The idea for Practice Makes Perfect came about in 2010, shortly after McKinsey & Company published their April 2009 report “The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools,” which examines the dimensions and economic impact of the education achievement gap. After transferring to Cornell from Baruch College, Karim Abouelnaga brought together five close friends to construct a program that would challenge the way we educated our students, create employment opportunities for high school students in order to keep them off the streets and away from trouble, and provide internship opportunities for current college students and future educators.
The original Practice Makes Perfect model was expected to cost close to $45,000 per summer. As financing difficulties arose, the program operating expenses were slashed substantially as the founders operated a pilot program that summer on roughly one-fifth of that cost. The pilot program’s success generated national attention as it was named one of the top 16 most dynamic commitments worldwide at the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative University Conference.
Practice Makes Perfect officially incorporated in August of 2011 and became a 501(c)(3) in March of 2012.
This past summer, Practice Makes Perfect expanded to serve students across three boroughs in New York City; namely, Bedford Stuyvesant, Harlem, and Long Island City. The program directly impacted over 100 students and indirectly impacted thousands across New York City through the “Serving Our Streets” service projects
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