As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 731 students and 70.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.4:1. There were 14 students (1.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 3 (0.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
The first campus-style high school facility in New Jersey, the school was designed to accommodate 1,000 students when complete and was estimated to cost $2.25 million (equivalent to $25.2 million in 2023). In 1956, the architect of the Hanover Park facility received an award for its design.[6]
The school's original master plan envisioned a series of one-story buildings labeled A-H, with A-F academic, G for the gymnasium, H for wood/metal shop. There is a total of 32 classrooms. A spacious central core building housed administration, an auditorium, and separate wings with more classrooms for music (band and choir), drama, arts, and home economics. Until 2008, students had no lockers and walked outdoors after each succeeding period. The design, good for West Coast schools, was quickly deemed inappropriate for the heavy rains and harsh winters of northern New Jersey. The school was reconfigured in the 2000s, and by enclosing buildings between existing structures, the campus now has five larger structures rather than the original ten smaller ones. As part of a construction project, students were provided with individual book lockers that were available at the start of the 2007–08 school year.[7]
The school was the 26th-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.[8] The school had been ranked 57th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 96th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[9] The magazine ranked the school 67th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[10] Schooldigger.com ranked the school 117th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 2 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (85.2%) and language arts literacy (96.3%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[11]
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 365th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 41st among all high schools in New Jersey and 24th among the state's non-magnet schools.[12]
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 575th in the nation among participating public high schools and 45th among schools in New Jersey.[13]
Hanover Park High School was recognized as a 2013 New Jersey and National District of Character. Hanover Park Regional High School District is the first New Jersey School District to receive a Character Education Partnership National School District of Character.[14][15]
The Hanover Park High School Hornets[2] compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[16][17] Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school competed in the Iron Hills Conference.[18] With 633 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.[19] The football team competes in the American Blue 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.[20][21] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students.[22]
The school participates as the host school / lead agency for joint cooperative boys / girls golf, boys lacrosse and boys / girls swimming teams with Whippany Park High School, while Whippany Park is the host school for co-op ice hockey and girls lacrosse teams. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[23][24][25]
The boys cross country team won the Group III state championship in 1962 and 1963.[26]
The ice hockey team won the Gordon Cup in 1964; the Hanover Park / Whippany Park co-op team won the Haas Cup in 2000, 2005, 2006 and 2011–2013.[27] In the 2010–11, 2011–12, and 2012–13 seasons, the Park Regional Hockey Team (Hanover Park combined with Whippany Park) won back-to-back-to-back Haas Cup Championships.[28]
The girls' basketball team won the Group III state championship in 1988, defeating Lakewood High School by a score of 62–53 in the tournament final.[29][30]
The football team won the North II Group II state sectional title in 1990 with a 51–14 win against Abraham Clark High School in the championship game.[31][32]
The baseball team won the Group II state championship in 1997 (against John F. Kennedy High School (Woodbridge) in the title game) and 2006 (vs. Governor Livingston High School).[33] The team has won the Morris County Tournament three times, tied for the fourth-most in tournament history, winning in 1978, 1984 and 2003.[34] The 1997 pulled ahead 5–0 in the first inning and held off multiple rallies by JFK Woodbridge to win the Group II state title by a score of 11–10 in the playoff finals.[35] The 2006 team finished the season with a 23–8 record after winning the Group II title by defeating Governor Livingston by a score of 8–0 in the championship game.[36]
The girls track team won the 2004 Group I indoor relay championship.[37]
The girls track team won the outdoor track Group II state title in 2007 as co-champion with Haddon Heights High School.[38]
The wrestling team won the Group II state championship in 2015. The team won the North II Group II state sectional title in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2015 and 2017–2019, and the North I Group II title in, 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2013[39]
The Hanover Park High School Academic Decathlon Team, led by Coach Joseph Lunetta, won the 2008 New Jersey state championship. They scored 42,405.5 out of 60,000 possible points for a 102.7-point victory over runners-up Parsippany Hills High School.[40]
At the national finals held in Garden Grove, California, the Academic Team placed sixth in Division III and twentieth overall with a score of 39,337.0. Senior Stephanie Wang was the highest scorer on the team, obtaining 8199.8 out of a possible 10,000 points.[41] The team won the Division III Rookie Award, given to the school competing at the finals for the first time that amasses the largest number of points.[42]
^Hanover Park Regional High School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 26, 2016. "The Hanover Park Regional High School District is comprised of two high schools. Hanover Park High School is located in East Hanover, receives students from East Hanover and Florham Park, and has an enrollment of 855 students. Whippany High School is located in Hanover Township, receives students from Hanover Township and has an enrollment of 714 students."
