Long Island City High School is emphasizing the importance of role-models in the lives of its younger students.
A group of school alumni created Practice Makes Perfect at Long Island City High School, a seven-week, summer program which provides students entering fifth grade with tutors and mentors by pairing them with tenth graders.
The tenth graders, who underwent a weeklong training program led by Teach for America, will be paid for intensive one-on-two skill development. Sessions will also be managed by volunteer undergraduate interns.
The initiative is designed for high achieving middle school and high school students. In only its first year in operation, the program currently has over two dozen members.
Led by Karim Abouelnaga and Nicolas Savvides, the group of alumni, who are now sophomores in college, identified the need to provide younger children with role-models who could also advance their education.
Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr., who represents Astoria, visited the program on August 8.
“Our high school and middle school students don’t have to look beyond the founders of this creative and thought-provoking organization for mentors or role-models,” said Vallone. “I commend everyone involved, from our youngest students and their high school mentors, to their college supervisors. Its summer and they are willfully in school, planning ahead and learning one of the most important life lessons – giving back.”
