East Side High School - Logo

[NEWARK, NJ, January 13, 2022] “As we begin to bring our series of comprehensive high schools to a close today, we feature our fifth comprehensive high school, East Side High School, the largest school in Newark,” said Superintendent León.

As the largest bilingual comprehensive high school in Newark, we represent a mosaic of cultural diversity, where the uniqueness and ultimate worth of each individual is an essential ingredient in our varied curriculum. Students and staff alike are encouraged to develop their abilities in a manner most conducive to meeting the challenges and opportunities of an ever-changing and demanding world.

“East Side High School is a comprehensive high school with a Magnet Touch,” said Dr. Santos, Principal and graduate of East Side. He added, “we provide a nurturing environment that fosters educational opportunities for students to develop into self-reliant leaders and contributing members of a diverse society in the 21st century.”

“I have been very pleased with the experience of Essex County College and the opportunities it provides me along with the classes here at East Side,” said Justin Sigcho, senior at East Side. “Because of these dual enrollment classes, I have a 4.2 GPA. I love how I can still participate in these college classes and play sports after the program.”

Here is a focus on East Side High School:

Academics and College & Career Readiness

  • East Side High School/ Essex County College Early Program
  • MSU Red Hawks Rising Dual Enrollment Program
  • NJIT Forensic Science Dual Enrollment Course
  • MSU Future College Graduate Dual Enrollment Courses
  • International Baccalaureate Program
  • Honors and AP course menu:
    • East Side Opportunity Program (ESOP) is the Honors Program, offering an honors track in ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies for 9-12 grade students.
    • Advanced Placement selection of 13 AP courses

Premier Academies

  • Teacher Academy - Our signature academy, “The Teacher Academy” and its Newark Board of Education (NBOE) sister school University High School have continued to work together since the 2019-2020 school year to ensure that Newark has a pathway for those children with a passion for teaching to become educators and advocates for social justice. The teacher academy is proud of its industry partner the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and its post-secondary institution partner Montclair State University (MSU) who meet monthly to reach tangible goals that lay out a cohesive pathway for students to become teachers and eventually return to Newark as an employee. Currently, the start of dual enrollment courses is projected for the Spring of 2022. Students enrolled in their third year of the academy will start taking dual enrollment courses in their junior year of high school. Each year offers a different Work Based Learning (WBL) experience in another school while interning and participating in Big Brother/Big Sister programming for k-1st grade students within the district.
  • The Graphic Design Academy - ESHS and its NBOE sister schools Newark Vocational, Arts and Technology HS have continued to work together since the 2019/2020 school year to ensure that Newark has a pathway for those children with a passion for graphic design and industry opportunities. We are proud of its industry partner the Hygrade Business and Business Master Form and its post-secondary institution partner Rutgers and Kean University who meet in order to reach tangible goals that lay out a cohesive pathway for students to become aspiring graphic designers. Educational stakeholders like the City of Newark Public Library are to ensure partnerships are fostered for student designs to be proudly displayed in person.
  • The Video/Film Academy - ESHS and its NBOE sister school Technology High School have continued to work together since the 2019/2020 school year to ensure that Newark has a pathway for those children with a passion for Film and Video and industry opportunities. The Film and Video academy is proud of its industry partner the Slate and DreamPlay and its post-secondary institution partner Essex County College who meet in order to reach tangible goals that lay out a cohesive pathway for students to become aspiring Film and Video professionals.
    Currently, the start of dual enrollment courses is projected for the Fall of the 2021/2022 school year. Students enrolled in their third year of the academy will have an opportunity for dual enrollment courses. The focus of the pathway is employability skills, work-based learning skills, career, and technical expertise.
  • Visual Performing Arts Academy - ESHS has developed from short theatrical demonstrations to Broadway level performances. In conjunction with the Victoria Foundation and their continued support this will allow ESHS to grow its Broadway program. ESHS has also partnered with industry partners such as: May the Rhythm Be With You; Fox Voice Studios; Formula 51; New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC); Daryl L. Stewart Productions.
    To continue to create sustainable programming the infrastructure so that the program can reach its full potential and beyond, a combination of assessment tools will be used to evaluate and measure student’s growth and achievement towards the identified goals: NAER Pre and Post surveys for students; Renew the Arts tools to measure school arts education capacity; content-specific assessments in each art discipline to measure competency in arts standards. Performance attendance and satisfaction will be measured by attendance numbers, surveys, and audience testimonials.
  • Internship Academy at Big Picture - East Side High School currently supports close to 200 students in “virtual” internships through the internship academy of Big Pig Picture.
    The purpose of our program is to ensure our students' passion meets purpose and even in the virtual world it is still possible to network while exploring different professional fields.
    All students are supported by an advisor and soft skills curriculum while exploring professional possibilities every Wednesday during the school day.
    Our freshmen and sophomore students participate in our “Internship Bootcamp” which supports students with soft/real world skills to interview, resume development, emotional intelligence, and professionalism. Students present in a midterm exhibition/capstone of their experience and declare for one of the 15 sites that they will explore in more detail. This second half of the school year focuses the students in a more specific skill based internship based on their interest inventory. These sites vary from internships in law, business, healthcare, art, coding, urban farming ect…
    Our juniors and seniors pair with our Newark Youth Career Pathways (NYCP) partners to participate in paid internships based on their personal interest inventories. Students virtually meet with their mentors to better understand the professional adjustments made due to Covid and the skills and pathways needed to be successful in these fields.
    All our students present at the end of the year a project based on the skills from their internships and how this experience can be used to better the students' visibility and post-secondary plan. Each project is community based and connected to our social justice advisory curriculum.
  • MSU Red Hawks Rising Dual Enrollment Program

