At a Glance
A career-technical Staten Island high school where students pick a trade in 9th grade and graduate with a credential — not just a diploma.
Best suited for
Staten Island families who want their teen to leave high school with a tangible, hireable skill — software, electrical, automotive, carpentry, graphic design — and who are comfortable committing to a screened, application-based high school.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of 4-year graduation, English Regents college-ready and Regents completion · DOE 2025 report
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- Seven distinct CTE programs with screened admissions (offer rates 14–25%), letting students commit to a specific career path as freshmen.
- Zero suspensions — an extraordinary discipline record for a 768-student high school where more than a third of students have IEPs.
- 100% teacher-reported instruction quality and parent trust above 95% for both teachers and the principal.
- One of the broadest sports menus in the district, with 20+ teams including fencing, handball, swimming, and stunt.
- Program richness score of 90/100, signaling an unusually full extracurricular and academic offering for the enrollment size.
Things to consider
- Screened admissions — students must apply to a specific CTE program and be selected; this is not a zoned neighborhood school.
- 36% IEP enrollment means a high share of students need additional support, which can stretch resources.
- PTA fundraising of $2 per student is a fraction of the district's $141 average — parent enthusiasm may not extend to fundraising or capital improvements.
- The 19% family survey response rate is low, so even the 92% parent satisfaction number reflects a self-selected group.
- Teacher-principal trust (77%) lags noticeably behind parent-principal trust (97%) — worth asking the school directly about that gap.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 31
McKee is the only career-technical high school in District 31 (Staten Island) and stands apart from the elementary schools listed as peers by serving grades 9–12 with a workforce-development mission. Its screened, program-based admissions make it a specialized pathway option rather than a typical borough high school.
Academics
McKee's identity is built around its seven CTE programs — electrical engineering, software engineering, graphic design, automotive technology, carpentry, architectural drafting, and virtual enterprise — each with offer rates between 14% and 25%, meaning applicants face real competition for seats. The school layers in AP courses, ELL support, and Spanish on the academic side, giving students both a career credential and a college-eligible transcript. With a program richness score of 90/100, McKee offers an unusually broad menu for a school of 768 students, even though standard proficiency figures aren't reported here.
Culture
Zero suspensions is the headline number — for a high school of 768 students where 36% have IEPs, that's a striking discipline profile and points to a structured, well-managed building. Parents give the school a 92% satisfaction rating with 96–97% trust in teachers and the principal, though the 19% family survey response rate means those numbers reflect a self-selected group of respondents. Teacher-reported instruction quality is 100%, but teacher-principal trust sits at 77% — meaningfully lower than the parent side, hinting that staff may have a more complicated view of leadership than families do.
Community
The student body is 52% Hispanic, 27% Black, 16% White, and 3% Asian, with a 65% diversity index and 36% of students classified as having IEPs — well above the citywide norm. The economic need index of 77.2 means more than three-quarters of students come from low-income households, which fits the surrounding neighborhood where 19.5% of residents live below the poverty line and the median household income is $73,042. Because admissions are screened, the school pulls from across Staten Island rather than just the immediate block, which is part of why the demographic mix doesn't mirror the lower-child-share neighborhood around it.
Neighborhood
St. George-New Brighton sits on Staten Island's North Shore, where the median household income is around $73,000 and just 13% of households have children — a relatively low share that reflects the area's mix of young renters, long-time residents, and ferry commuters heading into Manhattan. Homeownership is below 36% and about a third of adults hold a bachelor's degree, painting a picture of a working- and middle-class neighborhood with a steady rental market and the ferry terminal as its anchor.
McKee is about a 7-minute walk from the St. George SIR station and a 10-minute walk from Tompkinsville (SIR), making the Staten Island Railway the practical commute for students coming from elsewhere on the island.
