High School in the Spotlight: Arts High School

 

Established in 1931, Arts High School, located in Newark, New Jersey, has the distinction of being the first U.S. Magnet High School dedicated to the arts and to this day serves as a secondary school for grades 9 thru 12. It is located in the University Heights area of Newark immediately adjacent to a burgeoning cultural and university center. The plethora of resources from the immediate community and the rich metropolitan area are woven into the fiber of Arts High School.

Our student population is over 600 and we have a faculty of approximately forty teachers. Our students are active in the immediate community and participate in state, regional, and national competitions in music, art, and drama. They are affiliated with NJPAC, the Newark Museum, City Without Walls Gallery, Aljira Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Paper Mill Playhouse, the Colonial Symphony, the Morrison Museum, the Newark Youth Orchestra, the New Jersey Youth Orchestra, as well as our college and university neighbors who offer support and supplemental programs that support academic skills.

Arts High offers instruction in Dance, Drama, Music, TV Production, Visual Arts as well as in other high school subjects.

The Drama Department offers a professional training program for students talented in acting. The purpose is to develop our students' abilities in the theatrical arts and to enhance skills and techniques that will, ultimately, provide the young actor with working experiences. Drama training includes courses in acting, voice and diction, physical techniques, theater history, and script analysis. These classes prepare students for professional careers in stage, film, and television, as well as entrance into college, university, and conservatory departments of Theatre, Speech, and Communications.

The rehearsal/performance process is an essential part of our training program and students are required to participate in after-school activities in their major.

Notable graduates of our Drama program include Savion Glover, Michael Jordan, Tisha Campbell, Taurean Blaque, Shakeem Evans, Hasan Manning, Sharif Pugh, and Darnell Williams.

Learn more about other subjects offered at Arts High School, click here. 

To learn more about Arts High School, click here.