High School for Contemporary Arts (11X544)

800 East Gun Hill Road, Bronx, NY 10467, Bronx
Phone: 718-944-5650
Hours: 08:15am - 02:35pm
School Website: https://hs544.org/
NYCDOE Website: https://www.myschools.nyc/en/schools/high-school/11X544/
Quality Snapshot: View snapshot
Building Access Profile: View profile
School Leader: Melissa Peters (mpeters7@schools.nyc.gov)
Parent Coordinator: Nadia Mathis (nmathis4@schools.nyc.gov)
Respect for All Liaison: Maite Delmonte-Nunez (mdelmontenunez@schools.nyc.gov)
Sexual Harassment Prevention Liaison: Majesty Perkins (mperkins8@schools.nyc.gov)
504 Coordinator: Maite Delmonte-Nunez (mdelmontenunez@schools.nyc.gov)
504 Coordinator: Neida Guzman (nguzman6@schools.nyc.gov)
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About

Contemporary Arts is an art school that proudly offers its students a world-class education with a dynamic faculty and challenging curriculum. We offer amazing creative arts courses where students can choose from Dance, Music, Arts, and Theatre Classes. Contemporary Arts is committed to nurturing each student’s passion for creativity and thirst for knowledge by providing a safe, supportive community that inspires lifelong learning and a commitment to social change. Technology is employed in all of the arts and academics courses to provide our students with the experience they need to be able to excel in this technologically driven world. Contemporary Arts provides an environment where the arts are used to develop our students’ artistic abilities, academic achievement, and cultural empowerment. Our after-school clubs and PSAL Program are available to all students on campus. Contemporary Arts students participate in PSAL teams such as football, volleyball, basketball, and cross country. As a student of Contemporary Arts, you will be able to experience trips all over New York City, including Broadway Shows, Circle Line Cruises, and Great Adventures! Contemporary Arts students attend dances, celebrations, field days, and other exciting events throughout the school year. In addition to after-school extracurricular opportunities, Contemporary Arts also offer Advanced Placement Courses and College Now Classes through Lehman College. Advisory Classes are a part of our culture and community and provide Social and Emotional support and college and career programming. Contemporary Arts is a one-to-one school in terms of meeting the technological needs of our students. Each student receives a laptop computer to use during the school year. All Contemporary Arts graduates leave with a college and career plan that will guide them in the next stage of their lives and that will gain the skills necessary for the next step in their lives.

School Budget: View financial budget

Teachers with more than 3 years of experience: 78%

Academic Highlights: AP Courses Available, SAT Prep, African American studies, Honors Courses Available

Other Features: 10th Grade Seats Available, College Trips, Extended Day, Health Center, Internships Available, Program(s) with 1 GE Applicant Per Seat, Program(s) with 1 SWD Applicant Per Seat, Summer Internships

School Features:

  • Offers 10th Grade Seats
  • School whose primary location is co-located with another school
  • Guidance Counselors, Social Workers

Upcoming Events

AP Courses, Languages, Sports, Art
AP Courses
Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP African American Studies, AP Art History, AP Computer Science Principles, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Studio Art - 2D, Chemistry (Advanced Science), Physics (Advanced Science)
Boys PSAL Sports
Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Swimming
Girls PSAL Sports
Basketball, Cross Country, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Softball, Swimming, Volleyball
Other Sports
Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Dance, Fitness, Football, Running, Softball, Step, Swimming, Track, Volleyball, Yoga
Clubs
Art Club, COOP Student Aide Internship, Peer Group Connection (PGC), Peer Mediation., Podcast, Restorative Justice
Art
The High School for Contemporary Arts offers visual arts, dance, music and theater as well as digital media. We have full-time teachers in all four core arts disciplines, who maintain vibrant creative practices as well as being New York State certified in their respective disciplines. Each art form has its own dedicated, arts specific space. We are an Exploring the Arts (ETA) partner school, as part of the 2021/2022 cohort, which extends through 2025. Our program with ETA centers on building a Visual Narrative/BookArts center and arts integration program in our ELA classes. Our Arts Dept. developed and staged 4 full scale productions in our main stage theater. To further develop our digital media capabilities, we activated a Bronx Borough grant to build a digital media lab and photography lab. We partnered with Community Word Project funded by OASP grants, to launch our first Spoken Word initiative with a vibrant community event staged in our Black Box Theater. We hosted a graffiti residency themed on non-violence with the Bronx Historical Society, which culminated in an exhibition of student visual art to run all summer. We added a new mural with world-renowned artist, Marco Santini. We partnered with Open Door to provide digital media after school programming, such as podcasting, digital music and digital entrepreneurship. Moving forward to 2024/2025, we plan on offering a vibrant array of arts classes, with Fridays centering Arts Ed with 3 hour intensives, as well as AP Art and virtual Arts courses.
Program Details
Music and Theatre(X48C)
Performing Arts

An intensive, collaborative, and interactive program emphasizing acting (stage and film), and music (vocal and keyboard).

