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Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing & Visual Arts
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Manhattan NY 10026
Our Insights
What’s Special
Visual and performing arts
The Downside
Poor attendance, low test scores
Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts is a tiny combined middle and high school that offers programs in dance, theater, instrumental music, vocal music and visual arts (drawing and ceramics).
The school has long faced challenges and although there are signs of improvement, it still has a ways to go. Test scores in middle school are low and the high school graduation rate is below the citywide average. Attendance is poor; roughly one-third of the students miss a month or more of school.
The arts are surprisingly varied for such a small school, however, and students take arts classes every day of the week. The choir has a web page with videos and photos. Singers participate in annual performances at established art venues such as Carnegie Hall and the National Choral festival. Wadleigh student art has been displayed at the Schomburg Public Library. Several students have won the MOMA award for art and photography, according to the CEP (comprehensive educational plan).
Wadleigh (rhymes with “oddly”) is one of three public schools sharing a handsome landmark building that opened in 1903 as Wadleigh High School for Girls, New York’s first all-girl public high school. (Famous alumni include Jean Stapleton, Lillian Hellman and Isabel Sanford.) The all-girl school closed in 1954 and reopened in 1956 as a co-ed junior high.
Wadleigh graduates often go on to SUNY and CUNY schools, but not many graduates are ready for college-level work without taking remedial courses.
Admissions: Although students are supposed to audition, there has been room for all applicants in recent years. (Lydie Raschka, DOE and web reports, November 2018)
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School 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 2019 State ELA+Math Results Summary
From 2021 Middle School Directory
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
Who does this school serve?
From 2019-20 Demographic Snapshot
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
From 2020 School Directories
How does this school serve special populations?
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
Programs & Admissions
From the 2021 High School Directory
Program Description:
The Theater Arts program introduces students to the art of acting. Drama students will be exposed to a variety of techniques and tools in theater arts that will enhance their current level of proficiency. Students will study acting, directing, stage design and play-writing. In addition, students will participate in musical theater performances throughout the school year.
Program Description:
This program offers students the opportunity to study dance technique, composition, theory, history, and anatomy and physiology. The dance program exposes students to the fields of modern, ballet, tap, Afro-Caribbean, and jazz; as well as Pilates and Zena Rommett Floor Bar. Dance students participate in school performances throughout the school year and partner with several of our renowned partnerships.
Program Description:
This program offers students an introduction to the fundamental concepts of art. Students will explore elements of art and design through a variety of 2D and 3D media: drawing, painting, collage-making, watercolor, and computer graphics. Students will also have the opportunity to take electives in photography, ceramics, and AP Studio Art. Student art work is displayed at the Museum of Modern Art, Harlem State Office Building, Cooper Hewitt Museum, and Colgate Palmolive Headquarters.
Program Description:
This program introduces students to the fundamentals of instrumental playing. The program is also designed to extend the boundaries of the musically talented student. Students learn techniques in Jazz Band, Modern Band, and Concert Band. Strong emphasis is placed in the following areas: Music Theory, Composition, and Music History. Students participate in school performances throughout the school year and partner with several of our renowned partnerships.
Program Description:
This program exposes students to music theory, history, and voice techniques. Students perform in a variety of genres: classical, jazz, Broadway, gospel, and popular music. The Wadleigh Chamber Choir has performed at: Carnegie Hall, Apollo Theater, Barclay Center, Riverside Church, National Chorale Festival, Manhattan Borough Arts Festival, Songs of Solomon Gospel Choir, NYC All-City Chorus, NYC Summer Arts Institute, Metropolitan Opera, National Chorale, and Lincoln Center Jazz.
Academics
Language Courses
Spanish
Advanced Placement (AP) courses
AP English Language and Composition, AP 2-D Art and Design, AP English Literature and Composition, AP World History: Modern
Sports
Boys PSAL teams
Basketball
Girls PSAL teams
Basketball
Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools
Contact & Location
Location
, 
to 110th St-Central Park North; 
, 
to 116th St
Contact
Other Details
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