Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School (often dubbed Academic previous to its dedication, or as McNair) is a magnet public high school located at 123 Coles Street in Jersey City, in Hudson County, United States. The school is named in memory of Dr. Ronald E. McNair, the astronaut and scientist who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. McNair is part of the Jersey City Public Schools district. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1979 and is under Probationary Accreditation status as of 2022.
As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 704 students and 49.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.4:1. There were 226 students (32.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 62 (8.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
The school offers a wide selection of Advanced Placement (AP) Courses, in addition to a standard curriculum that contains courses at the Honors level. 21 AP courses were offered in 2010, with 897 students taking exams and 83.8% of those taking the exams scoring 3 or higher, more than quadruple the statewide average. Most electives are regular, unweighted classes. From 2008 to 2010, 100% of the class has graduated and in 2010 a full 100% of the student body indicated that they planned to attend a four-year college.
History
The school originally opened as Academic High School in 1976 at 70 Sip Avenue in Jersey City. The school also rented a space in a Ukrainian building at 16 Bentley Ave on Bergen Avenue. The school's name was changed to honor the late astronaut in 1996. In 1997 the school moved to its new location at 123 Coles Street, due to safety and spacing reasons.
Beginning in the 2004–05 school year, the incoming class size was increased from 140 students to 200.
In 2004, McNair Academic, the school's library was renamed in honor of teacher Vincent Russo. In May 2009, McNair lost Dr. Sara Solberg, a teacher of English, French, Shakespeare, and Mythology. The school opened a new stage in the Winter of 2010 named 'Sara's Stage' in her honor.