Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1928.
Newark Academy is one of several pre-Revolutionary War schools still operating in the United States and is considered the seventh-oldest private school in the country and the second-oldest day school in the state of New Jersey (behind Rutgers Preparatory School). The Academy was founded in 1774 by Alexander MacWhorter, a leading cleric and advisor to George Washington, and was located on Market Street in Downtown Newark. Temporarily closed after being burned by the British during the Revolutionary War, the school reopened in new quarters in 1792. In 1802, the Academy opened a separate division for girls, but the innovative program was closed in 1859. After 1929, it moved to First Street in the Roseville section of Newark. Finally, in 1964, the Academy moved from Newark to its current location, a 68-acre (280,000Â m2) campus in Livingston, and became fully co-educational in 1971.
As of the 2015-16 school year, the school had an enrollment of 585 students and 81.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentâ€"teacher ratio of 7.2:1. The school's student body was 56.9% White, 24.8% Asian, 7.0% Black, 3.3% Hispanic, 0.3% Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander and 7.7% two or more races.
According to the 2012 High School Challenge in The Washington Post, Newark Academy ranked 6th nationwide, and 1st in New Jersey. In their 2018 rankings of private High Schools, Niche ranked Newark Academy second in New Jersey. It received an A+ for teachers, academics, clubs & activities, and college prep. Niche ranked it as the seventh best private high school in the New York City area.
Mission and motto
I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues - Newark Academy Essentially Ellington 2018 - Newark Academy's "Chameleon" (Livingston, NJ) Essentially Ellington 2018 Directed by Julius Tolentino Featuring Michelle Lee (bari saxophone), Charles Pan ...
The school's mission statement is as follows:
Newark Academy will contribute to the world engaged individuals instilled with a passion for learning, a standard of excellence, and a generosity of spirit. The school's motto is Ad lumen ("toward the light").
Campus
Newark Academy is located on a 68-acre (280,000Â m2) campus in northern New Jersey.
The Hawkes Memorial Library, opened in 1974, houses a 23,000-volume collection, as well as a vast periodical and microfilm collection.
The Elizabeth B. McGraw Arts Center, which opened in 1992, contains three studio art classrooms (ceramics, drawing, and painting), a darkroom, a band/orchestra room, choral room, dance studio, a "black box" theater and an art gallery.
The Morris Interactive Learning Center, opened in 1995, houses 18 iMac computers, a multimedia system (interactive whiteboard and projector, Blu-ray DVD system), and scanners and printers for student and faculty use.
The Geochron (Geochron Global Time Indicator), which was purchased in 2004, is located in the main entrance hall, and shows at any given moment where it is light and dark in the world.
The William E. and Carol G. Simon Family Field House, which opened in 2001. This 57,000-square-foot (5,300Â m2) athletic center houses a gymnasium with three basketball courts, a six-lane pool with spectator area, a four-lane track and a state-of-the-art fitness center. Wrestling and fencing gyms are located in the main building.
The Upper School Academic Center opened in the fall of 2012 and encompasses 18,500-square feet of new construction and 2,500-square feet of renovated space and includes 13 classrooms, two science labs, a multi-purpose area, several small-group collaborative learning spaces and a commons area.
The most recent addition is the Wilf Middle School wing, which houses two floors of classrooms, laboratories, offices and common spaces that accommodate the Middle School teachers and students. Classrooms have Apple TV technology and SmartBoards, which have since been implemented unilaterally throughout the school. During the construction of the new middle school, Newark Academy also renovated all of the sciences labs, starting with the second floor natural science and chemistry rooms, and moving on to the first floor physical science room. These rooms, as well as the laboratories in the middle school, have been endowed with state-of-the art lab equipment.
There are plans to build a new auditorium in the next few years, which would be equipped with better theater technology, have more seating, and be better structured for performances.
Newark Academy's outdoor facilities include courtyards with seating areas, two baseball diamonds, a softball field, an all-weather track, a field hockey area, two lacrosse and soccer fields, two football fields, one basketball half court, a cross country course and 10 tennis courts.
Newark Academy's campus is bordered by woods along the Passaic River. In September 2002, the school marked the opening of The Carol J. Heaney Nature Trail, a 2.5-mile (4.0Â km) system of hiking trails and outdoor classrooms.
