TEAK Fellowship
The TEAK Fellowship is a New York City-based non-profit dedicated to helping talented New York City students from low-income families gain admission to top high schools and colleges. Starting in 6th grade, TEAK provides their students with academic support and exposure to the arts and outdoors along with career experience and assistance with the high school and college application processes.
History
The TEAK Fellowship was founded by Justine Stamen Arrillaga in 1998. Arrillaga, who was 28 at the time, was inspired to start TEAK by the life and death of her former student DeWitt White, a gifted pianist growing in poverty, who was murdered in 1997 at the age of 17. The fellowship was named after Arrillaga's childhood friend Teak Dyer, who was murdered on the eve of her high school graduation.
Along with founding Co-chairs Robert S. Kaplan and Tracy L. Nixon, Arrillaga assembled the Board of Directors and raised $400,000 in 18 months through foundation grants and individual donations to build the program, which she described as "a Rhodes Scholarship for middle school students". To qualify for the program, the first students had to have an average grade of at least 90, score in the 90th percentile on standardized tests and show proof of low income.
Each year, 30 high-achieving students from low- or no-income background become Teak fellows. By November 2013, the foundation had secured $61 million in financial aid.
Program
Starting in the spring of 6th grade, admitted TEAK students undergo two years of academic preparation and extracurricular enrichment in sciences, humanities, languages and arts. Each year, students spend 6 weeks at the Summer Institute, an academic program offering various courses and high school admissions test preparation for the rising 8th graders. Students are paired up with mentors, including Princeton students and alumni, for advice and guidance regarding academic and professional paths.
TEAK’s Alumni Career Center, sponsored by Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking, provides TEAK Alumni with year-round services, workshops and training to help them obtain jobs during college and upon graduation.
Community service is a key component of the program. Through Public Interest Internships, TEAK fellows had performed 38,000 hours of service by November 2013.