Newark Arts High School

Newark Arts High School
Address
550 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Newark , Essex County , New Jersey 07102 United States
Coordinates	40°44′03″N74°10′49″W / 40.734163°N 74.180387°W / 40.734163; -74.180387
Information
Type	Magnet Public high school
Established	1931
School district	Newark Public Schools
NCES School ID	341134002188 [1]
Principal	Regina Sharpe
Faculty	53.5 FTEs [1]
Grades	9 – 12
Enrollment	598 (as of 2023–24) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	11.2:1 [1]
Color(s)	Forest Green   Gray and   white [2]
Athletics conference	Super Essex Conference
Team name	Jaguars [2]
Website	www.nps.k12.nj.us/ART/

Newark Arts High School is a four-year magnet public high school, serving students in Ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Newark Public Schools. The school is located in the University Heights section of Newark. Starting in 2011-12, the 7th graders of William Brown Academy were housed there as that school's facility was being constructed.

As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 598 students and 53.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1. There were 341 students (57.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 37 (6.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. ^[1]

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 248th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. ^[3] The school had been ranked 240th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 205th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. ^[4] The magazine ranked the school 154th in 2008 out of 316 schools. ^[5] The school was ranked 186th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. ^[6]

History

Arts High School opened its doors to students in September 1931 as the first public high school in the United States specializing in the visual and performing arts. ^[7]

By the mid-1970s, Arts High School faced challenges from budget cuts affecting public schools in general, and those of the older cities in particular. The school also faced competition from other districts, such as the Montclair Public Schools in the suburban portion of Essex County, that was starting a high school magnet arts program of its own. ^[8]

In 1983, Newark voters approved by referendum a $62.6 million bond package, which included $8 million to be used for a renovation and expansion project at Arts High School. ^[9] After an 18-month-long renovation project, the school reopened in January 1996, with the addition of drama and science laboratories, and a preserved Art Deco-style auditorium. ^[10]

During 2006-07, Arts High School celebrated its 75th anniversary in year-long events. The celebrations began in October 2006 with a 75th Anniversary Gala and Alumni Day. In December, 2006, sponsored by the Arts High Consortium at the Newark Museum, the first Arts High Hall of Fame was established by President of Arts High Consortium Volora Howell and Willie Cole; notable inductees include Fashion Designer, Steven Burrows; Dancer/Choreographer, Savion Glover; and Singer/Actress Melba Moore. The finale, featuring "Savion Glover and Friends" celebrating National Tap Dance Day was held on Friday, May 25, 2007 in the school's auditorium. Mr. Glover, the choreographer for "Happy Feet", as a special treat, performed with some of Arts' students as they accompanied him on drums. Other activities included an art exhibit, fashion show, and student essay contest-"Arts High School is 75 years old! How have your experiences at Arts High School enriched your life both personally and socially?" ^[11]

Until 1997, the Arts High School also housed the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, a post-secondary vocational school that focused on arts education.^{[ citation needed ]}

Athletics

The Arts High School Jaguars ^[2] compete in the Super Essex Conference, which includes public and private high schools in Essex County, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). ^[12] Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had competed as part of the Colonial Hills Conference. ^[13] With 476 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range. ^[14]

Sports offered include volleyball, basketball, softball and baseball. ^[2]

The girls indoor relay team won the Group I state championship in 1989-1991. The boys team won the Group I title in 1990 and 1993. ^[15]

Administration

The principal is Regina Sharpe. Her core administration team includes the vice principal. ^[16]

