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Queens High School of Teaching, Liberal Arts and the Sciences

Grades: 9-12
Staff Pick for Special Ed Noteworthy

Our Insights

What’s Special

School integrates disabled kids with typical peers and teaches compassion as well as academics.

The Downside

Hard to get to by public transportation.

Many schools promise to integrate special education students, but Queens High School of Teaching has taken inclusion seriously since it opened in 2003. The school embraces not only its own students but also severely disabled students in a District 75 school that shares the building. Integrating everyone to the greatest extent possible, school administrators believe, benefits all students--not just those with disabilities.

Students who are interested in becoming teachers may have internships at nearby elementary and middle schools where they assist classroom teachers. They also attend weekly seminars on how to teach.

The school emphasizes projects rather than tests. For example, 9th graders created a mini edition of the play Othello based on a music video and on their own reading of Shakespeare’s original text. Many classes are based around group work, according to the school’s Quality Review.

The school strives to build “respect, acceptance and compassion” among students, according to the year plan. “Advisory” groups of about 18 students meet weekly to talk about social and emotional issues.

The school is divided into three small learning communities of 400 students, each named for a progressive educator. Each has its own wing, assistant principal, counselor and teachers, although all offer essentially the same program. The students from the District 75 school, PS 811, belong to a fourth learning community.

All students, including English language learners, spend 45 minutes reading a book of their own choosing.

Volunteer work is encouraged. Students built birdhouses for the school’s garden and once traveled to New Orleans to help rebuild homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina as part of Habitat for Humanity.

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS: The individual community guidance counselors, as well as the advisories, help students apply to college. The school also holds a college fair where graduates come to speak about their experiences. Many students have attended CUNY. Others have been accepted to SUNY Binghamton, West Point, University of Virginia and Georgetown.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: QHST's special ed program offers team teaching classes and special ed services. It has a good record of graduating special ed students. The students from the District 75 school, PS 811, belong to a fourth learning community, Gardner. About 27 attend some classes with QHST students and also are part of one of the other learning communities. "Being in this environment," one District 75 student says, "made me proud of what am and what I can do in the future."

(Isabel Corpus, web reports, June 2018)

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
97%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
88%
How many English language learners graduate in 4 years?
 
94%
Average daily attendance
 
84%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
54%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
69%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achieve the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
81%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

865
Number of students
Citywide Average is 599

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
61%
Students with disabilities
 
18%
Multilingual learners
 
4%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
0%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
80%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
53%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
37%
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
75%
0.8
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
202
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 157

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
89%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2021-22 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2021 Guidance Counselor Report, and this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Advanced Courses

Which students have access to advanced courses at this school? Learn more

Calculus

Not offered in 2019-20

Computer Science

 
8%

Physics

 
7%

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2019-20

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
85%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
88%

Music

 
33%
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2021-22 school year provided by the New York State Education Department, brought to you by

College Readiness

School
Citywide
How many students graduate with test scores high enough to enroll at CUNY without remedial help?
 
58%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
88%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
81%
From the 2020-21 and 2021-22 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
88%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2024 High School Directory

Teaching Institute (Q32A)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

Students engage in teaching methods in all classes. Students can apply to a voluntary one-year internship in teaching during 11th or 12th grade. Students are part of grade level cohorts and participate in interdisciplinary units and projects.

Queens High School of Teaching, Liberal Arts and the Sciences ASD Horizon Program (Q32H)

Admissions Method: ASD/ACES Program

Queens High School of Teaching, Liberal Arts and the Sciences D75 Inclusion Program (Q32U)

Admissions Method: D75 Special Education Inclusive Services

Queens High School of Teaching, Liberal Arts and the Sciences ASD Nest Program (Q32Y)

Admissions Method: ASD/ACES Program

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

Spanish

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Human Geography, AP United States History, Chemistry (Advanced Science), Physics (Advanced Science), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Fencing, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Swimming

Girls PSAL teams

Basketball, Cross Country, Fencing, Flag Football, Golf, Indoor Track, Lacrosse, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Volleyball

Coed PSAL teams

Cricket, Golf

Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

74-20 Commonwealth Blvd
Queens NY 11426

Buses: Q43, Q46, QM36, QM6


Contact

Principal: Camille Gardner

Parent Coordinator: Maria Charalabidis

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? No

This school is in its own building.

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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