Liberty Partnerships Program - Project PRIZE

Project PRIZE is a Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP) funded by the New York State Education Department. The program celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2023. It was an important year in the program's history and development. Through a wide variety of activities sponsored collaboratively by Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York, partner schools, partner facilitators, and the community of Queens, students in Project PRIZE receive at least six hours a week of additional guidance and instruction to help make their middle and high school years as productive as possible.

The program serves approximately 320 students per year in grades 5-12. Principals, guidance counselors, and parents refer young people to LPP who are at risk of dropping out of school due to poor academic performance, low attendance in school, family circumstances, negative peer pressure, and other factors.

Because it is the goal of Project PRIZE to help students realize their dreams, its name was taken from the documentary Eyes on the Prize, which describes the goals of the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Liberty Partnerships Program: Ensuring Excellence and Opportunity

LPP provides students enrolled in grades 5-12 with services designed to improve their ability to graduate from high school and enter post secondary education and the workforce.

Challenges

• Disparity between resources available to students in high-need communities and high expectations for their performance.
• Increased demand for high-quality academic interventions that will close the performance gap among students.
• Increased demand for innovative social interventions that will reduce or eliminate the developmental impact of poverty on learners.
• Insufficient funding to serve burgeoning at-risk population.
• 50% of incoming LPP students exhibit "poor academic performance" with another 23% referred for experiencing "negative peer pressure". Other major issues include "behavioral problems" and "negative changes in family circumstances".

Keys to Success

• Visionary statewide and local strategic plans.
• 12 month comprehensive programs and services that promote educational and personal excellence among at-risk youth.
• Effective K-16 articulation.
• Professional development grants that facilitate innovations in academic and social intervention.
• Collaborative venues for generating systemic and sustained resources for at-risk students and high need schools.
• Parent/extended community involvement.

Regents Goals

• All students will meet high standards for academic performance and personal behavior. Students will also be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills required by a dynamic world.
• The public will be served by qualified, ethical professionals who remain current with the best practice in their field and reflect the diversity of New York State.
• Education, information and cultural resources will be available to all people.

Benefits

• LPP will maintain its status as an effective drop-out prevention program.
• LPP students will have improved abilities to achieve higher learning standards.
• LPP graduates will be prepared for the rigors of post secondary education and the workforce.
• Academic intervention strategies of partner schools will be enhanced.

Successes

• Last year over 11,600 at-risk middle and high schools received services through LPP.
• Last year, LPP provided over 527,330 hours of support services for an average of 46 hours per student. Of that, 173,000 hours, or an average of 15 hours per student, were focused on academic immersion. In addition, students received an average of 10 hours of case management.
• Activities include one-on-one tutoring, mentoring, case management, counseling, college, career and cultural exploration activities.
• Last year, 95% of LPP participants either graduated from high school or were promoted to the next grade.
• Of those who graduated, 86% had plans to enter college or the workforce.
• Of the college-bound graduates, the majority had plans to attend institutions in New York State.
• Of a population of over 11,600 students at risk of dropping out of school, only 42 actually dropped out (0.4%).

Continue to show support for Project PRIZE and LPP - programs that truly make a difference!

The Liberty Partnerships Program was established in 1988 under Section 612, Subdivision 6 of the Education Law to address the significant school dropout rate among New York's youth. The bipartisan bill stated that "the failure of many young New Yorkers to complete their secondary education limits their opportunity for a life of fulfillment, prevents them from advancing into post-secondary education and hinders the State's efforts to provide a well-trained workforce for business and industry in New York."

The Liberty Partnerships Program is included in New York's Statewide Plan for Higher Education as a strategy to maximize the successful transition of middle and high school students, who are at risk of dropping out of school, into graduates, fully prepared for the rigors of higher education, and the competitive demands of a fluid workplace in a global economy.

The Queensborough Liberty Partnerships Program is one of 52 Liberty Partnerships Programs across New York State and one of 20 Liberty Partnerships Programs in the New York City metropolitan area. All partnerships are between colleges and universities and middle and high schools.

Partnering To Create A Brighter Future

Project PRIZE is a Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP) funded by the New York State Education Department. The program celebrated its 35^th anniversary in 2023. It was an important year in the program's history and development which was commemorated during the Liberty Partnerships Program during various Liberty Partnerships Program events. Project PRIZE began serving middle and high school students at Queensborough in 1989 and since then has successfully provided college and career preparation services to thousands of students in Queens and the neighboring boroughs. Students have gone on to achieve success in various fields such as law, social work and medicine.

Funded by the New York State Education Department, funding levels have varied annually but despite these challenges, the program continues to implement effective afterschool, summer and Saturday programming, offering support in basic academic skills, S.T.E.M, the Arts, sports, cultural enrichment and college and career readiness.

The Queensborough Community College Liberty Partnerships Program provides students with a range of services to improve current academic performance and prepare for a successful transition into post-secondary education or career path

Don't forget to check our Facebook page for photos and updates on the program!