Wayne Is NJ's Best School District For Athletes: New Rankings

WAYNE, NJ — No matter which team they compete for, here's an accolade all of Wayne's student-athletes can share: the Wayne Township Public School District is New Jersey's best district for athletes, according to recent rankings from Niche.

Not only that, but Niche ranked Wayne's athletics 12th in the nation.

Niche's methodology included more than just a district's championship — that's only 10 percent of the website's formula. The online platform, known for its school rankings, also incorporated data such as the number of interscholastic sports offered and participation in boys and girls athletics. Fifty percent of the formula also includes Niche survey results on how parents and students evaluate sports in the district.

The district had 74 girls teams and 74 boys teams as of 2017 — the most recently available Civil Rights data on the school system's athletics. Additionally, athletic participation largely correlated with the gender demographics of Wayne schools.

Much has happened since, including the addition of a girls flag football team at Wayne Valley High School. Read more: Jets To Fund Wayne Valley's 1st Girls Flag Football Team

Wayne schools scored some high marks inside the classroom too. Niche ranked the district as the 34th-best place to teach in New Jersey and 50th-best school district in the state.