West Hempstead Secondary School fostering community and civic readiness on Long Island
WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- It's the community feel, the family environment that drives the West Hempstead Secondary School system on Long Island.
Principal Joseph Pumo fosters a sense of civic readiness that starts in the seventh grade.
"One of our mottos is 'we over me,' and that's really something that we embody in everything that we do here," he told CBS News New York's Chris Wragge. "Our student population is truly incredible, and their diversity and their ability to coexist and accept each other for who they are is truly remarkable."
Peer mentoring program
The secondary school is seventh through 12th grade, so there are countless opportunities for the older kids to mentor the younger ones.
West Hempstead is front and center in the New York State Peer Mentoring Program, and talk about participation. With roughly 800 students at the school, almost 150 of them are mentors and mentees.
"I'm still friends with my peer mentor. I see him in the hallway every day. We hang out from time to time, inside of school, hang out during lunch and stuff like that," senior Jeremy Haynes said. "So, yeah, it was a great experience having one."
"Knowing that this program was available for the lower classmen was something that I felt like I really wanted to do, because I wanted to give them kind of like that awareness and that kind of feeling of comfort knowing that everything will be OK and that it won't be as frightening as they believed it to be," said senior Juan Mejia.
"I came here in ninth grade, so I feel like I really understand the importance of having a familiar face around school that you could say hi to," senior Jade Altadore said. "When you're not used to being in a new environment, it really is comforting, so it was important to me to be part of this program, because I felt like I could help."
Counselors Jillian Tammany and Jackie Zorskas have been leading the program for years and they see firsthand how special the West Hempstead kids are.
"I love seeing the AP students, who I'm kind of expecting to apply, and they've taken on leadership roles throughout, and then we'll get that student who had it kind of rough for the first two years of high school, and they want to give back, and those are the students who really jumped out at me, because I think they have more to offer than anybody," said Tammany.
"I think we just have such a huge sense of community and diversity in the program, and whether you're a musician or an athlete or an artist, there's really a place for everybody," Zorskas added.
Thanksgiving food drive tradition
The students have what it takes -- they're smart, motivated and not only making their teachers proud, but also their parents.
"Very proud. They always had these expectations for me to go and help others, and I've always appreciated that, because it's helped me connect to the community and connect to others within it and make the most of my high school experience," said senior Madison Cates.
The experience at West Hempstead is very much "we before me," from mentoring to the Thanksgiving food drive. Each year, students come together to create, box and hand deliver meals to families in their West Hempstead community. It has been a West Hempstead tradition for almost 20 years.
Athletes helping athletes
Roughly 20 student-athletes get selected for the Athletes Helping Athletes program, which trains and prepares high school leaders to address complex social issues within their communities.
The athletes make appearances throughout the school district, including visiting younger students in the intermediate schools.
"I would say it's a really rewarding experience, because I remember being in their shoes. I was sitting right where they were, and I remember the older seniors and juniors would come to us, and they would just teach me valuable lessons that I still hold and remember to this day," one student said.
"Because they're so involved in all the activities we do and they ask us questions that, you know, some are silly, but some are actually involving, and it's almost like we're setting a path for them. So they're always interested in what we have to say," said another.
"We are a small school and a small district, but, you know, I'd like to say we're small but mighty. So we stick together and we work together to ensure that the younger kids grow up and follow in our footsteps," another added.