Central High School

Set in NEWARK, New Jersey, Central High School is a middle-of-the-pack secondary school, run under Newark Public School District. It works with 1,051 students across grades 9 through 12.

Newark Public School District comprises 65 schools with combined enrollment of 41,502 students; Central High School is among them.

On demographics, Central High School lists that the largest single group is Black at 53%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school lists 44% Hispanic. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 36%.

On the resource side, The school employs 78 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.7:1, putting Central High School higher than the state norm the norm. Around 75% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Essex County (around 54%), the school's rate is north of typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Central High School falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 25.4%; this one comes in at 6.3%, -19.1 points off the demographic line.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Essex County put median household income runs about $80,789, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Central High School is one of 249 public schools in Essex County (combined enrollment of about 145,473 students).

Nearest neighbor: Grover Cleveland Elementary School, around 0.2 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Central High School ranks 9th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 17.5%.

Central High School operates from a metropolitan location.

Looking at the recent track record. Central High School's enrollment has climbed 23% since 2018, when it stood at 853 (now 1,051). The Black share of enrollment ticked down from 90% to 53% over that span. Class-load math has loosened: from 10.7:1 in 2018 to 13.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.