[1] President Ronald Reagan spoke at the high school in June 1984, where he advocated on behalf of a drinking age of 21 as a minimum standard.
[12] River Dell High School offers students a wide variety of college preparation, honors, and Advanced Placement courses.
River Dell offers a Junior MBA program in which students are eligible to earn a scholarship after taking five business-related courses and completing a project if they intend to major in business in college.
Concurrently, as required by the state of New Jersey, students must fulfill five credits in business, technology, and life-skills-related classes.
Following the completion of the construction in the spring of 2007, the school had a new wing, which included six science and eight general classrooms, two music rooms, and two gymnasiums.
[14] The River Dell Regional High School Golden Hawks[2] compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).
[26] The 1987 team used their size to contain Hawthorne High School in the championship game to win the North I Group II state sectional title and finish the season at 11–0.
[27] River Dell's 2007 football team went undefeated, compiling a final record of 12–0, with a defense that allowed 28 points all season long.
On December 1, 2007, the team won the North I, Group II state sectional championship with a 12–7 win over Pascack Valley High School, in a game played at Giants Stadium.
[28][29] The River Dell football team went undefeated in the BCSL American Division losing in the state sectional semi-finals to Jefferson Township High School.
River Dell's 2009 football team played Ramsey High School for the North I, Group II state sectional championships at Giants Stadium, losing by a score of 36–10.
[38] The 1994 softball team finished the season with a record of 29-4 after winning the Group II state championship by defeating Clearview Regional High School by a score of 9–2 in the playoff finals.
[41] The girls' soccer team finished the season with a record of 21-2-1, winning the BCSL championship, the 2006 North I, Group II state sectional title and defeated Haddonfield Memorial High School by a score of 1–0 to win the Group II state championship in the team's first ever finals.
[42][43] The girls' basketball team won the 2007 North I, Group II state sectional championship, edging Pascack Hills High School 38–36 in the tournament final.
The girls team has won two Bergen County Group Championships (1983-Group III, 1985-Group II) and two league titles (1984-NBIL, 2000-BCSL American).
[49] The school instituted a random drug testing program for all students participating in any and all extra curricular activities and/or sports.
In previous years, River Dell has put on performances of Grease, The Wiz, Beauty and the Beast, High School Musical, Into the Woods and Guys and Dolls.