Queens Metropolitan High School

Queens Metropolitan High School (QMHS) is a public high school in Forest Hills in Queens, New York. It is generally referred to simply as "QMHS," "Metro", or just "'Queens Metro" by the students. It is on the south side of Metropolitan Avenue in the Metropolitan Avenue Educational Campus at 91-30 Metropolitan Avenue, between a former Long Island Rail Road branch and 69th Avenue.^[2][4] A zoned school, the site is at the southern edge of Forest Hills, about 2.98 kilometres (1.85 mi) from Forest Hills High School, is a block from the southern perimeter of Rego Park and two blocks east of the eastern edge of Glendale. In addition to those neighborhoods, the school serves the neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Jamaica, and Kew Gardens.^[1][2] With a student body of over 1,000, Queens Metropolitan High School has two Small Learning Communities named "Courage," and "Honor".^[5][6]

Campus

QMHS is housed in the Metropolitan Educational Campus, located on the south side of Metropolitan Avenue just east of Woodhaven Boulevard. This block, which it shares with a shopping center, was formerly an industrial superblock. The campus is built between the currently inactive Rockaway Beach Branch and freight-only Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, on the site where tracks from the Montauk Branch formerly curved north onto the Rockaway Branch towards the Main Line, and adjacent to the former Parkside station.^[7][8] The original plans called for the building to accommodate two primary or middle schools and two 500-seat high schools, adding over 2,000 Queens public school seats in total.^[7] As constructed, the campus added 1,911 seats.^[9]

QMHS shares the building space with Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School, a grade 6 to 12 school.^[2] The campus also hosted the new Maspeth High School, until environmental safety issues at that site allowed the formal opening of that school in 2012.^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

There are two entrances: the well known one on Metropolitan Avenue, and the lesser known one behind the school near Union Turnpike. Each school has its own facilities, including classrooms, libraries, and cafeterias. QHMS has two cafeterias (Red and Blue) and two gyms. The campus' auditorium is shared.^[3][9][15]

History

The campus was officially proposed in 2005, although proposals had been in the works for nearly two decades. The campus was proposed to alleviate overcrowding in several area schools, particularly Forest Hills High School, and due to the lack of high school facilities in the Glendale, Ridgewood, and Maspeth areas of School District 24. Construction was planned to begin in the summer of 2005, with the facility opening in time for the fall of 2010.^[6][7][16] Construction would begin in 2006, and the building was completed prior to the 2010-2011 academic year. In September of that year, Queens Metropolitan High School (which had not been named prior to 2010) opened its doors to 350 students, with plans to eventually reach a 1,000 student body.^[1][17][18]

In 2014, the school had a four-year graduation rate of 89%, and high quality review ratings.^[2]

References

External links

• School Website
• DOE Website
• New York City School Construction Authority Environmental Impact Statement

Coordinates: 40°42′30.71″N 73°51′20.55″W / 40.7085306°N 73.8557083°W / 40.7085306; -73.8557083