Alternative High School

Set in PATERSON, New Jersey, Alternative High School is a tiny four-year high school, overseen by Paterson Public School District. It educates 81 students across grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 91% below the state mean of about 929.

Paterson Public School District runs 43 schools in total, collectively educating 21,372 students. Alternative High School is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Alternative High School logs that 58% of the student body identifies as Black; the rest consists of 42% Hispanic. That is noticeably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 10%.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 3.9:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.7:1, putting Alternative High School tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 69% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Passaic County) records that median household income runs about $87,522, roughly 31% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Passaic County runs 155 public schools (combined enrollment of about 83,237 students), of which Alternative High School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Eastside High School, around 0.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Alternative High School.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 51%: 164 students in 2018 compared to 81 in 2025.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.