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Our Insights

What’s Special

Daily arts instruction for all students

The Downside

Low parent involvement

Lower Manhattan Arts Academy (LoMA) opened in 2005 with the mission of promoting academics through daily immersion in the arts. Located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the school has developed strong partnerships with local arts and social service organizations to help provide students with lots of arts enrichment and academic support.

Ninth graders rotate through 10 weeks each of drama, music, dance and visual arts. Students then choose a major to pursue in grades 10 through 12. The Henry Street Settlement offers an extensive after school arts program. Students perform in a play in the fall and a musical in the spring.

Twelfth graders complete an internship at organizations such as the Abrons Arts Center, The Public Theater and Harlem Hospital. Students attend theater, music and dance performances and visit museums and cultural institutions.

One student wrote a play that was performed at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway; another choreographed a dance that performed with American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House, according the school’s yearly plan.

It’s a safe school where students gets lots of attention from adults. “There are no fights” and “students treat each other with respect, tolerance, and friendship,” according to an educator who visited for the school’s Quality Review. “Students said they feel welcome and that they can express themselves without fear of judgment or bullying.”

Students take a regular academic program that includes four years of English, history, science and math. LoMA has four full-time and three part-time counsellors, a very high number for a small school. Daily, student volunteers from New York University provide tutoring.

LoMA is one of five small, high schools housed in the Seward Park Campus building. All Seward Campus schools share use of the auditorium, gymnasium, cardio and weight room, cafeteria, swimming pool and library. There are no metal detectors.

A downside: Parent involvement is low, according to school surveys. While most students graduate on time, many must take remedial classes when they go to college.   

Special education: Thirty percent of students have special needs. Nearly half the classes are team-taught ICT (Integrated Collaboratie Teaching) classes, with two teachers. .(Clara Hemphill, DOE data and web reports, October, 2018)

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
74%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
79%
Average daily attendance
 
79%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
66%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
86%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achieve the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
93%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

316
Number of students
Citywide Average is 599

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
82%
Students with disabilities
 
28%
Multilingual learners
 
5%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
1%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
88%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
45%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
28%
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
86%
157
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 157

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
50%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2021-22 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2021 Guidance Counselor Report, and this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Advanced Courses

Which students have access to advanced courses at this school? Learn more

Calculus

Not offered in 2019-20

Computer Science

Not offered in 2019-20

Physics

Not offered in 2019-20

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2019-20

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
47%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
34%

Music

 
46%
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2021-22 school year provided by the New York State Education Department, brought to you by

College Readiness

School
Citywide
How many students graduate with test scores high enough to enroll at CUNY without remedial help?
 
58%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
81%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
69%
From the 2020-21 and 2021-22 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
50%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2024 High School Directory

Lower Manhattan Arts Academy (M05R)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

All freshmen complete a one year rotation of the four arts before choosing a major that they focus on for their final three years. As a major of visual arts, dance, drama or music they study the technique and history of their art in social context before participating in a senior internship. Every student takes part in several performances/gallery exhibits prior to graduation. These have taken place at the Whitney, Metropolitan Opera House, Broadway stages and professional recording studios.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

Spanish

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP Statistics, Chemistry (Advanced Science), Social Studies (Advanced Placement), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)

Boys PSAL teams

Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Handball, Volleyball, Wrestling

Girls PSAL teams

Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Softball, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling

Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

350 Grand Street
Manhattan NY 10002

Trains: B Line, D Line to Grand St; F Line, J Line, M Line, Z Line to Delancey St

Buses: B39, M1, M103, M14A-SBS, M14D-SBS, M15, M15-SBS, M21, M22, M9


Contact

Principal: Joel Lowy

Parent Coordinator: Taisha Perez

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Seward Park Educational Campus with four other schools

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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