Kevin Dougherty’s return aids revival of vital program

After community members welcomed back Kevin Dougherty to his post as principal of Elmont High School, many were excited to see the continuation of one of the school’s most beloved programs — The Men of Elmont.

The Men of Elmont, a mentoring program that Dougherty created at the high school in 2016, teaches core leadership values through weekly mentorship meetings and participates in community service. The group also hosts guest speakers, attends different field trips and visits colleges and museums.

The mentor group initially aimed to help boys who were getting into trouble at school, and Dougherty’s goal was to give the students a space to have real discussions around topics they were interested in and get them on the right track.

Dougherty had been placed on an unexplained leave of absence right before the start of the school year, in what administration officials described as a “sabbatical.” The move sparked protests among parents and students, who demanded answers about his sudden removal. Dougherty, who has served as principal for seven years, was reinstated to his position effective Oct. 11.

After Dougherty was placed on leave, Men of Elmont advisers Jon Johnson and Ray Ramos, both close colleagues of the principal, said they were banned from school premises.

Since Dougherty had to juggle many tasks as principal, he needed more adult mentors to be included in the program. Ramos, who was an on-staff security guard, had done some mentoring outside of the school. Ramos, who is also a retired NYPD officer and detective, said he saw the positive impact the mentoring program had on students, and thus volunteered to be a mentor for the program.

Having also served in the Army, Ramos helped the group adopt the core values of the U.S. Army — leadership, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage — and aligned them with what these values mean to a high school student.

After Dougherty had a set group of students coming each week, in order to give the group an identity, he asked them to come up with a name.

“One of our biggest things is that we want to give the kids ownership,” Dougherty said. “We purposely always look to include student voices in what we’re doing.”

Thus The Men of Elmont name was officially born, and through the years, the group has added more mentors to the program, including school guidance counselor Mike Fleury, Kareem Agoro, Johnson, who is a parent in Elmont, and Pastor Curtis Thompson, who was a guest speaker for the group several times before becoming a mentor. “It’s like a brotherhood because of the connection we’ve formed with each other and the mentees” said Thompson.

The program’s focus is to help empower young men of color to pursue education and leadership positions.

“We want to dispel the myth that all young Black and brown men need to become basketball stars, star athletes, musicians or performers as if like those are the only options,” Dougherty said. “We want to make sure that kids get the full exposure as young men of color in America. You can become whatever it is you want.”

Johnson has three children who have graduated from Elmont High School, and he first got involved with The Men of Elmont when Dougherty came to the school as principal, when Johnson’s daughter was a junior at the high school.

“When I met Dougherty, we both had a vision of starting a mentor program at the school,” Johnson said. “He was laying out what the vision was, and he brought me into a meeting. I loved everything that was brought up, and things just started taking off.”

Since Dougherty’s sabbatical, some of the adult mentors that have served as pillars for the program have yet to return, but expect to return now that Dougherty has been reinstated.

Johnson, who is president of the Elmont Cardinals youth sports club, said that although his children have graduated from Elmont, he believes he has a duty to help mentor the youth of tomorrow.

“I’ve been mentoring for over 20 years and I’ve always been into trying to help our young men and young Black men move past the norms, and that’s what this program does,” Johnson said.

Many alumni come back and participate in weekly meetings regularly and help mentor the current group of kids.

Marc-Anthony Tuo, 22, who graduated from Elmont in 2018 and then graduated from St. Johns University, is attending Rutgers University pursuing a doctorate in psychology. Tuo was part of the initial Men of Elmont group, which numbered around 10 students. He still attends Men of Elmont meetings to speak to the current group either in person or virtually.

“Through (this) program, I learned other core values that have helped me navigate the different things in my life, whether it be school-related, socially, and even career-wise,” Tuo said.

Fenol Larock, 20, graduated in 2020, is attending Nassau Community College and plans to go to Howard University to pursue acting. Larock said he still appreciates the mentorship he received from the Men of Elmont.

“Mentoring never stops,” Larock said. “These mentors still check up on me to this day to make sure I’m good... They show that they’re still there for you even after high school.”

The program, which is now open to all students, is still looking to recruit students into the Men of Elmont and now has nearly 100 students involved in some capacity.

“All young men and young ladies need mentorship,” Dougherty said. “We don’t want to turn kids away. I’m not going to give up on my son when he messes up, and I’m not going to give up on my students.”