An all-immigrant high school now has another point of distinction -- it is one of the top 10 schools in the country according to U.S. News & World Report.
The Newcomers High School in Long Island City ranked sixth on the list of 100 best high schools in the country -- the highest of the 12 city high schools that made it to the list.
"For many students, they were at JFK [airport] Wednesday, and today they are here," Principal Orlando Sarmiento, originally from Colombia, told the Daily News. "This is a little Ellis Island."
The high school only takes in students who have come to this country within the past year. It enrolls roughly 1,000 students who speak 30 different languages. Eight Advanced Placement class are offered at the school along with a number of federally funded music and arts programs.
"From the very beginning, we stress that we have very high expectations and then we work hard to meet the needs of the whole child," Sarmiento, who was one of the founding teachers at the school.
On Wednesday, Riaz Ahmed was registering his 15-year-old son Mojeeb who had just arrived from Pakistan.
"I'm glad and hope that it works out for the future of my son," said Ahmed, from Jamaica, Queens, told the News.
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Student s who are now attending the school say that the school helps them learn about the culture here and settle in.
"It's really cool," Ecuadorian immigrant Eric Leon, 18, told the paper. "The people are great. I understand better these cultures. I feel more like home."
New York State had more high school on the list than any other state with a total of 23 schools.
Queens High School for the Sciences at York College is new to the list.
Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson High School took the first place spot.
Schools were ranked by test scores, disadvantaged student’s performance on tests along with scores on the Advanced Placement tests. U.S. News & World Report looked at more than 21,700 schools.
