By Angela Marshall
The Hispanic Brotherhood of Rockville Centre is faced with an equally perplexing mathematical problem. If the state pulls its Safe Places grant from the program next year, how will the Brotherhood be able to pay its student tutors?
The $50,000 New York state grant pays the salaries of eight high-schoolers who tutor younger students after school. The grant was not included in the state budget this year, but no final decisions about the funding have been made, according to the state Office of Children and Family Services. A spokesperson for the department said the allocation of funds is still being discussed.
A spokesman from state Sen. Dean Skelos' office said there is a discrepancy between the executive branch and the legislative branch on what funding the Hispanic Brotherhood needs and the way the funding is supposed to be allocated. We're trying to get it resolved, he said.
While Margarita Grasing, executive director of the Hispanic Brotherhood, is happy to hear that talks continue, she is worried that come Jan. 1, when the current grant runs out, she will have to let all the tutors go. I can't make up that much of a difference, she said.
Figueredo has worked at the Hispanic Brotherhood for almost two years and knows just how important the program is. I was the little one, she said, referring to her participation in the after-school program as a child.
Figueredo's mother couldn't help her with homework because she was new to the country and still learning English herself. My mom didn't understand, she said.
Many of the youngsters in the Hispanic Brotherhood's tutorial program are in a similar situation. Others have learning disabilities that require one-on-one help. I can't imagine what's going to happen, said program director Rosa Gonzalez, who has been with the center for eight years. The teenagers are a great help.
There are approximately 36 students in the school program right now. That number fluctuates, and Grasing said that about 75 students will have participated throughout the year. While many are in the same grades, few have the same teachers or the same homework. You have to give individual help, Gonzalez said.
In addition to the high-school tutors, the program has five teachers and one volunteer.
Marisol Tavares, a senior at South Side, started working at the center almost a year ago. Her sister is in the program, and kept telling her how much fun she was having. The experience of working with young children has made Tavares want to be a teacher. I like the bond that I have with the children, she said.
Tavares works with the middle-school students in one of the upstairs classrooms of the Hispanic Brotherhood, which is located in a converted house on Clinton Avenue. She said she works hard to reach out to the students and let them know she is available to help them deal with more than homework. I hope it makes them feel like they can come to me with anything, she said.
Tavares feels the tutorial program almost forces the middle-schoolers to do better in school. A lot of them are lazy and need that extra push, she said. It's hard not to study when you have someone sitting next to you saying, Study, or, How can I help you?
Grasing has a similar philosophy when it comes to the teen tutors themselves. Trouble is trouble when you're 15 years old and you have nothing to do, she said.
The director said the program keeps the teens busy and off the streets. The tutors spend the first half hour of every day getting paid to do their own homework, and they can get help from teachers when needed.
The Nassau County Youth Board is doing what it can to keep the program alive. George Siberon, executive director of the Youth Board, sent a letter to the Office of Children and Family services asking for the Safe Places funds to be reinstated. Youth Board has monitored this program since its inception, and can attest to the quality of services offered and the positive impact of this service on program participants and their families, he wrote.
