Academy for Performing Arts

This article is about the magnet school in New Jersey. For other uses, see Academy for Performing Arts (disambiguation).

The Union County Academy for Performing Arts is a full-time four-year public magnet high school located in Scotch Plains, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, on the Union County Vocational Technical Schools Campus. Its first year was the 2008–2009 school year. The school offers majors in theatre, dance, and technical theatre. The school is part of the Union County Vocational Technical Schools (UCVTS). The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 2017.^[3]

Academy for Performing Arts
Address
1776 Raritan Road Scotch Plains , Union County , New Jersey 07076 United States
Coordinates	40.6170°N 74.3595°W / 40.6170; -74.3595
Information
Type	Magnet public high school
Established	2008
School district	Union County Vocational Technical Schools
NCES School ID	341804003009[1]
Principal	Kelly Douglas-Jackson[2]
Faculty	14.7 FTEs[1]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	240 (as of 2023–24)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	16.4:1[1]
Color(s)	Black, White, Silver
Accreditation	Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[3]
Website	www.ucvts.org/Page/476

As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 240 students and 14.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 16.4:1. There were 7 students (2.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 7 (2.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.^[1]

Recognition and rankings

In 2016, the Academy for Performing Arts was one of ten schools in New Jersey, and one of two high school programs in the state, recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education.^[4]

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 962nd in the nation among participating public high schools and 71st among schools in New Jersey.^[5] In Newsweek's listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 203rd out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 32nd among all high schools in New Jersey.^[6]

Partnership with Kean University

The students are on the Union County Vocational Technical Schools Campus for the first three years of high school; their senior year is spent at Kean University. While attending Kean, their courses follow the program for the first year in the performing arts concentration.^[7]