The school's dropout rate has remained consistent over the years at 1%. Daily attendance has been similarly steady at 95%.
Course Offerings
341 students took 754 Advanced Placement exams in May 2006, with 92.2 percent of exams with scores of 3 or higher. In the eight years up through the 2005-2006 school year, the number of students taking AP exams has tripled. Ridgefield High School offers 20 AP classes, as well as multiple UConnEarly College Experience classes and Multi-Variable Calculus. In 2012, a number of computer-related subjects were added to the curriculum, including computer art, computer music, engineering, digital design studio, and Advanced Placement Computer Science. However, the latter is only available in alternating years.
About 65% of the student body participates in at least one interscholastic athletic activity. It is a member of the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference and is in class LL for states. Each year RHS sends many students to play a variety of sports at the collegiate level. In 2019, Ridgefield High School added fencing to its list of sports, on the club level.
Facilities
The school's facilities include a two-story-high, glass-enclosed student center and all marble Student Life Office. The school has a football stadium with turf field and a turf practice field adjacent to that.
Controversies
Over the years, but especially so in the past few, Ridgefield High School has attracted its fair share of controversy.
Student Racism
In October 2017, a video of a Ridgefield High School student along with a then-recent alum painted in blackface with the headline "Nigger" went viral on social media. The post was shared hundreds of times, and deeply upset some students of color who pointed out that "Ridgefield as a town is 96% white." There was also additional controversy regarding the administration's decision to discipline student reporters who shared the information prior to extensive fact-checking, leading to the spread of some misinformation regarding the administration's training of faculty members.
Baseball Field Fire
A wet baseball field was doused with 24 gallons of gasoline and set on fire in a failed attempt to dry the field for a Ridgefield High School varsity baseball game in April 2019. Three RHS varsity baseball coaches were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a police investigation. The cost to restore the field to pre-fire condition was estimated to be in excess of $50,000.
Hazing
In 2014, a series of hazing events left many underclassmen students intoxicated as they attended class. The breadth of students that were affected by this event garnered much media coverage, with the bulk of the students being involved with athletic teams at the school. The hazing occurred as part of the school's Homecoming Spirit Week. In 2019, the school took steps to prevent hazing among its athletic teams.
Swastikas
During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were no fewer than 5 instances of swastikas drawn on or around school grounds. On September 8, 2017, an anti-Semitic symbol was found etched into a table at Ridgefield High School. A little more than 2 months later, on Tuesday, November 21, a swastika was found drawn on the inside of a classroom door at Ridgefield High School. Additional anti-Semitic symbols were found in January, June, and August. All these events led to the creation of a program for town officials to "do more than condemn" the events.
Threats of Violence
In the 2018-2019 academic year, Ridgefield High School saw a surge in threats of violence against staff and students. In late May 2019, a student was arrested for threatening to initiate a school shooting. The student, whose name was not released because he or she is a minor, was charged with threatening in the first degree and breach of peace in the second degree. Earlier that year, there were instances of bomb threats in December and January. There was also an undisclosed threat made on social media in March of the same academic year. Previous bomb threats had been made at RHS in 2007, 2008, and 2012.
