Public school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States
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.[1]
The mascot is the hawk (changed from the Braves, 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 also the 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. In 2002 the school was listed as the most violent high school in the city.[2] After his retirement, David T. Morrison, a graduate of Hillcrest and who served as the AP of English for several years, became the new principal.
On November 20, 2023, several hundred students of Hillcrest High School participated in a riot, 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.[3][4] 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."[5]
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.[6] 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 female technologist who 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 [7]
- Ray Romano (Class of 1975), actor, best known for his role as Ray Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond and Manny in all five of the Ice Age movies.[8]
