Newark Academy

Encyclopedia : N : NE : NEW : Newark Academy

Newark Academy is an independent school located in Livingston, New Jersey (USA). With both lower and upper schools, this institution comprises grades six through twelve.

Newark Academy was founded in 1774. It was located on Market Street in Downtown Newark, then High Street, then, after 1929, Orange Avenue in the Roseville section. The school moved in 1964 to a 68 acre (275,000 m²) campus in Livingston.

There are many on-campus facilities. The Hawke Memorial Library, which houses a 23,000 volume collection, opened in 1974. The Elizabeth B. McGraw arts center, which contains contains three studio art classrooms (sculpture, drawing, and painting), a band room, choral room, dance studio, and a "black box" theater, opened in 1992. The most recent addition is the William E. and Carol G. Simon Family Field House, which opened in 2001. This new facility houses a gym with basketball courts and an indoor track, a pool with state-of-the-art timing equipment, and a comprehensive fitness center. In the spaces formerly occupied by the pool and basketball courts there are now wrestling and fencing rooms. Newark Academy's Men's and Women's Tennis programs, coached by William "Arky" Crook, the "Star-Ledger" Coach of the Decade for the 1990s, have enjoyed success at the state level for years, and are considered the finest in the state.

Newark Academy students congregate at 8:10 every morning in the auditorium for "Morning Meeting", which, depending on the day of the week, includes either the entire school, or is separated, with the Middle School meeting in the cafeteria. Middle School students are required to participate in at least one sport each season, although interscholastic competition is not necessary. Upper School students are required to complete at least ten hours of community service each year, with recognition awarded to students who reach thresholds substantially more than the minimum. Every graduating senior must complete a "Senior Project", which is an 80-hour mini-internship that each student researches and designs.

Newark Academy offers two advanced curricula: Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Diploma. It is the only independent school in New Jersey that offers both programs. In addition, the average class size is 13. Faculty members have, on average, 22 years of teaching experience, and 90% of them hold advanced degrees.

Currently, the position of Head of School is held by Elizabeth Riegelman, better known by the name "Penney", who has been at the school since 1997. According to a January 4, 2006, Board of Trustees email, Riegelman will step down in June 2007. A search committee under the direction of Trustee Nancy Baird Harwood is currently looking for a replacement. The Upper School is headed by Dr. Richard DiBianca, who also heads the school's IB program and coaches the Men's Junior Varsity Tennis Team. The Head of the Middle School is Joseph Ball. The title of Dean of Students is held by Pegeen Galvin, who therefore is also responsible for the administration of discipline on the students. The Dean of Faculty is Frederick Rollenhagen. While holding no official title in this respect (he was once Dean of Faculty, however), the unofficial school historian and archivist is Blackwood Parlin, who, having joined the school in 1959, is also the last faculty member from the Newark era.

Newark Academy is a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools.

Noted alumni

Justin Gimelstob - ATP professional tennis player.
William E. Simon - 63rd Secretary of the Treasury under Richard Nixon.
Richard Thaler - economist specializing in behavioral finance

External links

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