By Andrew Coen
Schrier and 21 other students at the Woodmere yeshiva are participating in a pilot project in which, twice a week, they make the two-minute walk to the Number Six School to tutor some 50 elementary school students. Officials of both institutions hope the example of neighboring public and parochial schools working together can inspire community harmony and further interaction between the public- and private-school communities in District 15. The partnership, which was initiated by the schools' principals, provides sharp contrast to divisions between those communities that have grown out of three straight years of Lawrence Public Schools budget defeats and heated school board elections pitting public-school candidates against private-school rivals.
"It's a real good chance to give back to the community and to help these kids succeed and achieve their goals," said Schrier. "We're always introduced as 'our older friends from down the block.'"
The high school students congregate for 35 minutes after school twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays, to take part in the mentoring program. They volunteer to tutor as part of a required community service project, assisting students who need help as well as those who come from immigrant families and are still learning English. The youngsters are divided into groups of one to facilitate individualized instruction.
"[The yeshiva students] find it to be a very rewarding experience," said Harvey Feldman, principal at HALB-DRS.
"[The HALB-DRS boys] are an exciting group of students who make the elementary school students feel very good about themselves," said Number Six School Principal Angelo Siconolfi.
The idea for the program came after a week of rain engulfed the schools' Woodmere neighborhood last October, prompting Siconolfi to pay a visit to HALB-DRS and speak with Feldman about evacuation in the case of a weather emergency. In the course of the visit, the two exchanged ideas about how the schools might come together, and the mentoring program was born.
"It seemed like something that would be a win-win both for the high school boys and the elementary school," said Feldman, who worked out the logistics so that students would be able to fit the tutoring into their busy days, which are filled with both secular and religious studies and do not end until the evening hours.
"As much as it helps them, it helps us as well," said HALB-DRS junior Zeke Miller, who helps tutor the English as a Second Language students.
The program was launched in December, with the yeshiva students given an orientation session by Number Six School psychologist Dr. Karen Mackler, who explained certain issues the elementary school students faced and suggested some tutoring techniques. Siconolfi gave them a tour of the building and after seeing the elementary school kids wearing Lawrence sweatshirts, the yeshiva students asked if they could get some.
"It's nice to help out our local community, which until now we haven't had a chance to do," said Judd Lindenfeld, a Columbia-bound HALB-DRS senior who tutors the general-education students.
The new program has the support of the Number Six School PTA, which praised Siconolfi for implementing the partnership. "I think he is doing a phenomenal job in trying to build bridges," said Patrice Fujimoto, co-president at the Number Six School. "I'm very pleased that [the schools] are working together."
"It's a great way to bring the public- and private-school communities together," said HALB-DRS junior Mordy Fenster.
The program will run until May, but both principals plan to continue and possibly expand the partnership next year, in the hope of seeing it spread to other yeshivas and elementary schools in the district. "It's an absolute win-win," said Siconolfi of the benefits both the public- and private-school communities stand to gain from the project.
"I think this is a good beginning in bringing the communities together," said Feldman. "I think once the other schools see [how successful this partnership] is, they will want to incorporate it."
"It is a great start," said Lawrence superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons. "The more interaction, the better."
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
