As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 272 students and 28.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.7:1. There were 195 students (71.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 17 (6.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Rankings
The school was the 310th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[6] The school had been ranked 291st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 314th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[7] The magazine ranked the school 296th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[8] The school was ranked 312th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[9] Malcolm X Shabazz has scored 20.4 and 46.1 in the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) test results in the subjects of math and language arts respectively.[10]
Athletics
The Malcolm X Shabazz High School Bulldogs[2] compete in the Super Essex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Essex County and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[11] Before the 2009 restructuring, the school had previously participated in the Watchung Conference, which included high schools in Essex, Hudson and Union counties in northern New Jersey.[12] With 334 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.[13] The football team competes in the National Red division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.[14][15] The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students.[16] Varsity sports include basketball, volleyball, track and field, football, soccer, wrestling, golf, baseball and softball.[2]
The football team won the North II Group I state sectional championship in 2014, 2017 and 2023.[27] The team defeated Dunellen High School by a score of 14–6 to win the program's first championship and the first title for a Newark high school since 2007.[28] In 2017, the team defeated the top-seeded Weequahic High School by a score of 35–0 in the North II Group I state sectional final played at Kean University, in a rematch of the 2016 final that had been won by Weequahic.[29][30] The 2023 team won the program's third sectional title with a 40-13 win against Butler High School in the tournament final.[31] 2009 marked the return of the Thanksgiving Day game called the "Soul Bowl" between Weequahic and Shabazz High School, which had last been played in 1993 and had been in abeyance due to the two schools being placed in different athletic conferences.[32] The 2011 game was the 29th between the two teams, ending in a 27–20 win for Weequahic, which won its fifth consecutive defeat of Shabazz.[33] The intra-district football rivalry with Weequahic was ranked third on NJ.com's 2017 list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football". Shabazz leads the series with an overall record of 35–28–6 through the 2017 season.[34]
The boys track team won the Group I spring / outdoor track state championship in 2018.[35]
The Future Project
According to Ted Dintersmith and Tony Wagner, the authors of the book Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era, Divine Bradley of The Future Project and the school's principal, Gemar Mills, worked together to address what they described as one of the "country's most troubled high schools". The school was being considered for closure, and when Mills joined in 2011 there had been four principals in as many years. The city's schools had been part of an unsuccessful $100 million effort to improve the schools.[36]
According to Dintersmith and Wagner, Shabazz High School students are being prepared to be successful through innovative methods. Divine reaches out to students on an individual basis and asks, "What's something big and bold you'd like to do with your life to make your world better? I'm here to help you."[36] Dintersmith and Wagner state that "Most students have never been asked about life goals before. As a result of this kind of engagement, students at Shabazz rise to challenges, take on ambitious projects, and approach education and life with newfound purpose." School attendance has improved and students participate in programs during lunch, and outside of school hours, like classes that develop writing, communication, and collaboration skills.[36]
Administration
The school's principal is Atiba Buckman. Her administration team includes the vice principal.[37]
Lewis Yablonsky (1924–2014), sociologist, criminologist, author, and psychotherapist best known for his innovative and experiential work with gang members[64]
Notable faculty
Divine Bradley (born 1982), youth mentor, motivational speaker and community leader, who has worked at the school as Dream Director as part of the Future Project[65]
^Our Past, Malcolm X Shabazz High School. Accessed May 10, 2022. "Malcolm X Shabazz High School, located in the south ward of Newark, New Jersey, is one of six comprehensive high schools. Built in 1912, the school was originally constructed as Southside High School and Newark Junior College."
^Lee, Felicia R. "Newark Students, Both Good and Bad, Make Do", The New York Times, May 15, 1993. Accessed November 20, 2014. "Malcolm X Shabazz opened in 1914 as South Side High School. By 1972 it had been renamed for the fiery former Nation of Islam leader."
^"St. Rose Wing State Cage Title; Neptune Beaten, 72-52", Asbury Park Press, March 17, 1962. Accessed January 17, 2021. "A well-balanced, cocksure Newark South Side High School basketball team humbled the previously unbeaten Neptune Fliers, 72-52, here last night to win the Group 3 championship in the 44th New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association basketball tournament. A six-foot, one-inch South Sider named Lonnie Wright who looks more like a fullback than a basketball player, took charge of the game from the outset and led the Newark team to a complete, unquestionable victory over Neptune in Delaware Valley Garden."
