A “Lil Positivity”: Cicely Tyson Opens Up a Community School in New Jersey

Actress Cicely Tyson was overjoyed to see the unveiling of the new Cicely Tyson Community School in New Jersey over the weekend.  Ol Harpo and others were also in the building to see the re-opening of the school which was just remodeled. 

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The school has been there for a while and was named in Cicely’s honor back in 1995 but now the students have a new $180 million facility.

In September 2009, Tyson’s historic Elmwood Ave building will be closed, and a new $180million, 300,000 sq ft. facility on Main Street (on the site of the former East Orange High School), will take its place. The new facility is 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.

The high school’s 800-seat theater has been built to Broadway standards in terms of sound, lighting and acoustics. In addition to the school’s theaters, students will have access to TV studios, art studios, music rooms, individual performance practice rooms, drafting rooms and shops to build and design stage sets. The classrooms will all feature smartboards, advanced integrated audio-visual systems, and multiple computer workstations.

While the school is presently a combined middle and high school, in September 2009, Cicely Tyson School will become a K-12, as primary and middle schools are merged into the new school.