History of Queens Tech

The building became strained due to overcrowding, so plans were made to construct a building for the Queens Continuation School. The Board of Education decided to include vocational education as well. On September 9, 1929, our present building opened for the newly renamed Queens Vocational and Continuation School. In 1935 the school established full session vocational classes. The curriculum for boys included Automobile Repair, Printing, Machine, Radio, Sheet Metal and Electrical Shops; for girls, courses included Dressmaking and Beauty Culture. A Commercial Department course was available for both boys and girls. On November 25, 1936, the school was renamed Queens Vocational High School.

The school added interscholastic sports and student activities through the early years, including Honor Society, Leaders’ Corps, Borough Discussion, Glee Club, and Honor Guard.

Over the decades, new shop programs were added and others were either modified or discontinued as technology and workplace needs changed. In the 1980s, we eliminated our Machine Shop and Practical Nursing programs. Our Automation program is now Computer Technology, and our Radio Mechanics program is now Pre-Engineering. Also in the 1980s, we added “Technical” to our name to reflect our status as a Career and Technical Education school. Our newest career areas are Cloud Network and Graphic Design. 

We added a new wing in 2005 that replaced our former school yard. As a continuation school, we never had a cafeteria or gymnasium until this addition. In 2018, the Department of Education approved a new name: Queens Technical High School. Today, Queens Tech prepares graduates who are both college and career ready, while maintaining a strong "family" atmosphere. In fact, many of our career and technical education teachers are Queens Tech graduates.