Our Insights
What’s Special
Free two year college degree; engineering focus
The Downside
Too soon to tell
Energy Tech High School is a safe and orderly school that prepares students to work at electric and gas companies. Students may stay for six years and earn two years of free college credit. Some go on to study engineering at a four-year college.
On field trips, students get to see workers fitting pipes in the field or monitoring gas outputs. They explore computer electronics and analyze electrical circuits. They enjoy trying on hard hats and hearing stories about how energy technicians respond to a crisis, like restoring the electricity in a community after a hurricane, assistant principal Beth Antonelli said. Students may have internships with an electric company, learning how to read and install meters or conduct customer service calls.
Founded in 2013, the school has quickly established an excellent track record with all students, including those with special needs. All students take 90 minutes each of English and math their freshmen year—the equivalent of two years—to give them a solid academic foundation.
Housed in a building shared with IS 204, Energy Tech has science and engineering labs, a campus-style lounge for early college students and a maker space. Students have access to a laser cutter, 3D printers, a drill press and a variety of other tools and machinery. A robotics team meets after school.
Energy Tech is affiliated with LaGuardia Community College. Children may take college courses as early as 10th grade in the school’s own lecture hall or on the LaGuardia campus about a mile away. Students receive MetroCards for travel.
Energy Tech has industry connections to the electric and gas companies Con Edison and National Grid. Company mentors visit at least once a month.
Principal Hope Barter is a respected leader. An overwhelming majority of teachers approve of her management skills. She graduated from Cornell University, where she earned a B.A. with distinction. She earned her master’s degree at Lehman College, and an advanced certificate in school and district leadership through Hunter College. She was a founding teacher at York Early College Academy, a 6-12th grade school that offers college level courses for advanced students.
Barter and her staff work hard to stay connected to families. They host monthly coffee hours, send weekly e-mail blasts and maintain an informative website, in addition to special events for families.
Barter told Schoolbook she welcomes and hoped to attract girls to the school because she believes women are underrepresented in the fields of science and technology. “I think one of the major barriers to getting more young women in the field is students being able to visualize what the work looks like and to connect and to see how they might be successful in that kind of a model,” she said. However, the school has not attracted as many females as males; three-quarters of the school population is male.
About 50 percent of the students stay all six years; some who left after four years have gone on to competitive four-year engineering programs at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, (five students received hefty scholarships there), Rochester Institute of Technology, Worchester Polytechnic Institute and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Special education: Children are mostly served in ICT (integrated co-teaching) classes that mix several children with disabilities into general classes with two teachers, one trained in special education. “We really believe in the ICT model and invest resources to support that model,” Antonelli said, adding that the school supplements with small group work, tutoring and catch-up time in the 90 minute classes if a child did not grasp a concept. (Lydie Raschka, web reports and interview, September 2018)
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School Stats
Academics
Students
Race/Ethnicity
Safety & Vibe
Faculty & Staff
Advanced Courses
Calculus
Computer Science
Physics
Advanced Foreign Language
AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science
AP/IB Math or Science
Music
College Readiness
Visit Understanding FAFSA for help with the FAFSA and financial aid.
Programs & Admissions
From the 2024 High School DirectoryEnergy Tech High School (Q61A)
Program Description:
Students take rigorous STEM coursework in preparation for college-level math, science, and engineering courses as early as 10th grade through a partner college. Students declare an electrical or mechanical concentration by the end of 12th grade, in preparation for intensive study and internship opportunities in 12th-14th grades. Pathways focus on engineering and technology careers in the energy/utility industry, with varied opportunities for field trips, job shadowing, industry mentoring, etc.
Energy Tech High School D75 Inclusion Program (Q61U)
Offerings
From the 2024 High School DirectoryLanguage Courses
Spanish
Advanced Courses
Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, AP English Language and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP United States History, Calculus (College Course [Credited]), Chemistry (Advanced Science), Comp Sci/Math Tech (College Course [Credited]), ELA (College Course [Credited]), Math (College Course [Credited]), Physics (Advanced Science), Social Studies (College Course [Credited]), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)
Boys PSAL teams
Basketball, Cross Country, Soccer
Girls PSAL teams
Cross Country, Volleyball
Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools
Contact & Location
Location
36-41 28 Street
Queens
NY
11106
Trains: , to 36th St; , to 36 Av-Washington Av
Buses: Q101, Q102, Q66, Q69
Contact
Other Details
This school shares the building with IS 204
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