Original Research by School Decision on Queens High School of Teaching Liberal Arts and Sciences
Queens High School of Teaching Liberal Arts and Sciences is a regular public high school in Bellerose, Queens, serving grades nine through twelve. The school's name reflects its original mission as a teacher-preparation institution, though it now functions as a standard comprehensive high school within NYC Geographic District 26.
The school enrolls a student body of roughly that size for a high school, distributed fairly evenly across the four grades. The student population is racially and ethnically diverse, with Black students making up the largest share, followed by Asian and Hispanic students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that most families fall below the income threshold for lunch subsidies. The school does not report data on students with Individual Education Plans or English learners; these gaps typically reflect either missing data collection or enrollment patterns in alternative or specialized settings, though in this case the reason is not clear from the data available.
State assessment results were not available, so there is no public record of how students perform on the New York State Regents exams or other standardized measures. Similarly, a four-year graduation rate was not reported. Without these metrics, a reader cannot assess academic outcomes directly from this school's own performance data. A parent may want to contact the school or the district office to ask for current proficiency rates, graduation data, and course-passing trends, which schools track internally even when state reporting is absent.
The school sits within Bellerose, a low-density residential garden suburb at the eastern edge of Queens, marked by detached single-family homes and tree-lined blocks. The area is anchored by the Jericho Turnpike commercial corridor and the Bellerose LIRR station, which connects to the Main Line and Hempstead Branch rail service. The neighborhood has a long tradition of homeownership and civic participation, with a diverse population including South Asian, Caribbean, Greek, and European American residents. Housing values in the area are well above state and national medians. Bellerose itself is zoned to preserve one- and two-family character rather than enable new multifamily construction, so the neighborhood is unlikely to change dramatically in scale or composition.
The school's immediate surroundings are shaped by Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, a major state institutional campus on Winchester Boulevard, which has freed parcels redeveloped into school sites and civic facilities. The largest nearby employment and development driver is the Belmont Park redevelopment in adjacent Elmont, which opened an arena and retail complex and a new LIRR station, creating a significant labor market and leisure draw to the area.
District 26 has implemented two curriculum mandates that will shape the high school experience. A math curriculum standardization (NYC Solves) requires schools to use one of a limited set of approved programs, most commonly Illustrative Mathematics, which emphasizes conceptual problem-solving over procedural steps. The district was among the first to adopt this mandate. Additionally, all schools in the district follow the citywide NYC Reads literacy mandate for elementary grades, though that does not directly apply to a high school. The district has also completed or is undertaking capacity expansions at elementary and middle schools to address long-standing overcrowding in northeast Queens, a pattern that may ease enrollment pressure in the coming years.
Data sections on the school's programs, specific course offerings, AP availability, career pathways, staff and teacher characteristics, attendance, and discipline were not available in this school's public record, making it difficult to describe the breadth of academic options, co-curricular life, or school climate and support structures. A parent exploring enrollment should ask the school directly about advanced-placement courses, dual-credit pathways, arts and athletics offerings, counseling services, and any magnet or specialized program tracks.
See more original research from School Decision →