Misplaced Pages

The Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts is a four-year public high school in Paterson in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as part of the Paterson Public Schools. In October 1986, Rosa Parks honored the school family at the opening ceremony by cutting the ribbon. To date, it is the only high school in the United States named after her.

The school provides training in each of eight art majors: Commercial Art, Fine Art, Dance, Drama, Vocal, Instrumental, Piano, and Communication Arts (formerly known as Creative Writing). Communication Arts, however, is not recognized as a major, due to the fact that it is not considered a fine art anymore. Paterson residents in eighth grade can apply for admission to Rosa Parks School, with acceptance based on a competitive audition process, which may include a submission of an art or writing portfolio.

As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 252 students and 27.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.3:1. There were 132 students (52.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 2 (0.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 226th-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. The school had been ranked 254th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 123rd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 137th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 127th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.

Schooldigger.com ranked the school 284th out of 367 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (a decrease of 106 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).

Administration

The school's principal is Nicolette Thompson. Her administration team includes the vice principal.

Notable alumni

• Essence Carson (born 1986), basketball player for the New York Liberty.
• T. J. Hill (born 1980), plays for the Edmonton Eskimos.

References

1. ^ School data for Rosa L. Parks School Of Fine And Performing Arts, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
2. "Paterson officially welcomes Rosa Parks arts high school", Herald News, October 15, 1986. Accessed January 12, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "A unique high school was dedicated Tuesday to a black woman who proudly refused to give up her seat on a bus 31 years ago. A spirited crowd of students, teachers, administrators and guests witnessed the official naming of Rosa Parks Fine and Performing Arts High School. And drawing most of the attention was the school's namesake. A civil rights leader. Parks gained notoriety when, on Dec. 1, 1955, she said she was 'tired' and refused to give up her seat to a white man."
3. About Rosa L. Parks School!, Rosa L. Parks School of Fine & Performing Arts. Accessed August 1, 2008.
4. Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
5. Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 19, 2012.
6. Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed December 30, 2011.
7. "Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
8. New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed December 30, 2011.
9. Home Page, Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts. Accessed February 4, 2024.
10. Ogle, Mike. "For Carson and Liberty, Excitement Is Mutual", The New York Times, April 22, 2008. Accessed December 30, 2011. "Carson attended high school at the Rosa Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts but competed athletically at Eastside, where she was also an all-state volleyball player and a state champion in the 400 meters."
11. Staff. "Als linebacker T.J. Hill makes sweet music on the field; It isn't always the athlete or the leading man who gets the girl. Sometimes that honour goes to the saxophone player in the high school jazz band.", Montreal Gazette, August 11, 2008. Accessed December 30, 2011. "Education, athletics and music proved to be his outlets at Rosa Parks School, a performing arts institution. He was named the school's top student for the 1997-98 academic year. Although Hill wasn't physically big, he played basketball, baseball and football in school, and was the captain of each team. He also played saxophone for eight years."

External links

• School website
• Paterson Public Schools
• School Performance Report for Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts, New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Paterson Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics

• 1986 establishments in New Jersey
• Educational institutions established in 1986
• Education in Paterson, New Jersey
• Public high schools in Passaic County, New Jersey