Notable alumni

See also: Category:Newark Arts High School alumni

• Tawatha Agee (born 1954), background singer and songwriter, who was the lead singer of the soul/R&B band Mtume ^[17]
• Paul Bacon (1923–2015), graphic designer best known for his work on book jackets and album covers ^[18]
• Amina Baraka (born 1942 as Sylvia Robinson), poet, actress, author, community organizer, singer, dancer and activist ^[19]
• Andy Bey (born 1939), jazz singer and pianist ^[20]
• Charles Calello (born 1938), musical director ^{[10] [21]}
• Tisha Campbell-Martin (born 1968), actress ^{[10] [22]}
• John-Michael Caprio (1947–1997), conductor ^[23]
• Crystal Clarke (born 1993or1994, class of 2011), actress best known for her roles in the BBC / Amazon Prime miniseries Ordeal by Innocence and in the ITV / PBS adaptation of Jane Austen's Sanditon ^[24]
• Marion Crecco (1930–2015), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1986 to 2002 ^[25]
• Leo Dee (1931–2004), photographer / painter ^[26]
• Kat DeLuna (born 1987), singer and dancer ^[27]
• Connie Francis (born 1938), singer ^{[10] [28]}
• Charles Gaines (born 1944), conceptual artist and educator at California Institute of the Arts ^[29]
• Savion Glover (born 1973, class of 1991), actor, tap dancer and choreographer ^{[10] [30] [31]}
• Lorraine Gordon (1922–2018), jazz music advocate who was best known as the owner of the Village Vanguard jazz club in Greenwich Village ^[32]
• Lawrence Hamm (born 1954), civil rights activist and founder of the People's Organization for Progress ^{[33] [34]}
• Michael B. Jordan (born 1987), actor who has appeared in All My Children , The Wire , Friday Night Lights , and Black Panther ^{[35] [36]}
• Mort Lindsey (1923–2012), musical director ^[10]
• Melba Moore (born 1945), R&B singer ^{[10] [37]}
• Frankie Negrón (born 1977), salsa singer ^[38]
• Nicholas H. Politan (1935–2012), attorney who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey ^[39]
• Nicholas Reale (1922–1984), watercolorist with a lengthy career in art and teaching ^[40]
• Mj Rodriguez (born 1991), actress and singer, best known for her role as Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista in the television drama Pose ^[41]
• Woody Shaw (1944–1989), jazz trumpeter and composer ^{[10] [42]}
• Wayne Shorter (1933–2023, class of 1952), jazz composer and saxophonist ^{[10] [43]}
• Tyshawn Sorey (born 1980), drummer and composer ^[44]
• Craig A. Stanley (born 1955), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1996 to 2008, where represented the 28th Legislative District ^[45]
• Don Trousdell (1937–2017), graphic designer and artist, who entered the profession during the "Golden Age" of advertising ^[46]
• Sarah Vaughan (1924–1990), singer ^{[10] [47]}
• J. D. Williams (born 1978), actor ^[48]
• Charles D. Wrege (1924–2014), management historian and professor at Rutgers University ^[49]
• Larry Young (1940–1978), jazz organist ^{[42] [50]}

