Some of the oldest high schools in Queens, including several that date back the turn of the 20th century, are slated to close their doors this summer.
Educators said they worry the most successful programs from the seven struggling schools marked for closure will be lost when the city opens new schools in the same buildings in the fall.
The specialties, which range from aviation technology to culinary instruction, could be in jeopardy as up to half of the schools’ staff will be replaced when the replacements open.
“The big concern is that the schools are going to lose the programs primarily through the loss of qualified teachers,” said Paola de Kock, president of the Citywide Council on High Schools, a parents group.
Department of Education officials said the city has no intention of ditching the specialties.
“One of the key goals of this new school strategy is to retain the strongest programs from the existing schools, while introducing new talent and initiatives to build even stronger school communities,” said agency spokesman Matt Mittenthal.
The Panel for Educational Policy voted to close seven of the borough’s public high schools at its April 26 meeting.
The panel’s Queens representative, Dmytro Fedkowskyj, who voted against the closures, said he’s concerned there was “no firm commitment” from the city on maintaining the programs.
Aristotle Matsis, senior culinary instructor at Long Island City High School, said he doesn’t know what will happen to the popular commercial cooking program there.
Up to 20 students can compete for a single spot in the course, which prepares them to enter the industry, he said.
“We have students in all the top restaurants throughout Manhattan,” Matsis noted.
One school that doesn’t need to worry is Grover Cleveland High School, in Ridgewood. It was removed from the city closure list at the eleventh hour.
Foreign language instructor Carmine Pulera said the staff was “elated” after the school was spared from the list of closures.
“It was a really concerted effort to keep the school open,” he said.
City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said he will continue fighting the closures, including that of his alma mater William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City.
“I will join any legal action that the UFT and others propose,” Van Bramer said.
Other Queens schools to be closed are August Martin, in Jamaica; Flushing; John Adams, in Ozone Park; Newtown, in Elmhurst; and Richmond Hill.