10th Grade seats available

Method:
Requirement:
Students are randomly selected
Priority:
  • (Group 1) New York City residents

Applicant Analysis
2023-242022-23
GE applicants/seats:17 / 63 (0.27)0 / 0 (0.00)
SWD applicants/seats:1 / 17 (0.06)0 / 0 (0.00)
Rank Avg: 6.76
Offers
School Student & Admissions Statistics
School Year
2023-24
2022-23
2021-22
Total Students Across All Grades
281
283
303
    Grade 12 Students
50
40
44
    Grade 11 Students
92
56
62
    Grade 10 Students
78
113
67
    Grade 9 Students
61
74
130
Avg. Class Size
22.0
21.5
Safety Comp. / Susp. / NYPD
10 / 39 / 0
25 / 45 / 0
10 / 53 / 0
Attendance %
85%
84%
72%
Graduation %
87%
85%
78%
College %
34%
28%
39%
Total Applicants / Seats
Total Offers
607 (55) / 240
0
541 (61) / 128
0
639 / 128
76
Survey Summary & Data (2023-24)
Student Responses
Academic Rigor 
  71.00%
Academic Engagement 
  68.46%
Safety 
  64.25%
Bully Prevention 
  55.13%
Inclusivity 
  84.80%
Mental Support 
  72.56%
Environment 
  60.00%
Post-School Support 
  77.00%
Teacher Responses
Academic Rigor 
  67.40%
School Satisfaction 
  73.17%
Student Behavior 
  69.88%
Student Support 
  88.29%
School Leadership 
  64.46%
Instructional Clarity 
  77.67%
Instructional Development 
  81.13%
Post-School Support 
  94.80%
Family Responses
Education 
  96.78%
Teacher Support 
  95.43%
Safety 
  98.00%
School Community 
  77.00%
School Leadership 
  96.50%
Post-School Support 
  98.00%
IEP Support 
  93.00%

Note: Yellow bars indicate city-wide averages for the associated category

View Full NYC DOE Survey Results:

This data was gathered from the NYC DOE's yearly school surveys: https://infohub.nyced.org/reports/students-and-schools/school-quality/nyc-school-survey

Academic Summary & Data (2023-24)
Academic Proficiency
4-Year Grad. %
  87.30%
CC Regents
  50
Non-CC Regents
  47
Impact Score
  0.23
Performance Score
  0.28
College Aptitude
CCR
  33.00%
SAT Math
  364
SAT R/W
  383
Postsecondary
2-Year College 21.20%
4-Year College 21.20%
Other Postsecondary 4.50%
Unknown 53.10%

View Full Academic Data:

This data was gathered from the NYC DOE's yearly quality reports: https://infohub.nyced.org/reports/students-and-schools/school-quality/school-quality-reports-and-resources

School Demographics (2023-24)
Student Population:
Male 38.80%
Female 61.20%
English Language Learners:
  11.00%
Students with Disabilities:
  35.20%
Economic Need Index: 
  92.50%
Student Ethnicity:
Asian 1.80%
Black 39.10%
Hispanic 51.60%
White 2.80%
Other 4.70%
Teacher Ethnicity:
Black 35.70%
Hispanic 21.40%
White 35.70%
Other 7.20%
IEP Statistics (2023-24)
IEP Services
Students with IEPs
  36.30%
Students with SETSS
  0.40%
Students with ICT
  26.00%
Students with SC
  2.10%
Has all programs
  68.00%
Has all services
  88.00%
Has some services
  0.00%
Has no services
  12.00%
IEP Student Performance
Regents English
  47
Regents Gl. Hist.
  53
Regents US Hist.
  51
Regents Algebra I
  53
4-Year Grad. Rate
  90
IEP Movement
Excellent
IEP Support 
  93.00%
Special Education Programs & Services (2023-24)
ProgramFully ReceivingPartially ReceivingNot Receiving
Integrated Co-Teaching Services63 (72%)0 (0%)<=5 (?)
Special Class0 (0%)<=5 (100%)0 (0%)
ServiceFully ReceivingPartially ReceivingNot Receiving
Counseling Services>5 (91%)N/A (N/A)<=5 (9%)
Occupational Therapy>5 (86%)N/A (N/A)<=5 (14%)
Physical Therapy<=5 (100%)N/A (N/A)0 (0%)
Speech-Language Therapy>5 (88%)N/A (N/A)<=5 (12%)
Speech-Language Therapy Bilingual0 (0%)0 (0%)<=5 (100%)
TransportationNumber Receiving
Curb to School9 (56%)
Stop to School0 (0%)
Unassigned7 (44%)

This data was gathered from the NYC DOE's Special Education Reports: https://infohub.nyced.org/reports/government-reports/special-education-reports

ELL Performance (2023-24)
Regents English
  45
Regents US Hist.
  55
Regents Algebra I
  56
ELL Progress
  43
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