New high school in Queens will prepare students for careers in health care
LONG ISLAND CITY, Queens (WABC) -- A new high school will focus on setting up New York City students for careers in health care. It will be home to the city's latest CTE program, Career and Technical Education.
The major announcement was made by Schools Chancellor David Banks Thursday during a press conference in Long Island City.
The department, along with a multi-million dollar donation from Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will create the Northwell School of Health Sciences in Woodside, Queens.
It will be the city's latest career-focused high school and is under construction on Northern Boulevard and will have up to 900 students learning about the medical profession.
Life-like interactive mannequins and simulation technology will capture the "sights, sounds, and smells" of working in health care.
It will focus on four health care fields -- diagnostic medicine, physical therapy, mental health, and nursing.
"What we plan to build together in Queens is bigger than just one school - it's a visionary collaboration to improve public health and promote health equity in this city and beyond," said Michael Dowling, President, and CEO of Northwell. "This is a new model for education that will create a better future for thousands of students and make a lasting impact on the future of health care for countless more."
The plan is to prepare students to enter the workforce or earn at least seven college credits before graduation.
It aligns with Schools Chancellor David Banks' goal of increasing career education to prepare students to enter the professional sector.
"To have an opportunity to get a real internship on the ground, experience while getting paid at the same time, can make all the difference in the world," Banks said. "Particularly for kids who are coming from an economic background where they don't always have the resources that they really need."
Former Mayor Bloomberg, whose Bloomberg Philanthropies is giving the school $24.9 million over five years, similarly made vocational and technical education a top priority of his administration's education agenda.
"There are so many well-paid jobs that don't require a four-year college degree. Today, most of those are in health care," said Howard Wolfson, Bloomberg Philanthropies Education.
The investment is earmarked for major start-up costs, such as teacher recruitment, curriculum development, internship stipends, and classroom and lab materials and renovations.
In health care, there are two million job openings right now and another two million expected in the next eight years, according to Wolfson.
The school will open for the 2025-2026 school year.
The campus that will house the Northwell School will house a total of five new high schools. The building will add more than 3,000 badly needed high school seats in Queens and ease some of the crowding.
The other four schools have not yet been announced, but they are also expected to be CTE schools.
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