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Queens High School Integrates Art, Robotics, and Gaming for Future-Ready Students

  //sports-competition.news-articles.net/content/2 .. botics-and-gaming-for-future-ready-students.html
  Published in Sports and Competition on Wednesday, January 7th 2026 at 1:42 GMT by CBS News

Queens High School Blends Art, Robotics, and Gaming to Prepare Students for the Future

A unique public high school in Queens, New York, is garnering attention for its innovative approach to education, blending health sciences, arts, robotics, and technology. The Health, Arts, and Robotics Technology (HART) school, located in Jackson Heights, is not just teaching traditional subjects; it’s actively preparing students for the rapidly evolving landscape of 21st-century careers, with a particular emphasis on STEM fields and creative problem-solving. The school recently made headlines after its video game team, the "HART Gamers," achieved notable success in regional championships, highlighting the school’s holistic and successful educational model.

HART school opened in 2016 and deliberately avoids the rigid, single-focus curriculum common in many specialized high schools. Instead, it champions a project-based learning approach where students integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines. This means a student might be designing a robotic prosthetic hand (integrating robotics and health sciences) while simultaneously crafting a compelling narrative and visual presentation about its impact on a patient (drawing on arts and communication skills).

Principal Dr. Marie Cielo explains that the idea is to break down traditional silos. “We’re trying to teach students to think critically, to collaborate, and to create,” she stated in the CBS News report. “We want them to be well-rounded individuals who are prepared for whatever the future holds.” This philosophy is reflected in the school's core tenets: Innovation, Collaboration, and Community.

The curriculum is organized around “learning strands,” which aren’t simply subject areas, but thematic explorations. These strands include Biomedical Engineering, Digital Media & Design, and Robotics & AI. Within these, students delve into specific projects, often mirroring real-world challenges. For instance, students have worked on projects like developing assistive technologies for people with disabilities, creating public health campaigns using digital media, and building and programming robots for various applications.

The success of the HART Gamers video game team is a particularly compelling illustration of the school's integrated learning philosophy. The team competes in League of Legends, a popular multi-player online battle arena (MOBA) game. While seemingly disconnected from the health sciences or robotics aspects of the school, participation in esports at HART is treated as a legitimate extracurricular activity with academic benefits. The school provides coaching, practice space, and even academic credit for participation.

Beyond the mechanical skills honed – strategy, teamwork, reaction time, and communication – participation in competitive gaming at HART also emphasizes critical thinking, data analysis (understanding game statistics), and leadership. The school actively ties the skills learned in esports back to core academic subjects. For example, students might analyze their team’s performance using data analytics techniques learned in a math class, or create promotional content for the team utilizing skills from the digital media strand.

This emphasis on esports is part of a growing trend. As noted in a recent article by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), esports is rapidly becoming a mainstream high school activity, with thousands of schools now offering esports programs. The NFHS highlights the benefits of esports as an inclusive activity promoting cognitive skills, teamwork, and sportsmanship. HART’s approach goes further, by intentionally weaving esports into the fabric of the school’s overall academic mission.

The school’s approach isn't without its challenges. Funding remains a consistent hurdle, as specialized equipment for robotics, digital media, and even esports can be expensive. However, the school leverages grants, partnerships with local businesses, and fundraising efforts to provide students with access to necessary resources.

The HART school's model appears to be yielding tangible results. Graduates have been accepted into prestigious colleges and universities, pursuing degrees in fields like engineering, computer science, medicine, and the arts. More importantly, they are equipped with a skillset that transcends specific disciplines, making them adaptable and resourceful problem-solvers.

In a world where the future of work is increasingly uncertain, HART school is demonstrating that preparing students for success isn't about memorizing facts, but about cultivating creativity, critical thinking, and the ability to integrate knowledge from diverse fields. The school serves as a model for how education can evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world, proving that blending art, technology, health sciences, and even video games, can unlock a student’s full potential.