History

The Building

1917: P.S. 93 opened as an elementary school serving grades 1 to 8 and could accommodate about 1,100 students. The school was built on what used to be a local apple orchard.

1961: P.S. 93 became J.H.S. 93 (Junior High School 93), serving grades 7, 8, and 9. A cafeteria, a music room, a band room, and a gymnasium were added to the building. With these additions, the school lost half of the original school yard.

1998: A three-story modular unit opened to accommodate a rapidly increasing student population of more than 1,600. This unit, commonly referred to today as the “new wing,” replaced what remained of the original school yard. J.H.S. 93 became I.S.93 (Intermediate School 93) and referred to as a middle school serving grades 6, 7, and 8.

2018: Construction begins to make I.S. 93 fully accessible (ADA compliant), which will include an elevator.

Changing Demographics

I.S. 93 opened its doors in September of 1917. There were only 35 graduates in its first year of operation. Since its beginning, I.S. 93 has served the local community, which has always included many immigrants coming to the U.S. for a better life. Through the mid-20th century, most immigrants were white of European origin - predominantly Ireland, Germany and Italy. Around the 50's and 60's, Romanians, Serbians, and Puerto Ricans made their homes in Ridgewood. During the years of integration/desegregation, African American students were bussed to I.S. 93 from the Corona area and represented about 5% of the student body. From 1980 to present day, many I.S. 93 students have come from Poland, China, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Our current demographics snapshot shows 71% of our students are Hispanic or Latino, 10% are Asian, 17% are white, and 1% are Black or African American. For historical information on Ridgewood, Queens, click here.

The Principals

Thomas Donahue 1917-1928 11 years

Stuart Wilson 1928-1932 03 years

Alexander Goldstein 1932-1951 19 years

George Cassidy 1951-1960 09 years

Joseph Downey 1960-1962 02 years

Irving Berchuck* 1962-1968 06 years

George Salant 1968-1982 14 years

Joseph Quinn* 1982-1983 01 year

Allen Formichella 1983-1992 09 years

Catherine Powis* 1992-2000 08 years

George Foley 2000-2007 07 years

Edward Santos 2007-Present

*Became District 24 superintendents

From left to right, Alexander Goldstein, George Cassidy, Irving Berchuck, George Salant, Joseph Quinn, Allen Formichella, Catherine Powis, and George Foley. The search is on for photos of previous principals.