Bard Early College High School

Bard Early College High School, a compact high school in NEWARK, New Jersey, part of Newark Public School District, instructs 395 students, covering grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 57% smaller than the state mean of about 929.

Within Newark Public School District, which oversees 65 schools and 41,502 students, Bard Early College High School is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Bard Early College High School records that 65% of the student body identifies as Black. The remainder comes out to 31% Hispanic. By comparison, Essex County as a whole is about 36% Black, so the school skews considerably more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 12.5:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. Around 63% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Essex County runs at roughly 54%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Bard Early College High School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 31.9%, the actual is 36.5%, a residual of +4.6 points.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Essex County indicate median household earnings sit near $80,789, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Essex County's 249 public schools (combined enrollment of about 145,473 students), Bard Early College High School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Camden Street Elementary School, around 0.1 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Bard Early College High School at 2nd of 9; the average score across the group is 19.2%.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Bard Early College High School has expanded 11%, going from 355 students in 2018 to 395 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 14.2:1 in 2018 to 12.5:1 today.

On allk12, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.