Don Bosco Preparatory High School (Don Bosco Prep) is a private boys' Catholic high school for ninth through twelfth grades. Founded in 1915 as a boarding school for Polish boys, by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious community of priests and brothers, the school has a 35-acre (14 ha) campus in Ramsey, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It operates under the supervision of the Archdiocese of Newark.
About 2 miles (3 km) from the New Jersey – New York border, the school draws students from a wide region, including Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex and Sussex Counties in New Jersey and surrounding counties in New York.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 786 and 119.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 6.6:1. The student body was 68.4% White, 12.1% Hispanic, 9.5% two or more races, 5.9% Black, and 4.1% Asian.
Contents
History
Don Bosco Prep was created in 1915 as a boarding school for boys from Poland. From 1915 to 1973, it housed resident students on the upper floors of St. Johns Hall. Freshmen were in the center wing and upperclassmen stayed on the top floor in the north annex. During the 1960s, about 75 students, or 10%, lived on campus. Resident students attended Mass each morning and were allowed to go home each weekend starting around 1963. Before that, weekend home visits were periodic.
Accreditation
Don Bosco Prep was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 1960. It is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Catholic Educational Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Honor Society, and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Athletics
The Don Bosco Ironmen compete in the Big North Conference, which includes public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic Counties, and was established by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) after sports leagues in Northern New Jersey were reorganized. With 1,278 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 IV for public schools). In the 2009–10 school year, the school competed in the North Jersey Tri-County Conference, which was established on an interim basis to facilitate realignment. Until the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, which included high schools located in Bergen County, Essex County and Passaic County, and was separated into three divisions based on NJSIAA size classification. 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 A (equivalent to Group III/IV/V for public schools) for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 738 to 1,404 students.
The athletic teams are nicknamed the Ironmen and the school colors are maroon and white. In 2008 they were ranked as the number nine sports program in the nation by Sports Illustrated.
The school was the Group A winner of the NJSIAA ShopRite Cup in 2006–07. The award recognized the school for achieving a tie for third in boys' soccer, first in boys' cross country, first in football, second in wrestling, second in boys' indoor track and field relays, a tie for third in baseball, second in boys' golf, a tie for third in boys' lacrosse and second in boys' track and field.
Fall
The school fields football, soccer and cross country teams in the fall.
The cross country team won its first New Jersey State Meets of Champions in 1992 under the leadership of Coach Tony Monks and Bill Barry and returned as Champions in 2007 and 2009. The team won Non-Public A titles in four consecutive years from 2006 to 2009, and again in 2015. The Ironmen placed third at the Nike Northeast Regional Race, and placed 10th at Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Oregon in 2007. They ended Christian Brothers Academy's 11-year winning streak at the state group championships with their string of four wins, and in 2005 the freshman cross country team ended the 19-year streak of CBA in the NJCTCs. The squad finished sixth in the country at Nike Cross Nationals in 2008. The Ironmen were the best team not to make nationals in 2009, finishing 23rd in the country. Under the guidance of head coach Kevin Kilduff, the program was named North Jersey's "Program of the Decade" for 2000–2009.
The soccer team were state runners-up in 2009 and are a perennial competitor for the state title. In 2009, they defeated Bergen Catholic High School in the Bergen County Tournament final 3–0, behind goals from Dylan Renna, Gio Esposito and Ryan McNamara. The Bergen County Coaches Association named Don Bosco's Ian Joyce and Steve Franchini to its All Decade Team, but selected Ramapo High School in 2010 as its Program of the Decade, despite both teams having won five championships in the ten-year span, citing the fact that Ramapo had beaten Don Bosco three of the four times the teams had played each other in the county championship.
The school's football program has been a perennial contender for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Non-Public Group IV championship. The Ironmen have won 15 state championships, were declared winners in 1968, 1970 and 1973, and won playoff tournaments in Non-Public A North in 1983, 1984 and 1990, and in Non-Public Group IV in 2002, 2003, 2006–2011 and 2015.
The 1984 team won the Parochial A North sectional title by defeating Bergen Catholic High School by a score of 15–0 in the championship game, after having beaten Bergen Catholic 13–0 on Thanksgiving, making it the first time Bergen Catholic had been shutout in consecutive games in more than two decades.
Winter
The basketball Ironmen won the Non-Public A state championship in 1944 (defeating Camden Catholic High School in the tournament final), 1966 (vs. Christian Brothers Academy), 1968 (vs. Trenton Cathedral High School), 1970 (vs. Christian Brothers), 2017 (vs. St. Augustine Preparatory School) and 2018 (vs. Camden Catholic).
The 1966 team ended the year with a record of 25-2 after winning the Parochial A state championship at Convention Hall in Atlantic City with a 65–58 win in the tournament final against a Christian Brothers Academy team that had beaten them in the finals the previous season.
