Gateway to Health Science High School

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Gateway to Health Science High School is a small alternative school in southeast Queens, New York that is designed to encourage students to consider hospital careers.

Students have five-week internships at nearby Queens Hospital, visiting departments ranging from radiology to administration and offering oral presentations on what they've learned about each. The hope is that students exposed to a variety of departments will develop interests in different kinds of jobs -- not just those of doctor and nurse.

The school has a new, well-kept building, a formal, no-nonsense tone and a traditional approach to classroom teaching. The school was founded in 1995 and at first suffered from a rapid turnover of staff. Many students who entered in middle school decided not to stay for high school. Now, however, the majority of students stay for high school.

"It doesn't have the facilities of a big school, such as an auditorium or a traditional gym," said principal Cynthia Edwards. "Yet the sense of home and family is greater here." One possible drawback to the hospital internships: travel time between the school and the hospital means instructional time is lost. Gateway to Health Services is one of 209 schools the chancellor exempted from the citywide uniform curriculum, mandated in 2003. (This school is featured in New York City's Best Public Middle Schools. Clara Hemphill 2000, updated 2003)