Yonkers Public Schools officials have announced plans to address the current overcapacity issue by constructing a new school designed to educate students and provide essential services to the community.

The district has 4,500 seats over capacity, and this new school is part of a more considerable effort to rebuild aging Yonkers schools and address capacity issues.
The final structural beam for the new school, located on McClean Avenue, was recently laid, marking a milestone for Yonkers. The school, named after Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, will eventually accommodate pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade students.

Tasha Diaz, a product of the Yonkers school system and current representative for District Three, where the school is being built, expressed her enthusiasm for the project: "When this school was designed, it was designed around the community, for the community."

Dr. Edwin Quezada, Superintendent of Yonkers Public Schools, elaborated on the new school's services, stating that it will offer "medical services, dental, vision as well as address their social and emotional needs."

The school will serve as the center of the community, with a community center open to the public, detached from the school, but accessible via a hallway.
The new school aims to address the needs of Yonkers families, as according to the census, around 13% of them live in poverty. The $80-million project will receive a 70% reimbursement from New York State, alleviating the financial burden on local Yonkers property taxpayers.

Fundraising efforts for two additional schools are ongoing, with construction expected to be completed by the end of 2026. The new school on McClean Avenue is scheduled to open its doors in the fall of 2024.