The 1968 team won the Parochial A title at Convention Hall with a 75–71 defeat of a Trenton Cathedral team that entered the championship game with a 26–0 record.
The team won the Parochial A title in 1970 with an 83–71 win in the championship game against Christian Brothers in a game played at Atlantic City's Convention Hall.
After a 47-year drought, the team won the 2017 Non-Public A title with a 69–66 win against St. Augustine. The Ironmen would repeat as Non-Public A state champions in 2018, defeating Camden Catholic High School by a score of 61–54 in the tournament final played at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena.
The bowling team won the overall state championship in 1991 and 1993. The team took the 1991 title with a total score of 2,875 pins.
The hockey team dates back to the 1960s. The team currently plays in the Gordon Conference. Frequently ranked among the top five teams in the state, the Ironmen have been to two state championships, and won the 2012 Gordon Conference Championship, four Bergen County championships, a Van Cott Cup and numerous other championships. Coach Greg Toskos, the all-time leading scorer at Don Bosco, has led the Ironmen since the 2006–07 season (his first two seasons as co-coach) and has a career 116-79-23 record.
The swimming program was introduced in 2005. On January 5, 2008, Don Bosco swim team defeated Bergen Catholic High School, 98–72. It was Bergen Catholic's first dual meet loss in 23 years.
Spring
The school offers seven varsity sports in the spring season including baseball, golf, lacrosse, track & field, tennis, crew and volleyball.
The lacrosse, golf, and volleyball teams are teams on the rise. The golf team finished undefeated in 2009 and was ranked within the top five teams in the state.
The Ironmen are six-time state champions in Spring track with wins in 1955, 1961, and 2006, and three consecutive titles in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The track team has won county championships for several years running, and won many league and conference titles in the now-defunct NNJIL before joining the Big North Conference. In 2007 the Sprint Medley Relay (Jason Kelsey, Matthew Cato, Marvin Whilby and Sharif Webb) captured a national title at the Nike Outdoor Nationals held in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2009, the 4x1 mile relay team earned All-American status with a fifth-place finish at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. The shuttle hurdle relay team, 4 × 400 m relay team and javelin thrower Tyler Yee medalled at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in June 2011. Don Bosco Prep has become one of the elite high school track and field programs in the nation, culminating in an eighth-place finish at the Nike Track Nationals, held in Eugene, Oregon in June 2011.
The team was voted as "Program of the Decade" for 2000-2009 by the Record's track reporter, Paul Schwartz. Head Coach Rob DeCarlo Jr. was named "Coach of the Decade" for his efforts in leading the team since 2003, ending a 45-year state title drought in 2006. DeCarlo was honored as New Jersey Boys' Track "Coach of the Year" by The Star-Ledger in June 2011.
The baseball team has won the county title nine times since 2000 and the state championship six times; the team won the Non-Public A North title in 1963 and won the State Non-Public A championship in 1979 (vs. Notre Dame High School), 1986 (vs. Red Bank Catholic High School), 1988 (vs. Holy Cross Preparatory Academy), 1989 (vs. St. Joseph High School of Metuchen), 1994 (vs. Monsignor Donovan High School), 2008 (vs. Christian Brothers Academy), 2022 (va. St. Augustine Preparatory School) and 2023 (vs. Red Bank Catholic). The eight state titles are tied for second-most in the state.
The team finished with a record of 15–11 in 1989 after winning the Parochial A title with a 3–1 defeat of St. Joseph of Metuchen, behind the pitching of future MLB pitcher C. J. Nitkowski.
Notable alumni
Matthew Bogdanos, New York City Assistant District Attorney and author of Thieves of Baghdad
Clinton Calabrese (born 1986, class of 2004), politician who has represented the 36th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2018
Don Guardian (born 1953, class of 1971), politician who has represented the 2nd Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2022
Marc Malusis (born 1976), sports anchor, talk show host, and reporter for PIX 11, SNY, and WFAN (AM)
John Joseph O'Hara (born 1946), auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark
Jason Patric (born 1966 as Jason Patric Miller), actor, appeared in The Lost Boys and Sleepers
John Pizzarelli (born 1960), jazz guitarist and singer
Brandon Scoop B Robinson (born 1985), sports writer, radio host and television personality most notably with CBS Sports Radio
Don Van Natta Jr. (born 1964), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The New York Times and ESPN; bestselling author of First Off the Tee
Alexander M. Zaleski (1906–1975), Bishop of Lansing from 1965 until his death
Athletes
Nick Becker (born 2006, class of 2025), shortstop in the Seattle Mariners organization
Jalen Berger (born 2001), American football running back for the Michigan State Spartans football team