Education is considered the most important pillar in the construction of life. Education is the cornerstone of our society, giving our youth the tools they need to make an impact and inspire change.

Our Academic Pillar provides kids with tutoring, help with homework and educational support to enhance their success in school and help them stay on or above grade level. IAR exposes youth to a college setting at a tender age and operates out of a state-of-the-art building with electronic teaching capabilities in classrooms, small-group seminar rooms and multidisciplinary teaching facilities.

Each student is screened by high performing pre-med students by way of multiple choice, written answer text-based questions, and vocabulary-focused activities. Next, a proposed grade level is assigned with a target date 3 to 6 months later for retesting.

Our students attend after school programming for 35 weeks during the school year, including thirteen holidays, totaling 940 hours of after school programming per academic year. When resources allow, our summer program operates for five hours per day, three days a week, totaling 120 hours of programming over eight weeks.

If you would like to enroll a member into our Academic Enrichment program, please email, [email protected]. Our staff and executive leaders will be in touch with more details. You may reach us at 212.650.5894.

Mentoring creates a positive impact. Youth with mentors have higher rates of high school graduation and are less likely to drop out of school. Mentors help young adults grow and close the social and/or economic opportunity gap.

Our Mentoring Pillar (King Chasers initiative) helps young men, including those impacted by the justice system between the ages of 14-21, develop critical life skills in areas of Personal Development, Higher Education, Careers, and Financial Literacy. IAR will aid them in becoming productive and responsible individuals in their communities and successful men of society.

Our Mentoring Pillar for young women of color ages 14-21 in collaboration with PINKEST LUV (women empowerment movement), provides a myriad of unique and positive adult female role models that takes mentees under their wings. They nurture them to be confident, strong, and successful young women so that they can flourish and reach their fullest potential.

IAR has a unique one-on-one (two-prong) mentoring model and best practices. We match participants through an interest and classification survey and assessment tool for both mentors and mentees. After this process, a targeted match is made with the best-qualified mentors. The goal is to individually assess each student’s interests and needs and support their social growth through service learning and career development.

If you would like to enroll a member in our Mentoring program, please email, [email protected]. Our staff and executive leaders will be in touch with more details. You may reach us at 212.650.5894.

Redefining Education for the Optimistic Reform Millennium (R.E.F.O.R.M) 21st Century Pipeline

Our College Prep Pillar is an initiative designed to empower African American and Latinx high school students as they strive toward academic enrichment. At IAR, we position high school participants to become scholars and to access the most comprehensive and reliable STEM resources and networks.

College Prep students receive intensive college and life preparation resources including: academic workshops, financial aid assistance, essay writing help, community service opportunities, college tours and field trips, along with mentorship from individual mentors.

We are helping students navigate the college application and admissions process while preparing them for the transitions between high school, college and work life.

If you would like to enroll a member into our College Prep program, please email, [email protected]. Our staff and executive leaders will be in touch with more details. You may reach us at 212.650.5894.

Our Family Connections / Visitation Pillar goal is designed to help build, nurture, and maintain the existing relationships that children have with their incarcerated parents. IAR help to reduce feelings of abandonment, anger, guilt, and anxiety that children of imprisoned parents are particularly prone to have.

Many of the parents incarcerated from NYC are housed in prisons at least eight hours away from the city or longer, making visitations exceedingly difficult for poor families. In addition to providing transportation to upstate correctional facilities that would otherwise be inaccessible, we facilitate therapeutic discussions and help children keep in contact through letter writing. We have provided this service to hundreds of children (and other members of their family) over the years.

These visits and the associated physical contact can improve parent-child attachment as well as a child’s self-esteem and behavior in school. At IAR, helping children to improve their communication skills provides opportunities for more rewarding family interactions, helps heal parent-child relationships, and mitigates the challenges associated with parental incarceration.

If you would like to enroll a member into our Family Connections program, please email, [email protected]. Our staff and executive leaders will be in touch with more details. You may reach us at 212.650.5894.