Students from the Manhasset-based afterschool enrichment program School Masters will participate in a science and mathematics fair on Saturday in which they will present research and conduct experiments.
The program will run from 10 a.m. to noon at the former Quaker meeting house, where for the last two years School Masters has provided training in science, math, reading comprehension, art and music.
“We’re going to have what would be a college fair for science for students who are three and 23,” said Robert Amato, a Hicksville resident and longtime educator who assists with the program.
Approximately 30 students are scheduled to participate in the fair, Amato said.
Leading the fair will be School Masters’ team of educators, many who hold graduate-level degrees from outside the United States.
Amato said the fair’s goal is two-fold: To continue the expansion of the program while promoting an unconventional approach to education in an era of frequent testing.
“Our approach is, let’s talk about math and another way to do it because we love it, not because the Regents exam is next week,” he said.
School Masters is run by Flower Hill village resident Marina Terentieva, who emigrated to the United States in 1994 and previously taught English in her native Russia.
A friend of Terentieva’s, Amato helped School Masters secure the Quaker meeting house as a space to hold classes. It previously operated out of Glen Head.
He has also sought the support of businesses within the Manhasset community, namely Lord & Taylor and Staples, for School Masters initiatives.
The program is also in the process of developing a classical music competition and festival featuring performers from all over the world, Amato said.
In mid April, School Masters sponsored a showcase at Lord & Taylor with international musicians.
“We’re trying to coordinate with Manhasset as best we can,” Amato said. “We live here, we work here and [the community is] of moral concern.”
