Discover your best options
Lower Manhattan Arts Academy
Share this school
Manhattan NY
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 Collaborative Teaching) classes, with two teachers. .
Admissions: Founding Principal John Wenk, who taught at the Professional Performing Arts School and Seward Park High School, believes all students should study art, whatever their background or talents. The school doesn’t require an audition and all students are welcome. Students are admitted according to the educational option formula designed to ensure a mix of students of different academic abilities. (Clara Hemphill, DOE data and web reports, October, 2018)
Read moreSchool Stats
Is this school safe and well-run?
From 2018-19 NYC School Survey
From 2017-18 NY State Report Card
From this school's most recent Quality Review Report
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
How do students perform academically?
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
Who does this school serve?
From 2019-20 Demographic Snapshot
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
How does this school serve special populations?
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
Programs & Admissions
From the 2021 High School Directory
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.
Academics
Language Courses
Spanish
Advanced Placement (AP) courses
AP English Literature and Composition, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP U.S. Government and Politics
Sports
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
Contact & Location
Location
Contact
Other Details
You may also like …
Bronx High School of Science, The
Bronx, NY
Port Richmond High School
Staten Island, NY
Comments