The school is located at 465 New Dorp Lane next to Miller Field, an army airport turned park, which extends to the Lower New York Bay.

New Dorp High School is located in Region 7, which encompasses all of Staten Island and portions of southwest Brooklyn.

Established in 1937, local officials had planned for a high school in the area as early as 1922, per the Staten Island Advance's archives.

Its division into four wings helps organize the smaller learning communities, and its layout promotes speedy arrival to classes.

In 2012, The Atlantic magazine highlighted the effectiveness of the school's emphasis on essay-writing skills: "an overwhelming focus on teaching the basics of analytic writing, every day, in virtually every class.

"[3] At the main entrance of New Dorp High School stands a large aluminum sculpture by Bill Barrett.