an Iraqi physicist, the son of a member of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party. The man's father had a strong connection to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. The information pertaining to RFH did not include floor plans, but did contain information about the school's vandalism and bullying policies. The CD also contained information about radon and depleted uranium. The recent Beslan school hostage crisis in which 385 people were killed, half of them students, was compared to the school because RFH, like the Russian school, had construction underway. Police patrols around the school were increased in response to the potential threat.

The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "J", the 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.

Awards, recognition and rankings

In 2011, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School was one of 14 schools in the state, and one of two public high schools, selected by the United States Department of Education with recognition with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence.

The school was the 10th-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. The school had also been ranked 10th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 31st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 30th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 33rd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 49th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 19 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (91.9%) and language arts literacy (97.9%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 144th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 26th among all high schools in New Jersey and 13th among the state's non-magnet schools.

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 269th in the nation among participating public high schools and 21st among schools in New Jersey.

In 2026, the school's spring musical, Evil Dead The Musical, was nominated for 4 Basie Awards, awards given out to high school theatre productions in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The musical was nominated as a whole for best production of a musical and best set design, as well as receiving nominations for best actress in a supporting role and best featured ensemble. The musical then went on to win best actress in a supporting role and best set design. Some of the lead actors and actresses in the musical were Wyatt Zeleski as Ash, Dakota Diehl as Cheryl, William Kuskin as Jake, Mary Grace Cosgrove as Shelly, Elliot Quinn as Scott, Charlie Snider as Ed, Ava Fiore as Annie, and Sydney Schirripa as Linda

Athletics

The Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School Bulldogs compete in Division A Central of the Shore Conference, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools in Monmouth and Ocean counties along the Jersey Shore. The league operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 724 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. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 514 to 685 students.

The girls' tennis team won the Group II state championship in 1977 (against Madison High School in the final match of the playoff tournament), 1978 (vs. Tenafly High School), 1981 (vs. Haddonfield Memorial High School) and 1985 (vs. Gateway Regional High School), and won the Group I title in 1995 (vs. Cresskill High School) The 1978 team defeated Haddonfield Memorial High School in the semifinals and moved in to defeat Tenafly in the finals to win their second consecutive Group II title and 40th straight match. The 1995 team won the Group II with a 3–2 win against Pascack Hills High School in the semifinals and a 4–1 win against Gateway Regional in the finals. The team won the Central Jersey Group I tournament in 1999, beating Middlesex High School 5–0. The team came back to the sectional championship in 2004, knocking off Shore Regional High School by 4–1.

The girls gymnastics team was overall state champion in 1982.

The girls swimming team won the Division B state title in 1990, and the Public B title in 2000 and 2001. The girls' swimming team won the 2002 Public Central B Sectionals, topping Red Bank Regional High School by 111–59.

The girls' basketball team won the Group I title in 1996 (defeating Bloomfield Tech High School in the tournament's final game), and won the Group II state championship in 2002 (vs. Newton High School), 2006 and 2007 (vs. River Dell High School both years) and 2009 (vs. Chatham High School); the five state titles are tied for the tenth-most in the state. The 2001 team took the sectional title, defeating Voorhees High School, 46–29. The 2002 team won the Central Jersey Group II championship, edging Raritan High School 46–44, and then edged Newton High School by a score of 44–42 in the championship game to win the Group II state title. The 2006 team won the sectional championship over Abraham Clark High School, 41–32, then defeated River Dell by a score of 49–42 to earn the Group II state championship. The 2007 team won the Central Jersey Group II sectional championship, defeating Somerville High School, 38–30 in the final game. The team then moved on the Group II championship, facing River Dell for the second consecutive year and winning by a score of 44–23, before falling to Trenton Central High School, 48–37 in the first round of the Tournament of Champions.

Coronavirus aid fundraising event

On April 26, 2020, two RFH students, teamed up by live streaming and raising money for Jersey Shore University Medical Center while one student was running a marathon on his treadmill, which he completed at 5 hours 21 minutes and 35 seconds, his partner, as described by many media outlets, acted as the "hype man" and "entertainer" throughout the near six-hour live stream. Within three days of the live stream ending, Governor Phil Murphy gave the two RFH students shout outs during his own daily live stream. Later that day, WNBC 4 New York heard the story and the segment was aired on April 29, 2020. The students decided to take the negative experience of the pandemic outbreak and make it into a positive with the live stream and as of April 30, 2020, the duo has raised over $6,000.

Additionally, in April 2020 toward the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, ten Rumson Fair Haven students (juniors and seniors) began collecting food donations to help families in the Monmouth County area who had lost their jobs or had been unable to receive food due to the pandemic. After a few weeks of food donations they turned their mission into a non-profit organization called Companeros de Comida which as of June 2020 they have raised over $30,000, served over 20,000 meals, and helped seven families achieve food security.

Administration

Core members of the school's administration are:

Lee McDonald, Superintendent

Sean Cranston, business administrator and board secretary

Stephen Sarles, principal

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of nine 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 three 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. Seats on the board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with five seats assigned to Rumson and four to Fair Haven.

Notable alumni

Katie Coyle (born 1986, class of 2004), author of the Vivian Apple series of young adult novels

Schuyler DeBree (born 1996), professional soccer player who plays as a defender for North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League

Bill Finegan (1917–2008, class of 1935), arranger for the Glenn Miller Orchestra and other bandleaders

Midori Francis (born 1994, class of 2012), actress featured in Good Boys and Dash & Lily

Jacquelyn Jablonski (born 1991, class of 2009), fashion model who has walked at shows including the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Adrienne-Joi Johnson (born 1963, class of 1981), actress, who appeared in House Party and Baby Boy

Connor Jaeger (born 1991, class of 2010), swimmer who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Deborah Lee James (born 1958, class of 1976), 23rd Secretary of the United States Air Force, and businesswoman

Brian Kelly (born 1954), journalist and author who has been the editor and chief content officer of U.S. News & World Report since 2007

Phyllis Stadler Lyon, former field hockey player who played on the U.S. women's national field hockey team

Rob Margolies (born 1983, class of 2001), film director and screenwriter

Rob Petitti (born 1982, class of 2000), former offensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL, currently a free agent