East Orange High School was a comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from 1891 to 2002 in East Orange, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. For most of its existence, the school operated as one of the two secondary schools of the East Orange School District.
History The original East Orange High School building, facing Winans Street, opened to students in 1891. An addition on Walnut Street was added in 1953. The school was closed when East Orange Campus High School opened in 2002, combining both East Orange High School and Clifford Scott High School.Lambert, Jim. "The East Orange boys win a wild one to capture North Jersey, Sec. 2 Group 4 title", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 23, 2015. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Clifford Scott merged with East Orange High School in 2002 to form East Orange Campus." Demolition of the old high school began in 2005.East Orange Class of 1897, East Orange Interactive Museum. Accessed September 11, 2016.
In 1933, African American student and future civil rights activist Robert L. Carter staged a protest against an official school policy that restricted black students to using the school's pool on Fridays after the school had closed, with male and female students segregated by gender, after which the pool would be emptied, cleaned out and refilled with water before the start of the next school week. Having read that the New Jersey Supreme Court banned the practice of racial segregation, and despite threats of expulsion from teachers and his inability to swim, Carter entered the pool with fellow white students during times when access to the pool was forbidden to black students, ultimately leading the district to close the pool.Reed, Roy. "Robert L. Carter, an Architect of School Desegregation, Dies at 94", The New York Times, January 3, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Mr. Carter recalled experiencing racial discrimination as a 16-year-old in East Orange, N.J. The high school he attended allowed black students to use its pool only on Fridays, after classes were over. After he read in the newspaper that the State Supreme Court had outlawed such restrictions, he entered the pool with white students and stood up to a teacher's threat to have him expelled from school."Wu, Frank H. "Robert Lee Carter Continuing the Struggle for Civil Rights", University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 2000. Accessed September 11, 2016. "His abiding commitment to racial quality, which started when he personally integrated New Jersey's East Orange High School pool (despite his own inability to swim), is what drives his continued efforts to achieve racial justice."Carter, Robert L. A Matter of Law: A Memoir of Struggle in the Cause of Equal Rights, pp. 14–15. Accessed September 12, 2016. The New Press, 2012. . "To protect the white children from contamination the blacks might have left in the pool, it was then drained, cleaned, and refilled for the use of white students the following Monday."
While serving in New Jersey General Assembly from 1964 to 1972, Kenneth T. Wilson was also employed as a teacher at East Orange High School, where he taught civics and American history.Staff. Fizgerald's Legislative Manual, State of New Jersey; 1971 edition, p. 394. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1971. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Assemblyman Wilson is a social studies teacher at East Orange High School and teaches courses In United States History, Advanced Placement American History and Civics."
In September 2009, a new $143 million, facility opened on the former East Orange High School site. This school consisting of an elementary school and middle/high school, the new Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts was among the largest and most technologically advanced schools ever built in the state of New Jersey, with extensive performing arts facilities which meet or exceed the highest professional standards.Epstein, Sue. "East Orange performing arts school opens with celebrity glitz", 'NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 24, 2009. Accessed September 11, 2016. "The $143-million state-of-the-art facility opened its doors to more than 1,000 students last month, but today was its formal unveiling.... The new school on Winans Street combines two old schools into one 309,000-square-foot facility of four buildings that include a 400-seat auditorium, an 800-seat auditorium and a production studio for the TV concentration."
Athletics In 1896, East Orange was one of the founding member schools of the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association, the state's first athletic conference; created and operated by students, the conference consisted of nine public and private high schools located across the state, competing in track and field, football and tennis.Pruter, Robert. The Rise of American High School Sports and the Search for Control, 1880–1930, p. 38. Syracuse University Press, 2013. . Accessed September 11, 2016. "The league took n both public and private schools; its public school members were Newark Central, Montclair, Plainfield and East Orange, and its private-school members were Newark Academy, Bordentown Military Institute, Stevens Preparatory, Pingry, and Montclair Military Academy."
Begun in 1897, East Orange had an annual Thanksgiving Day football rivalry with Barringer High School that had been the nation's longest-running continuous rivalry, played for 91 consecutive years until 2006, when scheduling conflicts interfered with the annual tradition; traditionally, the Left-Footed Kicker trophy is awarded to the winning team, with games attracting as many as 13,000 fans until the 1970s, when both teams saw their football programs deteriorate.Staff. "Old Rivalry Returns to a Big Welcome", The New York Times, November 25, 1988. Accessed September 11, 2016. "But this game is different from most. The East Orange-Barringer series began in 1897 and was the longest unbroken holiday rivalry in the country until two years ago, when the teams were forced to play each other in September because of conference scheduling commitments."
In March 1930, swimmer Gordon Chalmers won the title in the 100-yard backstroke at the national interscholastic aquatic champions at Columbia University, leading East Orange High School to a second-place team finish.
