Weequahic High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Weequahic section of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is operated by the Newark Public Schools and is located at 279 Chancellor Avenue. The school is accredited until July 2031 and has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1935.Weequahic High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 22, 2024. The school was listed on the New Jersey Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.Weekly List Of Actions Taken On Properties: 4/5/2024 Through 4/12/2024, National Park Service. Accessed April 20, 2024New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Essex County, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office, updated March 25, 2024. Accessed April 21, 2024.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 592 students and 36.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 16.4:1. There were 390 students (65.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 27 (4.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Weequahic High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 325th-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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014" , New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 258th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 310th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical" , New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 24, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 305th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools" , New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 30, 2011. The school was ranked 308th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank" , New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 353rd out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 6 positions from the 2009 rank) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010 , Schooldigger.com. Accessed January 2, 2012.
History Construction of the high school was completed in 1932 and classes began in September 1933.Staff. "Heads School In Newark.; Herzberg Is Named Principal of New Weequahic High." , The New York Times, September 1, 1933. Accessed January 2, 2012. Max J. Herzberg was the first principal and remained as the leader of the high school for 18 years until his retirement in 1951.Staff. "Principal Ending 44 Years' Service; Max J. Herzberg Is Honored by 400 at the Weequahic High School in Newark Speakers at Meeting" , The New York Times, May 23, 1951. Accessed January 2, 2011. "Four hundred persons met tonight in the Weequahic High School auditorium here to honor Max J. Herzberg, the school's first principal."
The high school is home to the New Deal era mural "Enlightenment of Man" Includes photographs of Weequahic High School murals. painted by Michael Lenson who was director of New Jersey mural activities for the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).Falkenstein, Michelle. "Creating Murals With Paint And Purpose" , The New York Times, August 24, 2003. Accessed January 2, 2011. "Three of Mr. Lenson's New Jersey murals still exist, all in Newark -- the age-darkened History of the Enlightenment of Man at Weequahic High School, 279 Chancellor Avenue; the recently restored History of Newark in the council chambers at Newark City Hall, 920 Broad Street; and The Four Freedoms, an imposing work at the Fourteenth Avenue School, 186 14th Avenue."
The Weequahic section of Newark, which is the neighborhood sending students to the high school, was described as it was in the 1930s and early 1940s by Weequahic alumnus Philip Roth in The Plot Against America and in the miniseries based on the book.Kuperinsky, Amy. "In HBO's The Plot Against America, fascism and anti-Semitism descend upon 1940s Newark with a message for 2020", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, March 15, 2020. Accessed April 13, 2024. "Real-life Jersey haunts are also on display. The Levins buy their lox, herring and sable from Tabatchnick's Delicatessen. Weequahic High School and Chancellor Avenue School, both intimately familiar to Roth, are other local landmarks in the show."
Weequahic High School has an active alumni association that raises scholarship monies for the students.
The 2009 documentary film Heart of Stone is about Ron Stone, former principal of the high school and his efforts to work with students and further the mission of the high school. This documentary was presented at the Sundance Film Festival and has been shown in selected venues.Whitty, Stephen. "Weequahic, remembered and (maybe) reborn" , The Star-Ledger, March 11, 2009. Accessed January 2, 2012. "In 1960, Newark's Weequahic High School was known as one of the best in the country. By the time Principal Ron Stone took over in 2001, it was one of the worst. What had once been called a "school for strivers" was now seen as a battleground for gangs. What's changed since then and what hasn't and how people have tried to make a difference - despite some tragic disappointments -- is at the core of Heart of Stone, a new documentary."
Athletics The Weequahic High School IndiansWeequahic High School , New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Super Essex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Essex County and was established after a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021 Accessed January 10, 2017. Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the Hills Division of the Iron Hills Conference, which included schools in Essex, Morris and Union counties.Home Page, Iron Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 2, 2011. Accessed November 23, 2014. With 276 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.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020 , New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the National White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule" , The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season" , The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions." The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 700 to 884 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The school's athletic teams are called the Indians and its colors are orange and brown.