Richmond Hill High School is a four-year public high school located in Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill, Queens

Richmond Hill is a neighborhood in central-southern Queens, New York City, USA. It is bordered by Kew Gardens to the north, Woodhaven and Ozone Park to the west, South Ozone Park to the south and South Jamaica to the east...

, Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, as part of the New York City Department of Education

New York City Department of Education

The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...

.

History

Richmond Hill High School was founded in 1899 in the then-bucolic setting of Richmond Hill. As such, it is the oldest high school south of Jamaica Avenue in Queens, New York. The high school shared its facility with a local elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

 on Johnson Avenue. In 1899 the first students were admitted to the Johnson Avenue site, and in 1919 the current site was opened on 114th street.

The school, built to accommodate 1,800 students, has reached an enrollment of 3,600 for the 2007-08 school year, severely straining the school's ability to serve its students. Lunch periods begin before 9:00 AM and most freshmen attend classes in trailers moved to the site.

Awards

• Rudolph Giuliani, Mayor of New York, proclaimed September 24, 1997, as "Richmond Hill High School Day".

Notable alumni

• Anthony Joseph Cardinal Bevilacqua (1923-), He was the Bishop of Pittsburgh
  Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
  The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh is a Roman Catholic diocese. It was established in Western Pennsylvania on August 11, 1843. The diocese includes 211 parishes in the counties of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence, and Washington, an area of with a Catholic population of 719,801...
  
   from 1983 to 1987 and Archbishop of Philadelphia
  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
  The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The diocese was...
  
   from 1987 to 2003, and was raised to the cardinalate
  Cardinal (Catholicism)
  A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
  
   in 1991.
• Rodney Dangerfield
  Rodney Dangerfield
  Rodney Dangerfield , was an American comedian, and actor, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologues on that theme...
  
  , comedian, graduated in 1939.
• Seymour Halpern
  Seymour Halpern
  Seymour Halpern was a United States Representative from New York. He was born in New York City November 19, 1913. He graduated from Richmond Hill High School and attended Seth Low College of Columbia University from 1932 to 1934...
  
   (1913–1997), represented New York in Congress from 1959 to 1973.
• Phil Rizzuto
  Phil Rizzuto
  Philip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
  
  - (1917-2007) baseball player and commentator.
• Bob Turner
  Bob Turner (politician)
  Robert L. "Bob" Turner is the United States Representative for New York's 9th congressional district which straddles parts of Brooklyn and Queens. He is a member of the Republican Party, holding his first public office. He was elected in September 2011 to complete the term of Democrat Anthony...
  
   (born 1941) is the Congressman for New York's ninth congressional district.