Ridgefield High School

In 1994, Joan Voss, RHS English teacher, Jeff Hansen, Superintendent, and Paul Hazel, Personnel Director, spearheaded a committee to research the need and value of creating an alternative high school in Ridgefield. As a result of many months of hard work  the Ridgefield Alternative High School was proposed to and approved by the Ridgefield BOE in April 1995. It was created to meet the needs of students who were "falling through the cracks" in a traditional high school setting.  RAHS first opened its doors in September 1995 with twenty students attending.  Joan Voss was the Director and English teacher, Denise Brown was the math teacher, Carol Fuchs taught Spanish and French, Patrick Higgins was the social studies teacher, and Harris Towne taught science.

After fifteen successful years, Joan Voss, founder and director has retired.  Denise Brown, a teacher at RAHS for the past fifteen years, has been named Interim Director and will fill Joan Voss's shoes for the remainder of the 2009-2010 school  year.

RAHS is located in beautiful downtown Ridgefield in Ballard Green. The school occupies what was once the Spotlight Theater Building. Students apply in the spring and a maximum of twenty students are accepted each year. Every student receives a Ridgefield High School diploma.

Colleges have come to know our school as one from which students graduate prepared for the college experience. Our students, have attended and/or have graduated from: Dartmouth, Franklin & Marshall, Fordham, Fairfield, FIT, Eugene Lang, Ursinus, Temple, Berkley School of Music, Montserrat School of Art, Endicott, Pratt Institute of Art, UMASS, UCONN, Westconn, Norwalk Community College, Marlboro, Johnson & Wales, Culinary Institute of America, Simon's Rock, Manhattanville, Pace, SUNY Purchase, Penn State, Emmanuel, SUNY New Paltz, Bennington, NYU, Emerson, Smith and more.