Discover your best options
Fordham High School for the Arts
Share this school
Bronx NY
Our Insights
What’s Special
Arts, internships
The Downside
Teacher turnover is high.
Fordham High School for the Arts is a small, close-knit school with strong academics and a rich arts program. Music, dance, drama and visual arts take place during the regular school day. Instrumental music students compose their own jazz numbers and perform them at Lehman College with teachers from Carnegie Hall and the Juilliard School. Drama students memorize monologues by playwright August Wilson. Juniors and seniors may apply for paid internships with arts and cultural organizations such as Roundabout Theatre Company, Vital Theatre and New York Theatre Workshop.
While most kids enter 9th grade with reading scores below grade level, teachers do a good job of ensuring that they graduate on time and are prepared for college-level work, according to school progress reports. The school received a rating of “well developed,” the highest rating, on the city’s quality review. Students seem happy: On school surveys, most say they feel safe and that the programs, classes and activities encourage them to develop talents outside of academics.
Fordham also offers two CTE (career and technical education) programs that combine traditional coursework with professional training in a trade. Music Production/Engineering includes skills such as composition and audio recording. Technical Theater participants study lighting, electricity, carpentry and costume design.
Teachers are less experienced here than at other schools. Principal Iris Blige says finding good teachers with staying power is difficult in the Bronx, just as it is across the city. Teacher turnover is significantly higher than average, according to state data from 2013-2014, the most recently available.
Fordham is one of seven schools housed in the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Campus.
ADMISSIONS: Students are admitted by audition. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, DOE data, interview, February 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:
Students train in Dance, Vocal, Instrumental Music, Visual Art, CTE Drama and the only school in the Bronx offering a CTE program in Technical Theater, to gain pre-professional and hands-on experience in a 4-year sequence leading students to earn a Chancellor's Arts Endorsed Diploma. Multiple performance and exhibition opportunities provide a platform for our scholars to introduce themselves to the professional arts world. All arts studios are equipped with modern-day technology and resources.
Academics
Language Courses
Spanish
Advanced Placement (AP) courses
AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Science Principles, AP English Language and Composition, AP Seminar, AP Drawing, AP English Literature and Composition, AP 2-D Art and Design, AP U.S. Government and Politics
Sports
Boys PSAL teams
Baseball, Basketball, Swimming, Volleyball
Girls PSAL teams
Basketball, Cross Country, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Softball, Volleyball
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