New Jersey
N.J. leads in arts education but there are rising challenges
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New Jersey is often held up as a national leader when it comes to arts education, holding the distinction of first state to provide universal access. State law requires public schools to teach the arts, and nearly every district reports offering at least some form of visual or performing arts instruction.
The state now claims nearly 80% participation around the state, meaning more than 985,000 of the 1.2 million students in New Jersey take arts classes. Many districts boast 100% participation, including the Camden City School District and others in South Jersey.
That was the culmination of years of advocacy, working with policymakers, parents and even students, says Wendy Liscow, executive director of Arts Ed NJ, a nonprofit coalition founded in 2007.
“It’s a big challenge to increase arts education in our state and raise awareness, so you have to have everyone at the table,” Liscow said.
While various initiatives and standards regarding arts education in the state were implemented as early as 1996, the landmark achievement of universal access to arts education in all public schools was officially announced in September 2019.
New Jersey’s visual and performing arts standards are written into the state’s academic code, placing them on equal footing with subjects like math and English language arts. Students are required to earn five credits of arts instruction to graduate from high school, and those credits now count toward a student’s GPA.
That policy shift helped legitimize the arts in the eyes of students and parents, said Liscow, who joined Arts Ed NJ in 2022.
“In the past, arts courses didn’t always count the same way,” she said. “Now students who care about the arts can say, ‘This matters. This helps me get to college.’”
As elsewhere, visual arts and music dominate arts education in New Jersey. More than 820,000 students are in visual arts classes, and nearly 750,000 are taking music classes. There are nearly 4,000 teachers in each discipline. Fewer than 50,000 students are enrolled in either theater or dance, subjects for which there are only a few hundred teachers each.
However, some disparities in access to creative and performing arts classes still exist, with some school districts still falling below the legal mandates. About 3.4% of students, about 42,000, lack any such opportunity. Liscow said recent budgetary challenges at the federal and state levels have forced advocates to work harder just to preserve their earlier gains.
Liscow also noted that rising costs — from tariffs and other upward pressures — have been among the bigger challenges for districts, especially less wealthy ones. Tariffs may partly explain that, she said.
“The dollars that they have are getting 30 to 40% less,” she said. “So when they’re buying something, it’s costing them 30 to 40% more. So even staying level is going to get us less in this culture and each district will decide if staying level might be a win right now.”
That’s a sentiment shared by Craig Vaughn, superintendent of Springfield Township School District in Burlington County.
“My district has certainly taken it on the chin with the loss of state aid that’s caused some cuts in other areas,” he said. “But my board’s been supportive of making sure that we keep teachers in place that teach art and music. We’ve been really fortunate to get some grants that have grown our program and offered some things that are on more of the extracurricular basis.”
The Springfield district consists of only a single elementary school, for which Vaughn also serves as the principal. He added that they had to get “creative” in order to ensure continued access by hiring dual-certified teachers and joining a shared service agreement with a neighboring district.
“I think it’s more on the local side that we’re doing a lot to support these things than maybe the state is,” he said.
Liscow said she applauds such efforts, noting that early exposure is “critical” and that maintaining earlier gains is essential to the state’s future.
“You can’t suddenly become a dancer at 14 or 15,” she said. And “it’s very easy to cut a program, but it can take 10 years to get it back.”
Recently, Arts Ed NJ created a Youth Arts Ed Council in which students from 21 high schools around the states themselves learn to advocate for themselves.
“They learn the power of their voice and agency,” Liscow said. “And I think it’s been a really successful project, because policymakers, administrators listen to young people more than they might listen to an adult.”
Filming Big Mistakes in New Jersey was no mistake at all.
The Netflix comedy series, which debuted earlier this month, has already hit the streaming service’s Global Top 10 English TV List, making it one of the most-watched shows out right now.
As per Netflix, the comedy series co-created, executive produced, written and starring Emmy winner Dan Levy, follows Nicky (Levy) and Morgan (Taylor Ortega), two deeply incapable siblings who are in over their heads when a misguided theft for their dying grandmother accidentally pulls them into the world of organized crime. Blackmailed into increasingly dangerous assignments, they clumsily fail upwards, sinking deeper into chaos they’re ill-equipped to handle. The dark comedy, which has only eight episodes, has a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes so far.
RECOMMENDED: Where was ‘Beef’ season 2 filmed? Behind the locations of the dark Netflix comedy
Set in the fictional New Jersey suburb of Glenview, the series was fittingly filmed primarily in numerous towns and cities in New Jersey, including Caldwell, Cranford, Franklin Lakes, Irvington, Jersey City, Union, Warren and Weehawken for a total of 40 filming locations. (The cartel storyline in Episode 7 was shot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where its coastline and architecture doubled as Miami’s waterfront, luxury estates and yacht life.)
