[citation needed] In response to concerns over overcrowding and student behavior during free periods, the school administration made the decision to eliminate Optional Time Activities (OPTAs) and have a uniform schedule during the 2022-2023 academic year.
To mitigate this change, students are now required to have a pass in order to visit the library, and are restricted to eating lunch only in their designated cafeteria.
Their success in the arts was recognized by Mel Brooks, who granted the school to be the first-ever to gain rights to the smash hit musical "The Producers" in Spring 2008.
Instead of tracking, schools admit learners of all capabilities by purposefully accepting a set percentage of students with high, middle and low test scores.
The ethnic makeup of the student body was diverse, with 30% identifying as White, 26% as Asian, 20% as Hispanic or Latinx, 18% as African American, and less than 1% as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
Additionally, the program offers an improv troupe and internships with technical theater shops to give students hands-on experience in the field.
[citation needed] The school's music department offers a variety of performance courses for students, including opportunities to learn to play guitar, piano, percussion, a band or orchestral instrument, or sing in a chorus.
[8] For students interested in pursuing music beyond the minimum graduation requirement, a sequence of study is available in the guitar, piano, orchestral, choral, or band program.
The program offers students opportunities to explore and develop as individual artists, through a range of courses including Art Studio, Fashion Illustration and Design, Intro to Painting 1 & 2, Animation, and Ceramics.
[10] Edward R. Murrow High School offers a range of Advanced Placement (AP) courses that cover all subject areas.
[12] Edward R. Murrow high school offers a range of dance classes that cater to students with varying levels of experience.
Some of the courses offered in the department include Computer Applications, Multimedia Design 1 & 2, Digital Marketing 1 & 2, Fundamentals of Web Design I & II, Accounting, College Accounting, Career & Financial Management, Stocks and Investments, International Business, Business Law, Entrepreneurship, and Virtual Enterprise.
The Entrepreneurship program, which requires a three-year sequence of courses including Computer Applications, Entrepreneurship, and Virtual Enterprise, is a New York State approved CTE program that offers students the opportunity for work-based learning experiences such as guest speakers, career research, mock interviewing, job shadowing, mentoring, and internships.
[14] The Edwin P. Hubble Planetarium, located within Edward R. Murrow High School, was established by astronomy teacher Sam Storch in 1979.
Named after the American astronomer Edwin P. Hubble, the planetarium offers students enrolled in Astronomy and Earth Science classes an opportunity to study the cosmos.
The Edward R. Murrow HS chess team's success has been chronicled in the book The Kings of New York, by sportswriter Michael Weinreb.
[citation needed] The school can be reached by public transportation, including the New York City Subway's Avenue M station (Q train) as well as MTA Regional Bus Operations' B6, B9, B11, B49, B68, BM1, BM3 and BM4 routes.