Justice Sonia Sotomayor Cuts Ribbon on New Yonkers School

YONKERS—Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Yonkers Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools Mr. Aníbal Soler, Jr. along with local and state officials welcomed on Sept, 16, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to celebrate the opening of the Yonkers Public School District’s newly constructed school named in her honor.

Located at 121 McLean Ave., the community school will serve more than 600 students from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade. The Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School is the first of three new schools to be constructed by the City of Yonkers in its efforts to rebuild the aging infrastructure of the Yonkers Public Schools. The new Yonkers Public School opened its doors to students on September 5, 2024.

Designed as a community school, the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School features multi-functional spaces that are accessible evenings and weekends without the need to open the entire school building. Special amenities include a multi-purpose gymnasium and meeting room with stage; a full-sized basketball court and locker rooms; a cafeteria and meeting room with full kitchen; and a health suite with two exam rooms and a dental exam room. It is also the district’s first school to be constructed in accordance with the Yonkers green building standards.

“The Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School is the first of its kind in our District and is a model moving forward as we continue to rebuild our schools,” said Mayor Spano. “Our local schools are the heart of our neighborhoods and should be made accessible not only for educational enrichment, but also for the benefit of the families who live in the area. We are fortunate for the opportunity to welcome and dedicate a new school in recognition of the positive change Justice Sotomayor represents to our students and District.”

The Journal News reported that Justice Sotomayor said in prepared remarks: "I have often said that equality among people in the United States will not occur until there is equality in the education of all of our children. I am deeply grateful to the many people—and the state is filled with them, as is the audience—who have sponsored and promoted this project and brought it to life."

The Justice School is the first phase in implementing the Yonkers Joint Schools Construction and Modernization Plan, which began in 2016. The average age of a Yonkers Public School is 75 years old with many as old as 100 years old, making them some of the oldest in New York State. New York State passed legislation that enabled the creation of the Yonkers Joint Schools Construction Board, which bonded for the cost of the new $75.6 million, 96,000-square-foot facility. New York State allocated $53 million of the project’s total cost.

Mayor Spano added, “Today would not be possible without the commitment of the Yonkers State Delegation, our state leaders and school stakeholders in supporting our efforts to improve the environments in which our children learn. Let’s keep up the momentum in fighting for the needs our students and their families deserve.”

The Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School will also serve as a new Dual Language school that provides students with a rigorous academic program of instruction affirming multilingualism and multiculturalism, as well as the social, emotional, and intellectual development of each child. Dual language schools are designed for native and non-native English speakers to achieve bilingualism, biliteracy, cross-cultural competence, and academic proficiency equal to the levels achieved by students in non-English Language Learning programs. The school’s instructional program, provided in both English and the home/primary language, aligns with New York State and Yonkers Learning Standards. Students will embark on a journey to earn the New York State Seal of Biliteracy when graduating from high school.

Superintendent of School Aníbal Soler, Jr. commented, “The Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School represents more than just a new building – it symbolizes the promise of opportunity and achievement for our students and the entire Yonkers community. Justice Sotomayor’s incredible journey from a neighborhood like ours to the highest court in the land serves as a powerful example of what can be achieved through hard work, resilience, and a passion for learning. This school will be a place where students and families alike can gather, learn, and grow. We are deeply grateful to Mayor Spano for his vision and to all the stakeholders who made this dream a reality.”

Built on the site of the former St. Denis Catholic School, the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School is the first Yonkers Public School constructed since 2000 and is designed in accordance with the Yonkers green building standards. The school’s sustainable features include photo voltaic solar panels, green roofs, high-efficiency electric heat pumps (no fossil fuels used for heating), extensive natural daylighting with sunshades, low water use plumbing fixtures, fresh air ventilation with MERV 13 filtration, LED light fixtures, recycled content in materials and low VOC interior finishes and furnishings.

The new Yonkers Public School is dedicated to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor, Associate Justice, was born in Bronx, on June 25, 1954. She earned a B.A. in 1976 from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and a member of Phi Beta Kappa and receiving the Pyne Prize, the highest academic honor Princeton awards to an undergraduate. In 1979, she earned a J.D. from Yale Law School where she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. She served as Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office from 1979–1984. She then litigated international commercial matters in New York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she served as an associate and then partner from 1984–1992.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992–1998. In 1997, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit where she served from 1998–2009. President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2009, and she assumed this role August 8, 2009.