 The school is named for James J. Ferris, a civil engineer and politician in Jersey City best known for supervising the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad Harsimus Stem Embankment and the concrete foundation of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse.As of the 2017-18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,327 students and 105.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.6