^Viggiano, Bob. "RV loses on basket in final 3.5 seconds", Courier-Post, March 13, 1995. Accessed February 8, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Sealey and his Rancocas Valley High School boys' basketball teammates were 3.5 seconds away from winning the state Group 3 championship when it all slipped away Sunday. Jamal Williams slipped past two defenders and hit a running one-hander from five feet with 3.5 seconds remaining to lift Shabazz to a thrilling 60-59 victory over the Red Devils in the title game at Rutgers' Louis Brown Athletic Center."
^Narducci, Marc. "Shabazz girls outlast Marlboro, 48-45", The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 26, 2003. Accessed July 17, 2007. "The seeds held form as top-seeded Shabazz held off second-seeded Marlboro, 48-45, in the championship game at the Continental Airlines Arena."
^Lambert, Jim. "Shabazz wins 1st ever title with 14-6 win over Dunellen in North Jersey Section 2 Group 1 final", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 6, 2014. Accessed December 27, 2016. "With the bad taste of a last second loss in the sectional final last year still in their mouths, Shabazz returned to the scene of that setback on Saturday and replaced that frustration with jubilation with a heart-pounding 14-6 victory over Dunellen in the NJSIAA/SportsCare Institute North Jersey, Section 2 Group 1 final at Kean University in Union. Shabazz, which lost to Hoboken in the final last year 13-7 after the Redwings scored with 12 seconds left in the game, rushed the field at Alumni Stadium when the final seconds ticked off as the Bulldogs celebrated its first ever sectional title and the first for the city of Newark since West Side won North Jersey, Section 2 Group 3 in 2007."
^Lanni, Patrick. "Shabazz rolls to redemption win over Weequahic in N2G1 final", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 2, 2017. Accessed December 4, 2017. "Shabazz was not going to let last year's outcome happen again. That much was clear as Shabazz jumped out to an early lead and never looked back to top rival Weequahic en route to a dominant 35-0 victory in Saturday's North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 final at Kean University's Alumni Stadium in Union."
^Gurnis, Mike. Football: Shabazz continues impressive run, races past Butler to win N2G1 title, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 10, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2024. "It added another chapter to its postseason run on Friday, when sixth-seeded Shabazz took down top-seeded Butler, 40-13, to win the NJSIAA North 2, Group 1 sectional title in Butler. It marked the first sectional title for Shabazz since 2017, and third in program history."
^Giambusso, David. "Soul Bowl returns to Newark after 16-year hiatus", The Star-Ledger, November 26, 2009. Accessed January 31, 2021. "The blazing horns and beating drums of the Malcolm X. Shabazz High School marching band danced through the streets of Newark's South Ward this morning, heralding the return of the Soul Bowl--a cherished city tradition that has been dormant for 16 years.... In 1993, due to changes in the two schools' conferences, the Weequahic Indians were forced to drop the Shabazz Bulldogs game from their schedule, to the lament of alumni and residents who saw the match up as a major event on the city's social calendar."
^Kinney, Mike. "Weequahic (27) at Shabazz (20) - Football", The Star-Ledger, November 24, 2011. Accessed January 2, 2012. "Hopefully, the Weequahic players conducted themselves a bit more graciously at the table yesterday than they did in the first half of the 'Soul Bowl' at Shabazz Stadium in Newark.... Marquis Armstrong rushed for two touchdowns in the first half and helped his squad control the football for 17 minutes in those opening quarters on its way to a 27-20 victory before approximately 4,000.... It also was its fifth straight victory against Shabazz, which leads the overall series 15-12-2."
^Stypulkoski, Matt. "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 27, 2017, updated May 15, 2019. Accessed December 1, 2020. "3-Shabazz vs. Weequahic... The Thanksgiving rivalry game between these two schools from the South Ward of Newark was dropped in 1993 but renewed in 2009.... All-time series: Shabazz leads, 35-28-6"
^Araton, Harvey. "High School Foes Form a Family at Rutgers", The New York Times, April 3, 2007. Accessed August 16, 2012. "'Don't you want to be able to look up in the stands and see your mom?' Carson, from Paterson's Rosa Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts (for academics and music) and Paterson Eastside (for basketball) asked Ajavon, from Newark's Malcolm X. Shabazz."
