ining up for lunch with their plastic foam trays, students at Francis Lewis High School pile on their choices — hamburgers here, chicken nuggets there, some steamed vegetables over there.
At Francis Lewis, in Fresh Meadows, Queens, with nearly twice as many students as the 2,400 it was designed for, administrators have been forced to look for every possible nook and cranny of space — and time — to cram in more bodies. The first lunch period starts at 8:57 a.m.; the last one ends at 2:46 p.m. Some students begin classes as early as 7 a.m., while others do not finish until 12 hours later.
The flag team practices in the hallway. Hundreds of students are assigned to physical education in room “Outs” — the schedule abbreviation for outside. When it snows or the temperature drops below 34 degrees, they run in the corridors. A few science classes are held in one tiny square room with no ventilation.