References

1. School data for Arts High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
2. Arts High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
3. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly , September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
4. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2012. Accessed August 27, 2012.
5. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly , August 16, 2010. Accessed March 17, 2011.
6. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly , September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
7. Arts High School 2013 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 7, 2016. "In September 1931, Arts High School, erected at a cost of $1.25 million dollars during the Depression, opened its doors and became the first public high school for visual and performing arts in the United States!"
8. Cook, Joan. "High Schools for the Arts, Hit Hard by Budget Cuts in the Cities, Beginning to Spring Up in the Suburbs", The New York Times , December 25, 1976. Accessed August 14, 2018. "There is also a $12 million appropriation for the acquisition and rehabilitation of a board headquarters and $8 million for the rehabilitation of and an addition to Arts High School."
9. via the Associated Press. "The Region; Newark Approves School Bond Issue", The New York Times , December 8, 1983. Accessed August 14, 2018.
10. A Brief History of Arts High, Newark Arts High School. Accessed December 15, 2014.
11. The Scope, Volume 15, Issue 2, Spring 2007.
12. League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
13. Home Page, Colonial Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive, as of November 19, 2010. Accessed December 15, 2014.
14. NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
15. History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
16. Administration, Arts High School. Accessed February 2, 2025.
17. About, TawathaAgee.com. Accessed December 31, 2021. "'I’m from Pittsburgh but I grew up in Newark, New Jersey, surrounded by music,' she says.... She later attended Arts High School in Newark and then Howard University, where she majored in music education."
18. Myers, Marc. "Interview: Paul Bacon (Part 1)", Jazz Wx, July 13, 2010. Accessed August 13, 2011. "JW: Where did you go to school? PB: I was lucky enough to attend Newark Arts High School, New Jersey's equivalent of Manhattan's prestigious High School of Music and Art. At Arts High, you could major in art, music or theater."
19. Amina Baraka, Queer Newark Oral History Project. Accessed February 8, 2022. "Sylvia grew up in Newark, New Jersey. She attended Arts High School where she majored in Art."
20. Celestial Being: The 80th Birthday Concert Celebrating Andy Bey, Birdland. Accessed December 14, 2020. "When Mr. Bey was 18 years old, he left the Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey in the middle of his senior year, and with his sisters, Geraldine and Salome, formed the trio Andy and the Bey Sisters."
21. McCall, Tris. "Sinatra at 100: Revisiting the voice of Hoboken", Inside Jersey , December 11, 2015. Accessed August 14, 2018. "On Watertown, a lost concept set about a small-town man abandoned by his wife, Sinatra collaborated with, among others, Four Seasons songwriter Bob Gaudio and arranger and pop bassist (and Newark Arts High graduate) Charles Calello."
22. Carter, Kevin L. "Talk Of Martin, But Not Martin \ Tisha Campbell's Situation With Martin Lawrence Is Off Limits — By Order Of The Court.", The Philadelphia Inquirer , May 15, 1997. Accessed August 18, 2008.
23. Armstrong, Steve (March 12, 1978). "Required: music lover, optimist, bit of a snob". The Record . Hackensack, NJ. p. D-5.
24. Home Page, Newark Arts High School. Accessed June 20, 2022. "Crystal Clarke: AHS 2011 in Sanditon"
25. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1986, p. 271. Accessed August 14, 2018. "Marion Crecco, Rep., Bloomfield Assemblywoman Crecco was born in Brooklyn on Jan. 25, 1930. A graduate of Arts High School, Newark, she also attended Montclair State College."
26. Dearinger, David B. "Leo Dee (1931–2004)", Traditional Fine Arts Organization. Accessed August 14, 2018. "In Newark, Joe Dee attended Arts High, where he met and studied with his first mentor, Seymour Landsman, who also became a friend.... Following graduation from high school in 1950, Dee enrolled in the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art -- the new name for the Fawcett Art School, where his grandmother had studied -- on a three-year scholarship."
27. Lustig, Jay. "Dream girl", The Star-Ledger , August 18, 2007. Accessed August 13, 2011. "From Newark's Arts High to a massive hit single, Kat DeLuna has done it her way. When it came time to apply to high schools, the No. 1 choice for Newark's Kat DeLuna was Arts High School. There was no No. 2 on her list.... Arts High did accept her, and she concentrated on vocal studies there. Representing Arts High, she was a finalist for The Star-Ledger Scholarship for the Performing Arts, in 2003."
28. "Old School Ties", The Miami Herald , January 10, 1985. Accessed August 18, 2008. "Singer Connie Francis, fresh from her Miami appearance in the Orange Bowl Parade, returned to her old high school in Newark, N.J., this week for the first time in three decades to talk to students and old teachers, saying, Nostalgia always feels good. Francis, 46, said the bathrooms were the only things that had changed at Arts High School, which she attended in 1951 and 1952."
29. "Conceptual artist Charles Gaines to receive 60th Edward MacDowell Medal", Monadnock Ledger-Transcript , April 9, 2019. Accessed November 20, 2019. "Gaines, who was born in 1944 in Charleston, South Carolina, and went to Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey, did undergraduate work at Jersey City State College."
30. Andrew Jacobs. "In Person; 'Been Around'", The New York Times , December 17, 2000. Accessed August 14, 2018. "'I've been hanging', he said, as a small crowd gathered, some of them long-lost acquaintances from the days when Mr. Glover hung downtown after class had let out at Newark Arts High School."
31. Savion Glover, The HistoryMakers. Accessed August 14, 2018. "In 1991, Glover graduated from Newark’s Arts High School."
32. Gordon, Lorraine. Alive at the Village Vanguard: My Life in and Out of Jazz Time, p. 288. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006. ISBN   9780634073991. Accessed December 19, 2019. "Then I went to Arts High on High Street. I really had artistic tendencies: I wanted to draw and paint.... I transferred to Weequahic High School (ahead of Philip Roth by about ten years), and ultimately graduated from there."
