According to Rising Stars founder Paul Savramis, the future of many children in New York City is at risk. He invites families, businesses, schools and faith-based groups to join hands and support this growing concern. Savramis believes the available educational programs for at-risk youth have been insufficient to date.
New York City ranks among the worst cities in the country for high school graduates, says Paul Savramis, with some neighborhoods falling below 30 percent. More alarmingly, of those that do graduate, less than 20% are college ready.High school dropouts are more likely to be unemployed or incarcerated and experience health complications.
The Rising Stars Youth Foundation founded by Paul Savramis is a non-profit organization that takes an instructional and developmental approach to teaching basketball skills to a young audience. The leading mission of Rising Stars is to promote education and encourage success in the classroom and beyond. With community service projects and mentoring programs, the young people involved in Rising Stars feel a sense of purpose through their involvement.
Paul Savramis believes that the organization will need a number of key partnerships with other like-minded youth foundations in order to complete this outreach program. A collaboration with the Long Island City YMCA stands as a prime example. Staying active on and off the court can keep youth from making bad choices, but that activity needs to be consistent throughout the year, emphasizes Savramis.
The Rising Stars Outreach Initiative program maintains a number of different strategies to increase academic results and promote core values that help children in their transition to adulthood. These strategies include yearly memberships to Rising Stars clinics and teams, family memberships to the Long Island City YMCA, tutoring and study sessions, community seminars, summer day camps, supervised after school activities and other services. The ultimate goal is for participants to gain admission into the leading technical/vocational, charter, parochial and private high schools in the local areas before entering grade 9.
The Rising Stars Outreach Initiative program continues to seek funding options for cultural outings, field trips, additional staffing and technology, notes Paul Savramis. The program is designed to monitor student behavior, attendance, leadership ability, parental engagement and academic success (reading, math, standardized test scores). Report cards are examined on a quarterly basis to gauge academic progress. In the end, students are poised to make the grade by committing to this excellent endeavor.
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