The school has embarked on initiatives to minimizing its impact on the environment. Current initiatives include increased recycling efforts, the introduction of energy-efficient lighting, exploration of renewable energy options, Passaic River clean-up and maintenance of a campus vegetable garden.
Faculty and administration
Newark Academy's faculty has an average of 17.5 years teaching experience, and 85 percent of the 78 teachers and administrators have advanced degrees; nine have earned doctorate degrees. All faculty members are experts in their fields. Teachers are available to meet regularly with their students, and the students thrive in this environment where collaboration is not only allowed for, but encouraged.
In 2007, Donald M. Austin was appointed as the 49th Head of School for Newark Academy. He previously served as resident director for School Year Abroad in Rennes, France. He earned an undergraduate degree in English and French from Georgetown University, and a master's of philosophy in French studies from New York University.
Austin's team of administrators includes Richard DiBianca, Ph.D., upper school principal; Tom Ashburn, middle school principal; Pegeen Galvin, dean of students; and Frederick Von Rollenhagen, dean of faculty.
Most notable among the staff at Newark Academy is Blackwood Parlin. Mr. Parlin instructed at Newark Academy for over 50 years and currently serves as the school's archivist.
Student body
As of the 2017â€"18 school year, Newark Academy had students from 80 communities in grades 6â€"12. There were 418 students in the upper school and 181 students in middle school. Ethnic minority students comprise 45% of the student population. International students hail from Eritrea, India, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. More than $2 million in financial aid is rewarded annually to families with demonstrated need. 13% of students receive financial aid. The average financial aid awarded is $23,000
Class of 2016
The 2016 graduating class included 101 students, including 32 National Merit Commended Scholars and 6 Semi-Finalists, 3 Hispanic Scholars and 39 graduates who earned IB Diplomas.
Class of 2018
The 2018 graduating class saw 101 students, including 26 National Merit Scholars and 35 IB diploma recipients. Of the national merit scholars, 17 commended scholars and 9 semi-finalists. There were 3 Hispanic Scholars. Approximately 90 percent of the students of the Class of 2018 took at least one IB course.
Academics
Graduation Requirements
In order to graduate students must complete four years of English, three years of humanities, three years of mathematics, three years of laboratory science, proficiency in a second language (level 3), one year of arts, three June Terms, and immersion trip, 40 hours of community service, and a senior project.
Academic Offerings
Newark Academy offers a wide variety of classes across disciplines and at many different levels. Newark Academy offers many IB and AP classes, but also has Non-IB or AP college level classes in Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Non-Euclidean Geometry, and Number Theory.
Newark Academy is part of the Malone Schools Online Network, a group of elite independent schools across the countries that offer classes online via webcam in conjunction with one other, run by teachers at the different schools. MSON offers many college level and elective classes such as "Are We Rome?," "Creative Writing in the Digital Age" and "Positive Psychology."
Newark Academy also offers an Independent Studies program for seniors. Seniors may elect to take a self-designed full-year course of a topic of their choosing. Students work with a faculty advisor, and often one other student who helped design the course, throughout the year researching the topic at hand and culminating in a final project. Courses in the past have focused on feminism, American modern judicial history, amongst other subjects.
Advanced curricula
Newark Academy is the only independent school in New Jersey that offers both the Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate Diploma (I.B.) programs.
Advanced Placement
The College Board's Advanced Placement Program (AP) offers high school students the opportunity to do college-level work. Successful achievement on the culminating exams may result in credit or advanced placement upon matriculation to college. Newark Academy offers coursework leading to 21 AP exams in all five academic disciplines.
International Baccalaureate
In 1991, Newark Academy became the first school in New Jersey to grant the International Baccalaureate diploma. The I.B. diploma is awarded following successful completion of a rigorous two-year curriculum. There are 74 members of the Class of 2017 and Class of 2018 who were pursuing the full I.B. diploma, and approximately 95% of the Class of 2017 is enrolled in at least one I.B. course.
