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Hillcrest High School
Looking east from Parsons Boulevard
Address
160-05 Highland Ave. Jamaica, Queens, New York 11432 United States
Coordinates	40°42′32″N 73°48′08″W / 40.709°N 73.8022°W / 40.709; -73.8022
Information
Type	Public
School district	New York City Department of Education
NCES School ID	360010001965
Principal	Varun Rule Pandey
Teaching staff	154.34 (on an FTE basis)
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	2,381 (2022-2023)
Student to teacher ratio	15.43
Campus	City: large
Color(s)	Violet and gray
Mascot	Hawks
Yearbook	Prospectus
Website	www.hillcrestweb.com

Hillcrest High School is a four-year public high school in Jamaica Hills, Queens, New York City. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education.

As of the 2014–15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 3,289 students and 149.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 22.0:1. There were 2,380 students (72.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 311 (9.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

The mascot is the hawk (changed from the Brave, the original mascot chosen when the school opened in 1971) and the school colors are violet and gray.

Athletics

The school's boys and girls' soccer team became division champions in the 06–07 and 07–08 season, guided by Coach Asqui and captain Joao Azevedo. The school is also notable for its rigorous baseball program, led by Coach Malave.

History

Stephen M. Duch was the school principal from 1996 to the beginning of 2014. After his retirement, David T. Morrison, a graduate of Hillcrest who served as the AP of English for several years, became the new principal.

In 2002, Hillcrest was listed as the most violent high school in the city.

On November 20, 2023, several hundred Hillcrest students participated in a protest, with the goal of having a teacher fired for her participation in a rally supporting Israel. The teacher barricaded herself with the aid of fellow teachers, as they waited for the police to arrive.

An NBC News article about the November 20 incident stated, "In another incident at the same school a week before that, students attacked a uniformed school safety officer, police said. The students responsible for the attack were taken into custody and charged, the NYPD shared on X, though their names were not immediately released and it was not known what charges they face. It also was not immediately clear whether the incidents were related, officials said. Elected officials sounded off on what occurred at the school, and how the administration handled the situation."

Notable alumni

This is a partial list of notable alumni of Hillcrest High School.

• Fran Drescher (Class of 1975), actress, best known for her role on The Nanny. While there she was told to get voice lessons. Her character Fran Fine from The Nanny also graduated from Hillcrest.
• Nina Foxx (Class of 1982), award-winning author, playwright, filmmaker, and technologist; wrote the NAACP Image Award-nominated novel Momma: Gone
• Bianca Golden (Class of 2006), model, best known for America's Next Top Model (Cycle 9)
• Sherrilyn Ifill (Class of 1980), president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
• Kenneth Pomeranz (Class of 1976), historian best known for his book The Great Divergence
• Ray Romano (Class of 1975), actor, best known for his role as Ray Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond and Manny in all five Ice Age movies

References

Notes

1. ^ "Search for Public Schools - HILLCREST HIGH SCHOOL (360010001965)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
2. Boniello, Kathianne (October 9, 2002). "Queens high schools crack NYPD's top 10 crime report". QNS TimesLedger.
3. Suter, Tara (November 25, 2023). "Queens high school students storm halls after learning teacher attended pro-Israel protest". The Hill. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
4. "'Riot' in Queens high school as anti-Israel students rush Jewish teacher". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
5. Queens high school chaos: Safety officer attacked, teacher targeted in separate incidents, NBC News 4 New York, November 27, 2023
6. Meisler, Andy. "TELEVISION; Mary Poppins She's Not", The New York Times, December 18, 1994. Accessed November 20, 2007. "After she graduated from Hillcrest High School in Queens, where she met Mr. Jacobson, the two of them moved to Los Angeles and were married."
7. Stern, Gary. "Shaping the Civil Rights Discourse: Sherrilyn Ifill '84". Vassar Alumni Quarterly.
8. "Yahoo Movies - Ray Romano". Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2006.

Further reading

• Hillcrest High School gets Undeserved Grade on 2007 Progress Report published by the NY Daily News (November 27, 2007)
• Two Hillcrest High Students Caught Setting Fires At School, Queens Chronicle (April 28, 2005)
• Public Advocate's Newsday Op-Ed on School Safety, Public Advocate for The City of New York (April 5, 2005)
• Principal Apple of His Eye, New York Daily News reprint (January 7, 2004)

External links

• Hillcrest High School website
• Hillcrest High School report card published by the New York State Education Department (NYSED)
• Hillcrest High School's library's website

• Public high schools in Queens, New York
• Jamaica, Queens