^Carter, Barry. "Shabazz vs. Weequahic -- a rivalry for the ages duels in football championship", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 2, 2016, updated January 16, 2019. Accessed December 19, 2019. "Hassan Arbubakrr attended both schools -- freshman and sophomore years at Shabazz -- but aligns himself with Weequahic after graduating there in 1979."
^Grimes, William. "Vivian Blaine, the First Adelaide In 'Guys and Dolls,' Is Dead at 74", The New York Times, December 14, 1995. Accessed August 16, 2012. "Ms. Blaine was born in Newark. Originally her last name was Stapleton. While she was still in elementary school, her father, a theatrical agent, booked $1-a-night singing dates for her at nightclubs, company parties and police benefits. At 14 she began singing with the Halsey Miller Orchestra, and after graduating from Southside High School went on the road with little-known bands."
^Winchell, Mark Royden (2002). Too Good to Be True: The Life and Work of Leslie Fiedler. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press. ISBN978-0-8262-1389-1.
^"Obituary: Leslie Fielder", The Daily Telegraph, February 3, 2003. Accessed December 19, 2019. "The son of a pharmacist, Leslie Aaron Fiedler was born on March 8, 1917 at Newark, New Jersey, where he went to South Side High School."
^Resolution In Memoriam of Cleo Hill, Essex County, New JerseyBoard of Chosen Freeholders. Accessed December 4, 2017. "Whereas, Cleo Hill of Orange, New Jersey, passed from this life on Monday, August 10, 2015, at the age of 77; and Whereas, Cleo Hill was born and reared in Newark, New Jersey. He attended Eighteenth Avenue Elementary School, Cleveland Junior High School, and South Side (Shabazz) High School"
^Cissy Houston, National Visionary Leadership Project. Accessed December 19, 2019. "After graduating from Newark’s South Side High School, she and her group, now The Drinkard Singers, continued performing and were featured on a 1951 program at Carnegie Hall starring Mahalia Jackson."
^Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 165, p. 242. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1941. Accessed December 27, 2022. "R. Graham Huntington (Rep., Maplewood) Mr. Huntington was born in Newark, New Jersey, on May 17, 1897. He attended the public schools of Newark and was graduated from South Side High School of Newark in 1916."
^Carter, Barry. "Former Newark mayors share their life and times in the city", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 17, 2016. Accessed September 26, 2023. "James graduated from South Side High School, Montclair State University and earned his master's degree in physical education from Springfield College."
^Helmreich, William. The Enduring Community: The Jews of Newark and MetroWest, p. 30. Routledge, 2017. ISBN9781351290029. Accessed December 19, 2019. "The action was attributed by the city's mayor to the publication of a book by Theodore N. Kaufman of Newark, called Germany Must Perish.... Kaufman, a graduated of South Side High School, responded as follows..."
^Wolf, Gregory H. Bobby Malkmus. Society for American Baseball Research. Accessed May 31, 2020. "Robert Edward Malkmus was born on July 4, 1931, in Newark, New Jersey, to Robert and Elizabeth Malkmus.... Malkmus was a standout at basketball and baseball at South Side High School in Newark, but few scouts gave the slightly built (5-feet-9 and about 160 pounds) second baseman a serious look."
^Bernard Marcus, New Jersey Hall of Fame. "Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus grew up in Newark and graduated from South Side High School in 1947."
^Diamos, Jason. "The Prince Returns, This Time as a Net", The New York Times, October 13, 2014. Accessed December 4, 2017. "As a blossoming basketball star at Malcolm X. Shabazz High School in Newark, Eric Williams was once dubbed -- or anointed, as he likes to put it -- the Prince of New Jersey."
^Lonnie Wright, Basketball-Reference.com. Accessed February 3, 2011.
^Yardley, William. "Lewis Yablonsky, 89, Sociologist Who Learned From the Streets, Is Dead", The New York Times, March 1, 2014. Accessed January 14, 2022. "Lewis Yablonsky carried a switchblade before he became a sociologist. My need for self-protection stemmed, in part, from my teenage years as a dice and card hustler,' Dr. Yablonsky once wrote, recalling his days at South Side High School in Newark."
^Wagner, Tony; and Dintersmith, Ted. "How a Newark school went from 'Baghdad' to 'Possibility High'", Fortune (magazine), August 18, 2015. Accessed December 4, 2017. "Principal Mills teamed up with The Future Project, which hired an extraordinary visionary named Divine Bradley. Bradley is the head Dream Director at Shabazz, and part of the audacious nonprofit called The Future Project."