Vailsburg High School was a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Vailsburg,

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

, United States. It was established in 1961 and was part of the

Newark Public Schools Newark Board of Education is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the city of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The state took over the district in ...

district. It closed as a high school in 1988; the district has since re-purposed the building as a

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

and

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

. The school's student body was 56 percent black in 1975 and 84 percent black by 1979, during the continued

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

in the city through the 1970s.

Athletics

The boys' soccer team won the Group III state championship in 1964 (defeating

River Dell High School River Dell High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school, part of the River Dell Regional School District, which is shared with the neighboring communities of Oradell and River Edge in Bergen County, in the U.S. state ...

in the tournament final) and was Group II co-champion in 1981 (with

Moorestown High School Moorestown High School (MHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Moorestown in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the M ...

).NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The 1964 team had a 12-2-2 record after winning the Group III title following a 2-1 win against River Dell in the championship game. The boys' basketball team won the Group II state championship in 1972, defeating

Ocean City High School Ocean City High School (OCHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Ocean City, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Ocean C ...

in the tournament final. The boys track team won the Group II spring / outdoor track state championship in 1974.NJSIAA Boys Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The girls team won the NJSIAA spring track Group II title in 1978, and won the Group III title in 1981 and 1984.NJSIAA Girls Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023. The girls track team won the indoor relay championship in Group II in 1982 and the Group II title in 1983-1987. The program's six group titles are tied for fifth-most in the state and the string of five consecutive titles from 1983 to 1987 are the second-longest such streak.

Notable alumni

Dan Gutman Dan Gutman (born October 19, 1955) is an American writer, primarily of children's fiction. His works include the '' Baseball Card Adventures'' children's book series that began with '' Honus & Me'', and the '' My Weird School'' series. Early li ...

, writer *

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

, rapper, musician and actor *

Stephen A. Mikulak Stephen A. Mikulak (October 15, 1948 – June 16, 2014) was an American Republican Party politician who served two terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1992 to 1996, where he represented the 19th Legislative District, which covers po ...

, politician

References

{{Authority control High schools in Newark, New Jersey Public high schools in Essex County, New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1961 1961 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions disestablished in 1988 1988 disestablishments in New Jersey