College Placement
The most frequently attended colleges for the graduating classes of 2014-2017 are in order: The University of Pennsylvania, Washington University in St. Louis, New York University, Tulane University, the University of Michigan, Emory University, Lehigh University, Columbia University, Syracuse University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, and George Washington University, with at least nine students attending each.
Athletics
The Newark Academy Minutemen compete in the Super Essex Conference, which includes public and private high schools in Essex County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had previously participated in the Colonial Hills Conference which included public and parochial high schools covering Essex County, Morris County and Somerset County in west Central Jersey.
Newark Academy offers a total of 23 sports programs over the course of the school year.
- Fall sports: men's and women's soccer, field hockey, women's tennis, men's football, women's volleyball, and men's and women's cross country running.
- Winter sports: men's and women's fencing, swimming and basketball, men's wrestling
- Spring sports: golf, baseball, softball, men's and women's lacrosse and track & field, men's tennis.
Middle School students are required to participate in at least one sport each season, although interscholastic competition is not compulsory. Newark Academy's Men's and Women's Tennis programs, coached by William "Arky" Crook, The Star-Ledger Coach of the Decade for the 1990s, have enjoyed success at the state level for years. Students in the Upper School are not required to play a sport but approximately 86% choose to do so.
From 1984 to 1989, Newark Academy was the site of the Livingston Open, a Grand Prix tennis circuit tournament. The Grand Prix was the only professional circuit from 1985 until it was succeeded by the ATP Tour in 1990. The tournament was won by Andre Agassi in 1988, earning him the seventh title in his career.
Publications
Currently, Newark Academy has four publications: the student newspaper, "The Minuteman" in publication since 1941; the newspaper's annual magazine "Minuteman Life"; the yearbook, "The Polymnian"; and the literary magazine, "Prisms". Newark Academy also publishes an alumni magazine, "Lumen", twice a year.
Notable alumni
- Ryan Adeleye (born 1987), Israeli-American professional association football (soccer) player.
- Jennifer Choe Groves (born 1969, class of 1987), Federal Judge of the United States Court of International Trade.
- Samuel S. Coursen (1926â€"1950, Class of 1945), posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor during the Korean War.
- Lanny Davis (born 1945), lawyer, consultant, lobbyist, author and television commentator, who served in both the Clinton and Bush administrations.
- Jason Diamond (born 1970), award-winning plastic surgeon featured on the television show Dr. 90210.
- Leo M. Gordon (born 1952), Justice of the United States Court of International Trade.
- Jared Gilman (born 1998), actor who appeared in the film Moonrise Kingdom.
- Justin Gimelstob (born 1977), ATP professional tennis player.
- Matt Gutman (born 1977), ABC News correspondent.
- Alan B. Handler (born 1931), New Jersey Supreme Court Justice from 1977 until 1999.
- Maya Hayes (born 1992), soccer player for Sky Blue Football Club
- Chris Jacobs (born 1964), swimming medalist at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
- Ernest Lester Jones (1876â€"1929), head of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1914 until his death.
- Stacey Kent (born 1965), jazz singer.
- Thomas N. McCarter (1867â€"1955), CEO of PSE&G Corporation, developer of Penn Station, and original benefactor of the McCarter Theatre in Princeton.
- Akshay Oberoi (born 1985), Bollywood actor who made his film debut in the 2010 film Isi Life Mein.
- James Parker (1854â€"1934), Major General in the United States Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his role in the Philippineâ€"American War during 1899.
- Daniel Quillen (1940â€"2011), mathematician and Fields Medal recipient in 1978 for his work on algebraic K-theory.
- William E. Simon (1927â€"2000), 63rd Secretary of the Treasury under Richard Nixon.
- Gus Stager (born c. 1927), coach of 1960 U.S. Olympic swim team; swimming coach at University of Michigan for 25 years.
- Bo Sullivan (1937-2000), chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and a Republican Party politician who sought the nomination for Governor of New Jersey in the 1981 primary.
- Richard Thaler (born 1945, class of 1963), economist specializing in behavioral finance and Nobel Prize recipient in 2017 for his contributions to the field.
- Franklin Van Antwerpen (born 1941, class of 1960), Senior United States Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
References
External links
- Official website
- Data for Newark Academy, National Center for Education Statistics
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