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Flushing International High School

Flushing International High School, nominated by Aurora Institute, Springpoint Schools and an anonymous organization, is a high school in New York, New York that describes itself as a public district school serving learners from a primarily urban area.

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Location New York, New York

Governance Public district school

Grades High

Students 417

Locale Urban

Principal Kevin Hesseltine

Demographics

Percentage of students*

94%

English Learners

90%

Free/Reduced Lunch

10%

Students with Disabilities

African American or Black 2%

American Indian/Alaska Native —

Asian 24%

Hawaiian or Pacific Islander —

Hispanic or Latino 70%

White 4%

2+ Races —

Why Flushing International High School was nominated

Flushing International High School (FIHS) is part of the Internationals Network for Public Schools. FIHS's mission is to serve recent immigrants to the United States who are new learners of English. The school focuses on developing students' proficiency in English while simultaneously developing their skills in their native language and empowering them to engage with rigorous interdisciplinary content in learner-centered environments. The school views every teacher as both a language teacher and a teacher of academic content and skills; students develop language skills and academic content simultaneously with each reinforcing the other. Classes are mixed according to age, grade, academic ability, prior schooling, native language, and linguistic proficiency. Prior to entry, FIHS students have all resided in the United States for less than four years. Collectively, they represent 40 countries and speak over 20 languages. The school organizes its teaching cycle around three types of learning outcomes: work habits, language, and academic disciplines. Teachers meet once a week within their academic disciplines and their cohort teams, which has led to more interdisciplinary projects and strong learning outcomes. FIHS embodies a holistic framework of mission, vision, and culture. The school is deeply connected to the community and performs extensive family outreach as well as social justice advocacy on behalf of its students. The school provides a wide array of community services, including legal support. The school culture is organized around 12 principles: collaboration, peace and justice, self-expression, academic excellence and learning, love and belonging, holism, respect, caring for our environment, honoring diversity, community building, leadership, and creativity. The school has a transparent and intentional approach to mastery, which also serves to bolster the project-based focus and support students as they hone their English language skills., Mastery-based education school with focus on international students., Flushing International High School at Elmhurst takes a comprehensive approach that supports the linguistic, academic, and socio-emotional development of recent immigrant and refugee youth through a blend of language-rich, interdisciplinary, collaborative, and experiential learning.

Student experience design

The best learning environments for everyone are collaborative and value differences in identity: experiences, race, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, age, religious beliefs, languages, abilities, personality, and culture. Every identity and family are essential and are valued as resources for the students, school community, and society. As a school community, we actively commit to dismantling policies, structures, and systems created to minimize the impact of inequitable practices at the individual, institutional, and structural levels. Flushing International High School believes in restorative justice practices supporting our community to heal, celebrate, invite people in, build community, and nurturing relationships.

Core Practices

Core Practices Length of Use

Anti-racist Practices
5+ years

Grading Policies Focus On Mastery
5+ years

Project-based Learning
5+ years

Restorative Practices
5+ years

All Practices

Student Advisories

Assessments For Agency And Self-directed Learning

Assessments For Career Readiness

Assessments For Deeper Learning

Blended Learning

Career Prep And Work-based Learning

Co-leadership

Community And Business Partnerships

Family And Community Support Services

Competency/mastery-based Education

Culturally Responsive Practices

Early College High School

Extended Learning Opportunities

Flexible Staffing & Alternative Teaching Roles

Hiring For Equity And Inclusion Values

All Courses Designed For Inclusion

Interdisciplinary

Mental Health Services

1:1 Mentoring

No Tracked Classes

Multiple Opportunities To Demonstrate Mastery

Peer To Peer Support

Performance Based Assessment

Place-based Learning

Reallocation Of Resources For Those Most In Need

SEL Curriculum

SEL Integration School-wide

Social Justice Focus

Student-led Conferences

Students Access Their Own Data

Student-led Goal Setting

Students Develop Projects

Trauma-informed Practices

Tutoring

key reasons for innovating

Improve student mental health

Models Implemented

Grades 9-12

College Inquiry

Grades 10-12

National Ed Equity Lab

Date Updated: 4/1/2025

*Canopy profile data is self-reported or sourced from NCES data, then verified by school leaders.