Richmond Hill High School
Grades: 9-12Our Insights
What’s Special
Career focused academies with internships
The Downside
While improving, academic achievement still lags
Richmond Hill is a large, comprehensive high school founded at the turn of the 20th century that prepares students for careers while also offering college preparatory classes.
The school is divided into academies, each of which has classes tailored to a theme and opportunities for internships: software engineering; criminalistics and forensics; health sciences; a certified career and technical education program in hospitality and tourism; art and design; and robotics and engineering. Except for forensics, which 8th graders apply to directly, students enter these programs in 10th grade.
The school offers supports for struggling students and college credit classes for more academically advanced ones. Neil Ganesh, an immigrant from Guyana and former teacher and administrator at Jamaica High School who became principal in 2013, runs a program called Lions Pride to give extra help to lower-perfoming students.
The school has gone through a tumultuous decade. It was threatened with closure because of poor performance in 2011-12, but was saved by a successful lawsuit. In 2014, the city put Richmond Hill on its list of low-peforming Renewal Schools, and in 2015, it landed on a state list of struggling schools that would have to change or face being taken over. The school improved enough to be taken off the state list a year later, and it has met some, though not all, the targets set for it under the Renewal program.
Ganesh gets high marks from teachers on school surveys. The school has high expectations for students; teachers visit one another's classes to share best practices, according to an educator who visited the school for its Quality Review.
Graduation, college readiness rates and attendance have all improved though still lag somewhat behind the city average. And the difficulties have taken their toll. Enrollment, which once topped 3,600,has fallen to around 1,600. On the upside, this has alleviated the severe overcrowding.
There are many sports teams and an eclectic mix of clubs and activities.South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!) Operates sports programs and other activities at the school.
Special education: The school offers team teaching classes with general and special education students as well as services for students in general education classrooms. Richmond Hill has a large number of students learning English. (Gail Robinson, DOE statistics and news reports, November 2018).
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School Stats
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Safety & Vibe
Faculty & Staff
Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity
College and Career Readiness
Programs & Admissions
From the 2024 High School DirectoryAcademy of Media, Art and Design (Q35A)
Program Description:
The Academy of Media, Art and Design is focused on providing its students with high level art skills and techniques as they explore the various mediums a designer and fine artist work with on a daily basis. Classes are studio based with hands-on projects culminating in an annual Spring Art Festival that celebrates student success in the arts. Students are provided with the opportunities to show their work at the Queens Museum and the Arts Connection organization.
Academy of Hospitality and Tourism (Q35B)
Program Description:
The Academy of Hospitality & Tourism helps students chart career paths in one of the worlds largest industries, from hotel management and event planning to sports and entertainment. Students engage in multiple courses focused on career exploration. This is a New York State approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) program that strengthens literacy, personal finance, leadership, project management and team building skills. Students learn all aspects of what it is like to work in the real world through job-shadows, internships, guest speakers and other work-based learning experiences. Students can earn NOCTI Food and Beverage Certification
Academy of Software Engineering (Q35C)
Program Description:
In the Academy of Software Engineering, you
Academy of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) (Q35D)
Program Description:
Our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Academy is based upon innovative, and cutting-edge project-based instruction. Today STEM is identified in many different ways, including incomputer science and engineering/robotics. Computer science courses focus on problem solving through project based learning. Over the past 25 years, STEM education has been evolving from a convenient clustering of four overlapping disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) toward a more cohesive knowledge base and skill set critical for the 21st century. It now encompasses areas of computer science, the designed world, and robotics, as each of these areas reflect the integration of the original four domains of study in which the goals are to resolve problems and create innovative solutions to proposed challenges. Students receive college credit from CUNY York and SUNY Farmingdale.
Academy of Health Sciences (Q35E)
Program Description:
Our Academy of Health Sciences is an early college program in partnership with by Future Ready NYC that focuses on medical assisting. Students learn the skills needed to enter the healthcare industry such as foundations for healthcare, general laboratory procedures & diagnostic testing, clinical practices & patient care, medical assisting safely, patient instruction, medical law, and ethics for healthcare. Students can receive CPR, Basic Life Support and Medical Assisting Certifications.
Academy of Law and Forensics (Q35P)
Program Description:
This interdisciplinary program allows students to study the legal and scientific aspects of forensics. Students engage in hands-on lab skills, such as fingerprinting, handwriting, and blood splatter analysis. Students explore how this scientific evidence can be used by the justice system, participating in moot court competitions and mock trial experiences. Many students in the Law and Forensics Institute go on to study at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and other top schools. The Law and Forensics program also has a state of the art court room where student practice moot court and mock trials.
Zoned (Q35Z)
Program Description:
Based on students' ninth grade interests, they can choose from the following options: Software Engineering, Robotics, Hospitality & Tourism, Engineering, Health Sciences, Art & Design, and A+ Certification. Participation in these pathways leads to internship opportunities and work-based learning opportunities. Partnerships with both SUNY and CUNY allow students to earn up to 18 college credits.
Offerings
From the 2024 High School DirectoryLanguage Courses
Spanish
Advanced Courses
Algebra II (Advanced Math), Algebra II (College Course [Credited]), Arts (College Course [Credited]), Calculus (College Course [Credited]), Chemistry (Advanced Science), Comp Sci/Math Tech (College Course [Credited]), Econ/Gov (College Course [Credited]), ELA (College Course [Credited]), Global History (College Course [Credited]), Math (College Course [Credited]), Other (College Course [Credited]), Physics (Advanced Science), Science (College Course [Credited]), Social Studies (College Course [Credited]), US History (College Course [Credited]), World Languages (Advanced World Languages), World Languages (College Course [Credited])
Boys PSAL teams
Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Handball, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball
Girls PSAL teams
Basketball, Bowling, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball
Coed PSAL teams
Cricket, Golf
Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools
Contact & Location
Location
89-30 114 Street
Queens
NY
11418
Buses: Q10, Q24, Q37, Q55, Q56, Q8, QM18
Contact
Other Details
This school is in its own building.
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