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Fordham High School for the Arts

Grades: 9-12
Staff Pick for Special Ed

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.

(Lydie Raschka, web reports, DOE data, interview, February 2018)

School Stats

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
95%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
90%
Average daily attendance
 
92%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
22%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
89%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achive the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
100%
From the 2020-21 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

396
Number of students
624 Citywide Average

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
80%
Students with disabilities
 
24%
Multilingual learners
 
4%
From the 2020-21 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?
 
96%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
11%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
11%
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?
 
96%
1.0
Years of principal experience at this school
7 Citywide Average
115
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
157 Citywide Average

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
52%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2020-21 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 NY State Report Card, 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

 
4%

Computer Science

 
14%

Physics

 
10%

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2019-20

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
48%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
18%

Music

 
71%
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2019-20 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?
 
72%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
95%
From the 2020-21 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
78%
From the 2020-21 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
How many graduates of this school received Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) funding to attend a NYS college?
 
33%
How many of those TAP recipients made it through college? Learn more
From unpublished, anonymized student-level data for the class of 2014 provided by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) in coordination with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), brought to you by
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2021 High School Directory

Fordham High School for the Arts

Admissions Method: Audition

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.

Offerings

From the 2021 High School Directory

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

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

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

500 East Fordham Road
Bronx NY 10458

Trains: B Line, D Line to Fordham Rd

Buses: Bx1, Bx12, Bx12-SBS, Bx15, Bx17, Bx19, Bx2, Bx22, Bx28, Bx34, Bx38, Bx41, Bx41-SBS, Bx9, BxM4


Contact

Principal: Michael Johnson

Parent Coordinator: Stephanie Martinez

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Campus with five other schools

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? Yes

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