“I’ve really enjoyed shooting in New Jersey,” location manager Mia Thompson said. “We have quite a number of recurring locations that have all just been wonderful—not only the home owners, but the business owners, the towns, the local police, the local fire departments, the town clerks. It’s been a really great experience.”
More than 300 cast and crew and 500 vendors took part in the production. Ortega, who plays Morgan, is actually a New Jersey native and was surprised to film in her backyard.
“It was surreal getting to film in my home state,” she said. “I grew up in New Jersey and was obsessed with film and television and never thought I’d be returning home for such a major project and moment in my life.”
The show filmed the scenes at Morelli’s Hardware, run by Nicky and Morgan’s mom (Laurie Metcalf), at Edison Millwork & Hardware, a more than 50-year-old, family-owned hardware store in Edison.
“It’s one of the few mom and pop hardware stores that are left anywhere, really, so it was really great to find this location that fits very perfectly with our story,” Thompson said.
The show was also filmed at Wyoming Presbyterian Church in Millburn—the backdrop for Nicky’s day job as a pastor and his living space.
“We’ve utilized every inch of space of that church inside and out,” said Thompson. “They’ve enjoyed the experience just as much as we have.”
Other spots they filmed at include Deerfield School, Essex County Airport, Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, Hatfield Swamp, Springfield Municipal Building and the Crystal Inn in Eatontown.
“One thing about New Jersey is that it’s so diverse. The various neighborhoods offer different kinds of looks and aesthetics,” said Thompson. “You have everything that you could ask for.”
See Jersey in all eight episodes, streaming now on Netflix.
Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band tour rehearsal in Ocean Grove
Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band March 26, 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour rehearsal at the Ocean Grove Youth Center in Ocean Grove.
There will be No Kings at the Monday, April 20 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show at the Prudential Center in Newark but the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey will be there.
The group will be the “featured organization” for the New Jersey stop of the band’s Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour.
“We’re honored to have the opportunity to work with New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen to advocate for the rights and freedoms that all people deserve,” said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha in statement. “This moment requires all of us, and we are grateful to Bruce, who is using his platform to fight against authoritarianism and for our rights. We share a love for New Jersey and a desire to make the Garden State safer and freer for everyone who calls it home. Our team is thrilled to connect with everyone who shares our mission to protect and defend civil liberties, and who knows the power that art and music have to change the world.”
Springsteen said the American Dream is under attack by “our wannabe king and his rogue government” when he announced the tour on Feb. 17. Promotional posters for the tour features the phrase “No Kings,” a reflection of the national anti-President Donald Trump protests that have taken place in the last year.
The tour kickoff was March 31 at the Target Center in Minneapolis and it included 27 songs over three hours. The show also featured some direct talk from Springsteen on the state of the country. The setlist included the newly composed “Streets of Minneapolis,” written after the fatal shooting by federal agents of Renee Good and Alex Pretti of Minneapolis in January.
ACLU-NJ representatives will be at the Prudential Center to talk to concertgoers about its work. The American Civil Liberties Union previously released an ad with the Springsteen classic “Born in the U.S.A.” featured on the eve of the Supreme Court case where the ACLU is challenging the President Trump’s executive order attempting to overturn the current interpretation of 14th Amendment, which grants automatic citizenship to those born in the U.S. regardless of their parents’ legal status.
Visit www.aclu-nj.org for more info on the ACLU-NJ.
Subscribe to app.com for the latest on the New Jersey music scene.
Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com
New Jersey
NJ Lottery Pick-3, Pick-4, Cash 5, Millionaire for Life winning numbers for Sunday, April 19
The New Jersey Lottery offers multiple draw games for people looking to strike it rich.
Here’s a look at April 19, 2026, results for each game:
Pick-3
Midday: 8-7-3, Fireball: 9
Evening: 5-0-8, Fireball: 0
Check Pick-3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick-4
Midday: 4-7-7-9, Fireball: 9
Evening: 5-9-7-8, Fireball: 0
Check Pick-4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Jersey Cash 5
20-25-35-38-45, Xtra: 35
Check Jersey Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
32-42-52-53-55, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Quick Draw
Drawings are held every four minutes. Check winning numbers here.
Cash Pop
Drawings are held every four minutes. Check winning numbers here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the New Jersey Lottery drawings held?
- Pick-3: 12:59 p.m. and 10:57 p.m. daily.
- Pick-4: 12:59 p.m. and 10:57 p.m. daily.
- Jersey Cash 5: 10:57 p.m. daily.
- Pick-6: 10:57 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a New Jersey Sr Breaking News Editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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