High School for Contemporary Arts (11X544)

800 East Gun Hill Road, Bronx, NY 10467, Bronx
Phone: 718-944-5650
Hours: 8:15am - 2:35pm
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 students 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.

Reports: School Budget | PTA Financials | Room Utilization

Teachers with more than 3 years of experience: 78%

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

Other Features: 10th Grade Seats Available, College Trips, Computer Science Coursework, Expert College and Career Advisor On Staff, Extended Day, Health Center, Internships Available, Paid Internships, Summer Internships

School Features:

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

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
PSAL Team
Evander Childs Campus
This school is part of a PSAL team comprised of the following schools:
Bronx Academy of Health Careers (11X290)
Bronx Aerospace High School (11X545)
Bronx High School for Writing and Communication Arts (11X253)
Bronx Lab School (11X265)
High School for Contemporary Arts (11X544)
High School of Computers and Technology (11X275)
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
Visual Arts(X48A)

Students develop their artistic skills as they progress through classroom assignments using a variety of drawing, painting, sculpture, photography & digital design media. Students learn valuable artistic, literacy, and technical skills in the contemporary work world of the Visual Arts

10th Grade seats available

Method:
Requirement:
Ed. Opt. programs admit students across all academic levels. Students are grouped into Low, Middle, and High categories based on a composite of their academic data. One-third of offers are made to students in each category.
Priority:
  • (Group 1) Bronx students or residents
  • (Group 2) New York City residents

Applicant Analysis
2023-242022-23
GE applicants/seats:12 / 63 (0.19)26 / 51 (0.51)
SWD applicants/seats:8 / 17 (0.47)9 / 13 (0.69)
Rank Avg: 6.51
OffersOffers - Waitlist
School Student & Admissions Statistics
School Year
2024-25
2023-24
2022-23
Total Students Across All Grades
295
281
283
    Grade 12 Students
90
50
40
    Grade 11 Students
63
92
56
    Grade 10 Students
79
78
113
    Grade 9 Students
63
61
74
Avg. Class Size
24.4
22.0
21.5
Pupil-Teacher Ratio
12.5
10.1
12.4
Safety Comp. / Susp. / NYPD
6 / 0 / 2
10 / 39 / 0
25 / 45 / 0
Attendance %
85%
84%
Graduation %
87%
85%
College %
34%
28%
Total Applicants / Seats
Total Offers
607 (55) / 240
0
541 (61) / 128
0
Survey Summary & Data (2024-25)
Student Responses 74% responded
Academic Rigor 
  66.50%
Academic Engagement 
  57.82%
Safety 
  58.50%
Bully Prevention 
  56.38%
Inclusivity 
  71.36%
Mental Support 
  64.75%
Environment 
  57.14%
Post-School Support 
  70.90%
Teacher Responses 59% responded
Academic Rigor 
  91.50%
School Satisfaction 
  79.50%
Student Behavior 
  59.78%
Student Support 
  86.87%
School Leadership 
  82.13%
Instructional Clarity 
  71.40%
Instructional Development 
  83.72%
Post-School Support 
  86.00%
Family Responses 66% responded
Education 
  97.50%
Teacher Support 
  97.83%
Safety 
  96.67%
School Community 
  73.88%
School Leadership 
  97.70%
Post-School Support 
  98.00%
IEP Support 
  96.00%

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 (2024-25)
Student Population:
Male 42.00%
Female 58.00%
English Language Learners:
  12.50%
Students with Disabilities:
  31.20%
Economic Need Index: 
  92.70%
Student Ethnicity:
Asian 2.00%
Black 43.40%
Hispanic 48.10%
White 2.40%
Other 4.10%
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 
  96.00%
Special Education Programs & Services (2024-25)
ProgramFully ReceivingPartially ReceivingNot Receiving
Integrated Co-Teaching Services69 (90%)8 (10%)0 (0%)
Special Class<=5 (50%)<=5 (40%)<=5 (10%)
ServiceFully ReceivingPartially ReceivingNot Receiving
Counseling Services>5 (93%)N/A (N/A)<=5 (7%)
Counseling Services Bilingual0 (0%)0 (0%)<=5 (100%)
Occupational Therapy<=5 (100%)N/A (N/A)0 (0%)
Physical Therapy<=5 (100%)N/A (N/A)0 (0%)
Speech-Language Therapy34 (100%)N/A (N/A)0 (0%)
Speech-Language Therapy Bilingual<=5 (100%)0 (0%)0 (0%)
TransportationNumber Receiving
Curb to School8 (57%)
Stop to School0 (0%)
Unassigned6 (43%)

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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