33. "Gibson Names Youth, 17, To Newark School Board", The New York Times , July 2, 1971. Accessed February 2, 2025. "Mr. Hamm will enter Princeton University in the fall on a scholarship to study political science.... He was city cross‐country and two‐mile champion and captain of the track and cross country teams at Arts High School, where he also served as Student Council president."
34. "Lawrence Hamm: 'The progressive movement must continue to push forward within the electoral arena'", Open Democracy, June 15, 2020. Accessed February 2, 2025. "Then, when I started arts high school, we had a freshman orientation."
35. Politi, Steve. "Politi: 'Friday Night Lights' is over, but Newark's Michael B. Jordan is just getting started", The Star-Ledger , July 15, 2011. Accessed August 13, 2011. "Jordan was 18 when I met him for a feature story (see below). He already had a role in one of my other all-time favorite shows, The Wire, as the heartbreaking Wallace. He was a senior at Arts, the star guard on a team filled with musicians and stage actors, a kid with a famous name already making a name for himself."
36. Herzog, Laura. "Creed star Michael B. Jordan gets key to hometown of Newark", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 18, 2015. Accessed August 14, 2018. "Raised in Newark, Jordan studied drama at the public magnet Newark Arts High School, where his mother is still a teacher, city officials said."
37. Corbett, Nic. "'70s singer Melba Moore returns to Newark Arts High School for first time since graduating decades earlier", The Star-Ledger , September 23, 2011. Accessed August 14, 2018.
38. "Tropical Music Sensation, Arts High School Graduate And Newark Native Frankie Negron Joins New Jersey's Campaign to Register to Vote State's Latino Community: Negron is State's First Tropical Music Celebrity to Join 'Be Powerful, Be Heard' Voting Initiative", New Jersey Attorney General press release dated September 2, 2005. Accessed August 13, 2011. "Arts High School graduate and Newark native Frank Negron filled the halls of his alma mater with sounds of Tropical music today as part of the New Jersey, 'Be Powerful, Be Heard' voter outreach and education initiative."
39. "Tribute To Judge Nicholas H. Politan by Hon. Bill Pascrell, Jr.", Congressional Record , p. 2884, Volume 146 (2000), Part 2, March 15, 2000. Accessed April 16, 2021. "Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to your attention the deeds of an important member of my district, Nicholas Politan of West Orange, New Jersey.... Judge Politan, a life-long resident of Essex County, is a graduate of Arts High School and Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey."
40. "Artist Enjoys Teaching And 'Gives His All'", Bernardsville News, November 24, 1977. Accessed January 8, 2018. "Teachers meant a great deal to Nicholas Reale of Hillside, from his beginnings in grammar school, to Arts High in Newark and on to Pratt Institute, where he learned a strong sense of design."
41. Silver, Jocelyn. "Talking Pose with Mother Mj Rodriguez", Paper , July 19, 2018. Accessed August 14, 2018. "When I was 14 years old, I was in high school [at New Jersey's Newark Arts High School] at the time, and we would hold mini fashion shows."
42. Jazz in the Garden: Woody Shaw Legacy Ensemble Archived November 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , Newark Museum. Accessed November 10, 2016. "Regarded as one of the great band leaders and innovators of his generation, Woody Shaw Jr. (1944–1989) was an infant when his parents moved to Newark, NJ. Considered one of 'Newark's own', the legendary trumpeter attended the famed Arts High in Newark, which was attended by many great jazz artists, such as Wayne Shorter, Sarah Vaughan, and organist Larry Young."
43. Pompilio, Natalie. "Celebrating one of Newark's own, a living jazz legend, at NJPAC", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, April 20, 2017. Accessed August 14, 2018. "Shorter, a graduate of Newark Arts High School, began his professional career more than six decades ago and shows no sign of slowing down."
44. Atmonavage, Joseph. "Everyone knew this Newark native was special. Now he's officially a genius", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 23, 2017. Accessed 14, 2018. "When talking about the newly minted MacArthur Foundation 'genius grant' winner and Newark native Tyshawn Sorey, Mark Gross likes to recount his first meeting with Sorey.... After graduating from Newark Arts High School, he went to William Paterson in Wayne, then received his doctoral of music from Columbia University, all while making and composing transcendent music with a plethora of instruments."
45. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey: 2004 Edition, p. 280. Lawyers Diary and Manual, LLC., 2004. ISBN   9781577411871. Accessed September 24, 2019. "Craig A. Stanley, Dem., Irvington.... He graduated from Arts High School where he was awarded an American Field Service Exchange Student Scholarship and completed his senior year in Switzerland."
46. Laufer, David Calvin. Dialogues with Creative Legends and Aha Moments in a Designer's Career, p. 228. New Riders, 2012. ISBN   9780133137996. Accessed August 14, 2018. "Don Trousdell (1937–), born in Newark, New Jersey, attended Arts High School, majoring in graphic design."
47. Hyman, Vicki. "New Sarah Vaughan stamp to be dedicated at free Newark concert", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, March 14, 2016. Accessed August 14, 2018. "Vaughan, who sang in the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Choir and attended Arts High School, joins the ranks of Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash, all part of the Postal Service's Music Icons stamp series."
48. JDWilliams Archived May 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , I Know I'm Somebody! The Musical. Accessed August 13, 2011. "JD Williams was born in Newark, New Jersey where he attended Arts High School. He is a renowned actor with starring roles in the HBO television programs Oz and The Wire under his belt."
49. "Charles D. Wrege Obituary", Academy of Management. Accessed August 14, 2018. "Charles D. Wrege, the Academy of Management's Historian and Archivist, passed away on Tuesday, August 19, 2014, at his home in Spring Lake, NJ. Chuck - to his friends and colleagues - was born on March 11, 1924, in Newark, NJ, where he attended Arts High."
50. Biography, Larry Young Music. Accessed February 5, 2020. "Larry McCoy attended Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey in 1954. While at Arts High, Larry was a bass singer in a vocal group called the Challengers, a member of the Operetta Club and the leader of his own jazz combo."

External links

• Arts High School website
• Newark Public Schools
• School Performance Report for Newark Arts High School , New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Newark Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics