The Gateway to Higher Education program was founded by New York City in September 1986. Queens Gateway Secondary School was opened in 1994 or 1995, in partnership with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (now the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai). The school was a product of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Health Professions Partnership Initiative. The school was originally planned to be built on the campus of Queens Hospital Center, but this was deferred due to the city's . Because of this, the school was initially co-located in the buildings of existing schools. It first was housed in Richard Grossley Junior High School (JHS 8) on Merrick Boulevard in South Jamaica. Due to the roof caving in at JHS 8, the school was then moved to the Catherine and Count Basie School (MS 72) on Guy R. Brewer Boulevard in Rochdale Village until June 1996, when the school returned to JHS 8. On April 4, 1997, Queens Gateway began using three classrooms within Queens Hospital Center. In 1998, the Jamaica Jewish Center was renovated in order to convert it into a school building for Queens Gateway. The school began using the building on September 8, 1998.