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 112 families responded (19% rate)
Programs & Activities
Admissions Demand
This course proceeds from the wiring of simple and low voltage circuits including signal systems security alarms, computer-controlled motors operations & robotics to residential electrical systems installation, circuit design & installation of various wiring methods: armored cable & electrical metallic tubing in the residential sector culminating in commercial wiring, motor control circuit design/installation, & solar energy. Students are prepared for college and industry based positions.
Software Engineering (SEP) gives students training and experience in coding. The core topics are Python, Scratch, HTML, CSS, processing & JAVA. Additional programming electronics and robotics skills are learned with Arduino, & LEGO robotics. Within robotics, students learn LEGO Mindstorms, EV3, & digital fabrication. Within 3-D printing using Makerbot, students learn Flash, Animation, and Action Script. Students are prepared for college and industry based positions.
Virtual Enterprise offers students a competitive edge through project based collaborative learning and the development of 21st century skills in entrepreneurship and digital marketing strategies. Students engage in an in-school, live, global business simulation sharpening skill-sets and knowledge base in problem solving, communication, personal finance, and technology. Students will be certified in Social Media Marketing. Students are prepared for college and industry based positions.
Graphic Design prepares students for art and media design careers using digital technology. Students will use the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Premiere Pro) and Web Design. Students will have the opportunity to take multiple certifications given by the design industry leading software provider. Students participate in internships, advanced study, and work in the field of graphic design. Students are prepared for college and industry based positions.
In Architectural Drafting students advance from technical drawing to visualizing in 3 dimensions, to expanding their technical imagination, & the language of industry. Computer Aided Drafting (CAD), board drafting, and 3D solid modeling are integral in understanding engineering, construction & manufacturing processes. Students use the latest industrial software (AutoCad and Revit). Students receive a technical endorsement and are prepared for college and industry based positions.
NYS & NATEF approved Automotive Technology program uses the NATEF General Service Technician Program curriculum. NATEF sets national standards for instruction, tasks, tools, equipment, hours & instructor qualifications. Topics include electronic systems ABS (braking), air bag, fuel injection and sensor theory plus analysis and testing of related on-board computer functions, steering/suspension, and brake systems. The instructors for the program are Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certified.
Carpentry and Building Trades leads to an industry recognized endorsement in construction and OSHA certification. Students are immersed in residential and commercial building designs. Students develop their capacity with all tools used in the construction industry and computer aided inputs such as the Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machine. Eligible students enter a pre-apprenticeship New York Labor union program during senior year, which may lead to a full time apprenticeship after graduation.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
High school (9th grade)
High school is one citywide application, made in 8th grade. Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School admits through 7 programs, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Architectural DraftingEd. Opt.
- Automotive TechnologyEd. Opt.
- CISCO Networking AcademyScreened28 seats
- Construction/CarpentryEd. Opt.28 seats
- Electrical Engineering and Installation ProgramEd. Opt.
- Graphic DesignScreened
- Software EngineeringScreened
High school application
- Opened
- Tue, Oct 6
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 4
- Offers
- Wed, Mar 3
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the high school application, in 8th grade.
- 2Screened programs rank the 7th-grade core-course average, so last year's final grades are the ones that count.
- 3Educational Option programs fill in equal shares across three reading levels, half by the school's ranking and half by lottery.
- 4Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School a good school?
- On Motley, Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School earns an overall rating of 65/100 — the average of the school's four-year graduation rate, the share of its students scoring college-ready (70+) on the English Regents, and its Regents completion rate, shown out of 100.
- What grades does Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School serve?
- Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School serves grades 9 to 12.
- How do students get into Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School?
- Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School is a screened school — it admits by application, ranking applicants on their course grades (4th grade for middle school, the 7th-grade core-course average for high school); a few schools add an assessment, writing sample, or interview.
- Is Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School public, charter, or private?
- Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School is a public school in NYC Community School District 31.
- What neighborhood is Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School in?
- Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School is in St. George-New Brighton, Staten Island.