The Glen Oaks School Campus was the largest public school project in the United States.  Due to the urgent need to provide student seats for the expanding population in Queens, this sizable project was bid as a Design/Build contract with a fast-track construction schedule of twenty-seven months.
Covering thirty-two acres in Queens, New York, the project consists of two schools for students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, accommodating 1685 students and The High School for Teaching Professionals, seating 1,182 students as well as playgrounds, a new access road and 250 parking spaces. 
The HS for teaching Professions is unique in that there are observation rooms with two-way glass in between certain classrooms allowing administrators, students and teachers to view a class without interruption.  
Since the site is near the overpasses of two major highways, the schools are situated to form a five-sided interior courtyard - an outdoor space protected from the surrounding busy environment.  By simply re-orienting the stair towers and detailing a glazed façade, John Ciardullo Associates endowed the building with a sense of movement as the students change classes during their daily routine. The stair towers become lively glass gateways to the interior courtyard.