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 seventh graders of William Brown Academy were housed there as that school's facility was being constructed.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 611 students and 51.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.9:1. There were 380 students (62.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 37 (6.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Arts High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. 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.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 27, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 154th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 17, 2011. The school was ranked 186th 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.
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.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!"
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.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."
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.via the Associated Press. "The Region; Newark Approves School Bond Issue", The New York Times, December 8, 1983. Accessed August 14, 2018. 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.A Brief History of Arts High, Newark Arts High School. Accessed December 15, 2014.
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?"The Scope, Volume 15, Issue 2, Spring 2007.
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.
Athletics The Arts High School JaguarsArts High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. 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).League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had competed as part of the Colonial Hills Conference.Home Page, Colonial Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive, as of November 19, 2010. Accessed December 15, 2014. 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.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
Sports offered include volleyball, basketball, softball and baseball.
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.History of the NJSIAA Indoor Relay Championships , New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
Administration The principal is Regina Sharpe. Her core administration team includes the vice principal.Administration, Arts High School. Accessed February 2, 2025.
Notable alumni
Tawatha Agee (born 1954), background singer and songwriter, who was the lead singer of the soul/R&B band MtumeAbout, 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." Paul Bacon (1923–2015), graphic designer best known for his work on book jackets and album coversMyers, 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." Amina Baraka (born 1942 as Sylvia Robinson), poet, actress, author, community organizer, singer, dancer and activistAmina 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." Andy Bey (born 1939), jazz singer and pianistCelestial 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." Charles Calello (born 1938), musical directorMcCall, 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." Tisha Campbell-Martin (born 1968), actressCarter, 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. John-Michael Caprio (1947–1997), conductor Crystal Clarke (born , 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 SanditonHome Page, Newark Arts High School. Accessed June 20, 2022. "Crystal Clarke: AHS 2011 in Sanditon" Willie Cole (born 1955), contemporary sculptor, printer, and conceptual and visual artistBischoff, Dan. "Willie Cole has just the right stuff", The Star-Ledger, March 12, 2006. Accessed March 6, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "Willie moved with his mother and sister into his grandmother's house in Newark, where he became the only man in a house full of women. He went to Arts High School, and ultimately got a BFA from the School for Visual Arts in Manhattan, and for years he did pastels of street dogs." Marion Crecco (1930–2015), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1986 to 2002Manual 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." Leo Dee (1931–2004), photographer / painterDearinger, 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." Kat DeLuna (born 1987), singer and dancerLustig, 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." Connie Francis (1937-2025), singer"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." Charles Gaines (born 1944), conceptual artist and educator at California Institute of the Arts"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."