Flushing High School, which was founded in 1875, is the oldest public school in the city. Feeling that the time had come for the town of Flushing to have its own high school, the Flushing Board of Education appropriated the necessary funds. In 1841, the boundaries of School District No. 5 in the town of Flushing was determined by the citizen's commissioners. Two years later a board of trustees selected the corner of Garden and Church streets, where a school house was built. In 1848, the Board of Education was organized. The introductory statement to the rules of the board was: "Obedience to the laws of the school lays a sure foundation of obedience to the laws of the country." An example of the laws was: "The pupils are required to clean their shoes, and go in and out with as little noise as possible. Running, loud talking scuffling, whistling, and so forth are at all times prohibited." Flushing grew rapidly and soon the number of school children overcrowded the school. At a meeting in 1873, the people decided upon the building of another school. A short time after this, the plot of land on the corner of Sanford Avenue and Union Street was purchased. Imagine how it looked. Think of square edifice, the extreme western end of the present structure, set off by itself and surrounded by green lawns and shady trees. The school, at first consisted of only a grammar department, but shortly after was recognized by the Board of Regents and its organization was completed. It was the pioneer in it's field, and the only public high school within the limits of the Greater New York recognized by the board for eighteen years. By, 1891, more room was needed and the present structure was built. In 1899 there were only six graduates with a faculty of seven. Over the years, the school has won a reputation and a place of honor in the borough, the city, and state.

Francis Lewis High School (FLHS) is a selective public high school located in Fresh Meadows, in the New York City borough of Queens. It is one of the most-applied-to public high schools in New York City with 9,468 applicants in 2016. Operated by the New York City Department of Education, the school serves students of grades 9–12. The school is named after Francis Lewis, who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New York. The school has several competitive and high-performing academic programs. Students are admitted to the school, either as zoned applicants from the surrounding area, or through these programs, whose acceptance rate are below 3% in the 2019 admissions statistics, some being as low as 1%. The school has a 93% attendance rate, compared to 89% citywide. The school's graduation rate is 88% in four years, compared to 76% citywide. Of the graduating class, 82% of graduates enrolled in college or other post-secondary program within six months of graduation, compared to 59% citywide. Francis Lewis is one of the most selective and applied to public high schools in New York City. In March 2016, Francis Lewis had 9,468 applicants applying for a seat in the school. During the 2019–2020 school year, Francis Lewis had 4,418 students enrolled. For the 2019–2020 academic year, the student body was 56% Asian, 22% Hispanic, 16% Caucasian, and 6% African American. Ten percent of the students were learning English as a second language. Fourteen percent of the students had special needs. Francis Lewis is also one of the most overcrowded; it has a capacity of 2,300, and the 2019–2020 enrollment figures exceeded that capacity by 176 percent. In 2019, the New York City School Construction Authority started constructing an annex with 500 seats and amenities such as a culinary arts room, a science lab, and a greenhouse. The annex is scheduled to be completed in September 2021.