Interim Superintendent Newark Public Schools

A. Robert Gregory, a native son of the city of Newark and a product of Newark Public Schools, is the Interim Superintendent of Newark Public Schools (NPS), New Jersey’s largest school district. Prior to serving as Interim Superintendent, Mr. Gregory served as Assistant Superintendent of NPS High Schools, where he oversaw the increase in graduation rates of nearly 20 points during his tenure. He also served as a teacher, supervisor and principal.

Superintendent Gregory served as the founding principal of American History High School in 2007. The school became the fifth magnet school in Newark and first of its kind in New Jersey. As Principal, Mr. Gregory maintained a 90% or above graduation rate of which at least 90% of his students gained admissions and attended college. Mr. Gregory increased the number of Advanced Placement and Honors courses at the school from 7 to 29 in a two- year period. As Principal, Mr. Gregory provided the opportunity for American History students to graduate from high school with 15 college credits, due to partnerships he established with Essex County College and Rutgers University. Under Mr. Gregory’s leadership, American History High School was ranked amongst the nation’s best high schools receiving its first Silver Medal and National Ranking in the 2015 U.S. News World Report’s Best High Schools in America.

Robert graduated from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Seton Hall University with an MA in Educational Leadership and Management. As the proud father of 3 children who married a lifelong Newarker, Superintendent Gregory is the epitome of homegrown leadership. Education runs in his family; his father was a teacher; vice principal and principal in Newark for 25 years; and his wife is an educator as well.

Mr. Gregory is continually reminded of the importance of history and carrying on family traditions and legacies while ensuring all students that surround him are afforded a quality public education that will enable them to thrive in a competitive 21st-century global economy.