Queens High School of Teaching, Liberal Arts and the Sciences

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."

ADMISSIONS: Priority goes to students who attended the two K-8 schools on the campus. Other seats are filled under the Education Option system which aims for a mix of top, middle and low performers. (Isabel Corpus, web reports, June 2018)