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Our Insights

What’s Special

Students get lots of individual attention, solve real-world problems

The Downside

No sports teams

EPIC High School-North, opened in 2014, is one of four city schools founded with grants from the Open Society Foundations to help improve college and career-readiness rates for black and Latino students. Two of the school's first graduates won prestigious POSSE scholarships, one to Layfayette College and one to Babson College, according to the school's website.

Like other schools in the group, Epic North stresses culturally responsive education, providing students with social and emotional supports including mentors, and tailoring instruction to the individual student. Many classes are interdisciplinary. Epic uses a restorative justice approach to discipline, which emphasizes supportive measures such as counseling and peer mediation over suspensions.

The small, diverse school gives students a voice. They run the morning meeting, for example, and a group of students meets with the principal every week to discuss the quality of classes and address any shortcomings. And the school organizes meetings where students provide detailed accounts of their academic performance to their parents.

Many classes involve real world issues and problem solving, encouraging students to take the initiative for their learning. In one class, visited by a Department of Education reviewer, students tried to determine the cause of an airplane crash, while in another 9th graders identified and then tried to develop a plan to combat a rapidly spreading disease.

An unusually high percentage of students said in a Department of Education survey that they are supported and guided by the adults in the building. Students feel safe and most don’t see bullying as a problem at Epic North. Teachers also seem satisfied and look forward to coming to work there.

A downside: there are no sports teams.

The school is housed in a former Roman Catholic high school building that once served as the Richmond Hill High School annex. 

The other Epic New York City schools are: Epic High School – South, also in Queens; Nelson Mandela High School in Brooklyn and South Bronx Community Charter School.

Special education: Almost all students with disabilities spend a substantial part of their school day in team teaching classes with a mix of general and special education students.

(Gail Robinson, web reports and DOE material, November 2018; photo from school's website)

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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?
 
91%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
90%
How many English language learners graduate in 4 years?
 
75%
Average daily attendance
 
81%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
62%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

390
Number of students
Citywide Average is 599

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
72%
Students with disabilities
 
15%
Multilingual learners
 
11%
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?
 
89%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
35%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
21%
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?
 
65%
4.1
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
140
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?
 
75%
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

 
8%

Computer Science

 
13%

Physics

 
46%

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2019-20

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
12%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
17%

Music

 
6%
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?
 
34%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
68%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
68%
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?
 
71%
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

Interdisciplinary (Q65A)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

Students explore many themes with a strong emphasis on literacy across content areas.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

Spanish

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Macroeconomics, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP United States History, Chemistry (Advanced Science), Physics (Advanced Science), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)

Boys PSAL teams

Badminton, Basketball, Volleyball

Girls PSAL teams

Badminton, Indoor Track, Volleyball

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

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

94-25 117Th Street
Queens NY 11419

Trains: J Line to 111th St

Buses: Q10, Q24, Q37, Q41, Q55, Q56, Q8, QM18


Contact

Principal: Kristen Breen

Parent Coordinator: Nina Roberto

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? No

This school is in its own building.

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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