The boys' basketball team won the Group IV state championship in 1940 vs. West New York Memorial High School, in 1969 vs. Perth Amboy High School and in 1974 vs. Neptune High School, and won the Group III title in 1972 vs. Lakewood High School, in 1973 vs. Northern Burlington County Regional High School and 1976 vs. Woodrow Wilson High School.NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 1, 2020. The girls' basketball team won the Group IV state championship in 1980 vs. Atlantic City High School.NJSIAA Girls Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 1, 2020. The 1968 team won the Group IV state title with a 74–56 victory against a Perth Amboy High School team led by future NBA player Brian Taylor."East Orange Beats Perth Amboy; Mountain Lakes Tops Ridgefield", Asbury Park Press, March 30, 1969. Accessed January 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Greg James led a bruising, muscular East Orange High School basketball team to the state Group IV championship last night with a 74-56 upset win over Brian Taylor and defending champion Perth Amboy."
Notable alumni
John Amos (1939–2024, class of 1958), actor who played James Evans Sr. on the 1970s television series Good TimesLombardi, Patrick. "Black History NJ: John Amos" , Black History – New Jersey, February 26, 2016. Accessed September 11, 2016. "John A. Amos Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey on December 27, 1939. In 1958, he graduated from East Orange High School." Charlie Biot (1917–2000), outfielder who played in Negro league baseball from 1939 to 1941Charlie Biot, NJSports.com. Accessed September 8, 2025. "Charles Augustus Biot Jr. was born October 18, 1917 in East Orange, NJ. The owner of a long, strong but occasionally erratic right arm, Charlie was a pitcher as a teenager until his coach at East Orange High switched him to the outfield." Robert Bowser (1935–2022, class of 1953), politician who served as mayor of East Orange from 1998 to 2014Kiefer, Eirc. "Former East Orange Mayor Dies; City Mourns For Robert Bowser", West Orange, NJ Patch, April 4, 2022. Accessed September 8, 2025. "After graduating from East Orange High School in 1953, he graduated from the Newark College of Engineering (now the New Jersey Institute of Technology); earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering." Betty Bronson (1906–1971), television and film actress who began her career during the silent film era after leaving school to benefit her film careerHanson, Bruce K. Peter Pan on Stage and Screen, 1904–2010, 2d ed., p. 127. McFarland & Company, 2011. . Accessed November 6, 2017. "Born Elizabeth Ada Bronson in Trenton, New Jersey, on November 17, 1907, she left East Orange High School and convinced her parents to let her move to California to aid her career in films." Tyrone Brown (born 1942, class of 1960), attorney, Commissioner of the Federal Communications CommissionFlannery, Gerald v., ed. Commissioners of the FCC, 1927-1994, p. 181. University Press of America, 1995. . "Tyrone Brown was born in the Tidewater area of Virginia on November 5, 1942.... At East Orange High School, he was a top student, an athlete, and the first black president of the student council." Herbert Brucker (1898–1977), journalist, teacher, and national advocate for the freedom of the press, who served as editor-in-chief of the Hartford CourantStaff. "Columbia Names Aide to Journalism Dean Herbert Brucker Resigns From the Review of Reviews to Become Assistant at School.", The New York Times, January 6, 1932. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Mr. Brucker was born in Passaic, N. J., on Oct. 4, 1998. He prepared for college at the Morristown school and East Orange High School, and was graduated from Williams College in 1921." Stephanie R. Bush (born 1953), attorney and politician who represented the 27th district in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1988 to 1992Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 203, Part 1, p. 269. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1988. Accessed April 1, 2019. "Ms. Bush was born in East Orange March 16, 1953. She attended East Orange High School and Cornell University, where she received her degree in 1975." Robert L. Carter (1917–2012, class of 1933), lawyer, civil rights activist and a United States district judgeJackson, Janice Harris. "East Orange High School's disappeared swimming pool a hidden symbol for civil rights", The Star-Ledger, January 20, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Robert L. Carter died on Jan. 3 at 94. He was raised in Newark and East Orange, attending Barringer High School for two years and graduating from East Orange High in 1933." Gordon Chalmers (1911–2000), swimmer who competed in the men's 100 metre backstroke at the 1932 Summer OlympicsStaff. "Philadelphia Wins School Title Swim; Catholic High School First With 14 Points in National Meet in Columbia Pool. East Orange Next With 10", The New York Times, March 16, 1930. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Gordon Chalmers of East Orange achieved the outstanding performance in capturing the 100-yard backstroke title." Margaret Clapp (1910–1974, class of 1926), scholar and educator, who served as eighth president of Wellesley CollegeLeavitt, Judith A. American Women Managers and Administrators: A Selective Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Leaders in Business, Education, and Government, p. 46. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1985. . Accessed September 11, 2016. "Clapp graduated from East Orange High School in 1926 and attended Wellesley College on a scholarship."