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Five new schools are expected to open this fall in The Bronx and Queens: Two will exclusively serve students with significant disabilities, three will have an arts focus, and all promise to incorporate project-based learning.
The new schools aim to ease overcrowding in neighborhoods that have historically been bursting at the seams, city officials said. They also are geared to expand access to seats in District 75, a network of public schools for students with significant disabilities, so students don’t have to travel as far to school.
“Our new schools reflect a bold commitment to expanding access to high-quality, rigorous learning experiences for every student, in every neighborhood,” schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said in a statement on Thursday.
Several of the new schools have been in the works for a while, but the move to open new campuses comes at a time when the nation’s largest school system is getting smaller, and the city is increasingly eyeing school mergers as it grapples with enrollment losses. There were roughly 793,000 K-12 students, according to preliminary data for this school year. That’s down about 15% from the 2019-20 school year, when the city served about 912,815 students.
The city opened seven new schools this year and nine new schools the year before. The city recently nixed plans to open New Generation Technology High School, a proposed selective school with an AI focus after community members pushed back on its admissions process and raised concerns about AI use in the classroom.
Here’s a look at the schools expected to open in September:
Academy of Cultural Excellence: Long Island City, Queens
The school, which will serve prekindergarten to fifth grade, aims to foster “confident, curious, and compassionate learners,” according to its website. It will embrace project-based learning and the arts, city officials said. Starting in third grade, students will “co-design an individualized learning pathway, allowing them to pursue areas of interest while maintaining strong academic foundations,” said a blurb on MySchools.
The school will not be zoned, according to MySchools. But students from the nearby P.S./I.S. 78, which had a waitlist last year for students in its zone, will get priority.
The school is in District 30, which has long been overcrowded and is one of the few districts where enrollment has been growing. The district is also home to the largest number of new apartments constructed in the past year — more than 2,470 — according to 2026 data from the New York City School Construction Authority. Yet, city officials expect enrollment to decline in the district, along with most others, over the next decade.
Bronx School of Arts & Exploration: Highbridge/South Crotona, The Bronx
This District 75 school, for students in grades K-8, will have an arts focus, integrating core academics with visual and performing arts. It will also employ project-based learning and performance-based assessments, school officials said.
The Bronx School of Hip-Hop: Claremont, The Bronx
Students at this 9-12 school will study hip-hop — emceeing, DJing, and graffiti — in the borough that birthed the art form. The school will also teach entrepreneurship and civic engagement through music while creating pathways to college, internships, and careers for students, school officials previously said.
“It’s about keeping the Bronx at the center of a culture we gave to the world,” Carl Manalo, the high school superintendent for Districts 7, 9, and 12, said when the city approved the school in December.
Each classroom will operate like a studio, according to the school’s MySchools page, with units culminating in showcases for students’ original work.
Admissions are based on what’s known as “Ed. Opt,” where a certain number of students performing at “high, medium, and low” academic levels are accepted.
Queens Academy for Innovative Learning: Astoria, Queens
Students from grades 6-12 at this District 75 schools will focus on STEM and work-based learning to help prepare them for jobs after high school.
West Q Elementary (P.S. 437): Woodside, Queens
This new elementary school in Queens’ District 24 will seek to blend math and literacy instruction with more hands-on projects. According to its MySchools page, each grade in the K-5 school will take on a “signature project that connects classroom learning to real-world experiences.” District 24 has roughly 1,300 open seats across its middle and elementary schools, but roughly a third of its 83 school buildings were listed as overcrowded last year, according to city data. The district is also projected to lose among the most students of any district in the next decade, according to the city’s predictions.
West Q will not be zoned, but will give priority to students who live in the district, according to its MySchools page.
Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org
Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
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The post The Bronx and Queens Get New Public Schools, Including One for Hip-Hop appeared first on THE CITY – NYC News.