^"Architects Win Award", Courier-Post, April 16, 1956. Accessed March 14, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Designing the first campus-type high school in the state has brought the Jay C. Van Nuys and Associates Architects, 205 W. Main St., one of the top awards in a national competition for better school design.... Van Nuy's prize entry was the Hanover Park Regional High School in East Hanover. Construction began last July and, when its second phase is completed, the building will have cost $2,260,000 and will offer facilities for 1,000 students."
^Staff. "Hanover Park Regional has new superintendent", Daily Record, August 12, 2007. Accessed July 19, 2013. "New facilities for the fall include... individual student lockers on newly constructed hallways -- students will no longer have to use their physical education lockers to store books and personal belongings."
^Home Page, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. Accessed August 27, 2020. "The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference prides itself on being one of New Jersey's premier high school conferences and is comprised of 39 high schools located in Northwest New Jersey."
^Teodoro, Nick. "Ice Hockey: Panthers Ice Hockey Falls In OT Thriller of Haas Cup Finals", Suburban Trends, February 27, 2012. Accessed May 15, 2012. "With six minutes remaining and clinging to a 2-1 lead the Pequannock ice hockey team could taste a Haas Cup Championship, but much like their previous semifinal victory Park Regional proved their resilience scoring with 5:28 remaining in regulation and going on to eventually win in overtime over the Panthers for their second consecutive Haas Cup Championship."
^Shevun, Theresa. "Lakewood girls fall in state final", Asbury Park Press, March 12, 1988. Accessed December 23, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Shannon Breslin will be a name the Lakewood High School girls' basketball team won't soon forget The 5-foot-8 senior scored 33 points last night to lead Hanover Park to a 62-53 victory over Lakewood in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group III championship game at St. Peter's College. The Group III crown was the first ever for Hanover, which lost just two years ago in the final to North Hunterdon."
^"Scotch Plains rallies to beat West Morris", The Record, December 2, 1990. Accessed December 1, 2020. "Hanover Park 51, Roselle 14 Quarterback Frank Franco scored on a pair of 1-yard runs and passed 36 yards to Won Kyu Rim for another score as Hanover Park used a big second half to defeat Roselle, 51-14, and win the Group 2 Section 2 title."
^Skrec, Joseph. "JFK's rallies fall one run short", Home News Tribune, June 8, 1997. Accessed March 14, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "John F. Kennedy High School's baseball team came up one comeback short of winning a state championship yesterday. Despite a pair of five-run rallies and a strong relief pitching performance from Chris Maddock, the Mustangs suffered an 11-10 setback to Hanover Park in the Group II state championship final at Toms River High School East. After falling behind by five runs in the first inning, JFK came back to take a 10-8 lead after four innings."
^Frezza Jr., Harry. "DiRocco tosses gem to deny GL", Courier News, June 11, 2006. Accessed January 11, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The Governor Livingston High School baseball team knew the daunting task it had to face Saturday against Hanover Park in the Group II final....But DiRocco was simply too good perhaps even better, this time around, pitching a two-hitter and striking out 15 to lead Hanover Park to an 8-0 victory and its first baseball state tide since 1997."
^ abCostello, Rory; and Fanok, Harry. Harry Fanok, Society for American Baseball Research. Accessed October 29, 2017. "After leaving Morristown Prep, I went to Hanover Park High School. My first year was my junior year. I was ineligible to play ball on account of grades.... We had a lot of heart on that Hornet team though. Jim Russin, Archie Moore [1964-65 Yankees], and myself would go on to the pros."
^"Community News", New Jersey Hills, April 25, 2002. Accessed June 10, 2021. "Hester is an investigator for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office with almost 20 years' experience as a police officer and five years as supervisor of the Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force.... In addition to being a well-know expert and speaker, Hester has a special affinity for Hanover Park High School She is a 1974 graduate."
^Sylvia Pogorzelski Miss New Jersey USA 2005, Miss New Jersey USA. Accessed September 12, 2015. "Sylvia grew up in Union, New Jersey with her parents Janusz & Irene Pogorzelski and brother Arthur who is five years younger.... After her freshman year at Union High School, her parents decided to move to East Hanover, New Jersey. She started attending Hanover Park High School in her sophomore year and graduated in 2003."
^"Journey to Jadwin - Frank Sowinski", Princeton Tigers, May 14, 2020. Accessed August 14, 2022. "Sowinski would ultimately get elected to the Hanover Park Hall of Fame, becoming one of the only players who wasn’t team captain to do so."