Co-Curricular Programs

  • Athletics: Fall Cheer; Cross Country Boys; Cross Country Girls; Fall Dance; Football; Soccer Boys; Soccer Girls; Tennis Girls; Volleyball Girls; Basketball Boys; Basketball Girls; Bowling Boys; Bowling Girls; Winter Cheer; Winter Dance; Ice Hockey Boys; Ice Hockey Girls; Indoor Track Boys; Indoor Track Girls; Swimming Boys; Swimming Girls; Wrestling Boys; Wrestling Girls; Baseball; Golf Boys; Golf Girls; Lacrosse Boys; Lacrosse Girls; Outdoor Track Boys; Outdoor Track Girls; Softball; Tennis Boys; Volleyball Boys; Flag Football Girls
  • Clubs: Amnesty; Chess Club; Choir ; Civics Club; Coding Club; Comic Book Club; Debate Team; Future Bilingual Leaders Club; Future Teachers of America; Gay Straight Alliance; Green Side; Jazz Band Club; Literary Magazine; Model UN; National Honor Society; Newspaper Club; Oral History of ESHS / Historical Society ; Pan African American Club; Photography Club; Robotics Club; Sign Language; Spanish / Portuguese Honor Society; Spanish Club; Spanish Magazine; Student Council; The Portuguese Club Os Academicos; The Portuguese Literary Magazine; World Heritage Club; Yearbook

Recognitions

Social, Emotional, and Mental Health

  • SKY SCHOOLS Partnership: Free APP for students, Daily meditation opportunities, sponsors programs for faculty and students
  • LOTUS YOGA Partnership: Lotus Yoga works with select Physical Education classes.
  • SEL Committee for faculty and students

Alumni

  • Mike Barca, Soccer Player in the North American, American, and Major Indoor Leagues
  • Heinie Benkert, New York Giants
  • Harry L. Ettlinger, one of the Monuments Men during World War II whose efforts were portrayed on film in The Monuments Men
  • Randy Foye, Denver Nuggets
  • Frank Grant, Washington Redskins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Football Teams
  • Golden E. Johnson, first African American woman to serve as Newark Municipal Court Judge
  • Honey Lott, New York Black Yankees
  • Dina Matos, former First Lady of New Jersey
  • Charles Anthony Micchelli, Mathematician
  • Telmo Pires, professional soccer player
  • Camille Sabie, Women's World Games 2 x Gold Medalist, 1 Bronze Medal
  • David Smukler, Philadelphia Eagles
  • Sarah Vaughan, Jazz Singer
  • Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat
  • And, a super long list of simply incredible people.