Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology

Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology is a four-year high school of mid-sized scale in NEWARK, New Jersey, part of Essex County Schools of Technology, educateing 1,230 students in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 32% bigger than the state mean of about 929.

Essex County Schools of Technology runs 3 schools in total, collectively educating 2,189 students. Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology logs that the most-represented group is Black (52%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder is composed of 44% Hispanic. That is noticeably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 36%.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 93 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.2:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. Around 73% 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), Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology sits in the top 10% of New Jersey schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 26.0%; actual is 43.0%, +17.1 points clear of the demographic baseline.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Essex County) shows that median household income runs about $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), Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Roseville Community Charter School, around 0.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology at 1st of 8; the average score across the group is 23.8%.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked up 78%: 690 students in 2018 compared to 1,230 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment edged down from 59% to 44% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 11.9:1 in 2018 to 13.2:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.