QHSS, which caters to students who demonstrate high potential in math and science, had previously been housed inside a single floor at a science building at York College for over 20 years.
The new state-of-the-art facility, located at 165-15 88th Ave., will provide a permanent home for QHSS, including modern classrooms and labs, a library, dance studio and rooftop athletic space. The facility caters to grades 9 through 12 and also allows QHSS to expand its capacity and serve more students across the city.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
The $110.75 million project, which began in 2022, includes 18 classrooms and two special education classrooms in additions to eight special education classrooms for a District 75 program housed at the school, which caters to students with significant challenges such as autism.
A number of elected officials joined the opening celebration, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and state Sen. John Liu, who said the new school was a “great reminder” that New York City boasts the best schools in the nation.
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.
Liu further described QHSS as a “shining example” of what can be achieved through the public school system and credited the location of the new school – also known as Q497 – stating that it was “smack in the middle of Queens.”
“This school is accessible to students from all over the city,” Liu said. “This is a citywide school, right here in the middle of Queens. We want everything for our students. Excellence is at the very top of the agenda, and that’s what QHSS stands for.”
Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
Meanwhile, state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky and Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman also welcomed the opening of the new school in statements, with Stavisky stating the new school is a representation of “what a public school system should look like.”
“For over 20 years, QHSS has done extraordinary work inside 14 classrooms on one floor of a college science building,” Stavisky said in a statement. “Now, those students will walk into a school built for them.
“Buildings are more than brick and mortar; what matters most about this one is who inside it: students drawn from every corner of Queens.”
Ana De Jesus, principal of QHSS, said the new school was the result of 23 years of advocacy and said students would create “wonderful memories” in the new building.
Jenna O’Shaughnessy, who will serve as principal of the new District 75 program, known as the Queens Academy for Innovative Learning, said the new facility will provide a learning environment that inspires growth and achievement among District 75 students.
“We are proud to create an inclusive school community where high expectations, individualized pathways and meaningful opportunities empower students to reach their full potential,” O’Shaughnessy said in a statement.
Richards and Liu pose with Jenna O’Shaughnessy (center left) and Ana De Jesus. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
QHSS Superintendent Josephine Van-Ess said the school has been waiting years for a facility that “truly feels like home,” adding that the facility was a place worthy of “brilliance, promise and potential.”
“Walking through the building on the first day of school and seeing the smiles on our scholars and educators faces filled my heart,” she said. “From the new science laboratories and library to the dance studio, rooftop athletic space and thoughtfully designed learning spaces, every corner of this campus represents greater opportunity for our young people.”