Bronx, New York  ·  Pilot Launch Fall 2026

Know who you are.
Master what you do.

The Masters Project is an academic and developmental program for Bronx 6th graders who deserve more. Two afterschool sessions and one Saturday per week, building the academic foundation and psychological tools scholars need to not just survive, but excel.

Get Involved
6th
Grade entry point
3x
Weekly sessions
250+
Supplemental hours/yr
6–8
Grades served

"We prepare scholars for the realities of the world ahead, without subjecting them to those same realities."

— Stephen Hopkins, Founder & Executive Director

Turning unfinished learning into unstoppable scholars.

Academic mastery. Identity. Exposure.

How We Work

Four Pillars. One Transformation.

Every element of the program was designed with intention. Each pillar builds on the last, moving scholars from identification through mastery, identity, and aspiration.

01

Student Discovery

We identify scholars using the i-Ready Diagnostic in the fall of 6th grade, recruiting from students scoring in the lowest tiers. Not because they are less capable, but because they need the most attention and resources.

See the research →
02

Academic Mastery

Intensive ELA and Math instruction aligned to NYS 6th grade standards. We address foundational gaps directly while accelerating toward grade-level proficiency, tracked across all three i-Ready diagnostic windows.

See the research →
03

Identity & Navigation

Weekly Navigator's Lab sessions covering racial identity, culture shock, code-switching, grit, resilience, financial literacy, emotional regulation, and the Master Narrative: your story, your words.

See the research →
04

Exposure & Aspiration

Scholars are called scholars from day one. Our long-term vision is hosting sessions in aspirational settings like college campuses, where the environment itself communicates: this space was built for you.

See the research →
Program Structure

A High-Dosage Model Built for Recovery

The school day handles the curriculum. The Masters Project provides the additional instruction layer that makes that curriculum accessible.

Afterschool (2x per week)
2 hrs
1 hour Math and 1 hour ELA, twice per week. Scholars reinforce and extend what they are learning in school while closing foundational gaps.
Saturday Program (1x per week)
3 hrs
Math Mastery, ELA Mastery, and Navigator's Lab with a movement break and lunch. Structured community learning every Saturday morning.
Annual Supplemental Hours
250+
Research shows middle school students need 5 to 6 months of additional instruction to recover one year of learning loss. Our model addresses that within a single program year.

EdResearch for Action confirms that high-dosage tutoring with 3 or more sessions per week is 20x more effective than low-dosage models for math and 15x more effective for reading.

Saturday Schedule

How We Spend Our Saturday Mornings

Math comes first, deliberately. Research on nearly 2 million students shows that scheduling math in the morning increases GPA and test scores by an amount equivalent to improving teacher quality by one-quarter of a standard deviation.

TimeBlockWhat Happens
9:00–9:15Arrival + SnacksScholars arrive, snacks provided, informal connection with program staff
9:15–10:15Math MasteryNYS 6th grade standards and algebra readiness through problem-based learning. Smallest possible group size. Morning slot is intentional.
10:15–10:30BreakMovement and physical reset preparing the mind for the ELA block
10:30–11:30ELA MasteryCritical reading and persuasive writing using culturally relevant texts
11:30–12:00Navigator's LabIdentity, grit, resilience, code-switching, race, culture, socioeconomic navigation, and life skills
12:00–12:30Lunch + Q&ALunch provided. Open dialogue, weekly Mastery Journal entry, individual check-ins with program staff

Pope, D. (2016). Time of day effects on student academic achievement. Study of approximately 2 million students, 6th–11th grade, Los Angeles County.

Evidence Based

Every Decision We Make Is Grounded in Research

The Masters Project was built on a rigorous review of the literature on tutoring, identity development, stereotype threat, and middle school transitions.

"Minority students benefit from a growth mindset intervention more than nonminority students. The threat of being stereotyped can stimulate a need to disprove inferiority through the belief that abilities can be improved with effort."

Aronson, Fried & Good (2002), Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

"The average middle school student needs 5 to 6 months of additional schooling to recover a single year of learning loss, significantly more than elementary students require."

EdResearch for Action, Accelerating Student Academic Recovery

"High-dosage tutoring moves an average student from the 50th to the 66th percentile and is 20 times more effective than standard models for math."

National Student Support Accelerator, Stanford University Annenberg Institute
Read the Full Research →
The Team

Built by People Who Lived It

Every person on this team has a personal connection to the Bronx, to underserved youth, or to the academic environments these scholars are navigating.

Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins
Founder & Executive Director

Stephen is a Bronx native and public school student who attended Summer on the Hill at Horace Mann School from 2nd through 8th grade, a year-round enrichment program that brought promising low-income public school students onto the campus of one of the country's most elite independent schools each summer and on Saturdays throughout the school year.

When the program ended, he dropped out of high school in 10th grade. He earned his GED at 19, attended Bronx Community College, and received a full scholarship to NYU Steinhardt, where he studied Applied Psychology with a minor in Social and Cultural Analysis. He went on to become a Management Consultant at Accenture, working on initiatives for Fortune 100 Life Sciences clients, before navigating into healthcare as a Senior Project Manager at Westchester Medical Center.

Summer on the Hill served this community for thirty years before closing in 2024. The Masters Project serves as a baseline for what comes next.

Justin Feliz
Justin Feliz
Director of Operations

Currently: Canterbury School.
Previously: Ethical Culture Fieldston School.
Director of Operations, Make a Play (501c3).
B.S. Sports Management, Sacred Heart University.

Ricardo Mercado
Ricardo Mercado
Director of Curriculum

Currently: Equality Charter School.
Previously: Ethical Culture Fieldston Middle School.
NYC Teacher, 10 years of experience.
B.S. Biology, M.S. Kinesiology.

Omar Vargas
Omar Vargas
Community Outreach Coordinator

Community Health Partner, Cityblock Health. Medicaid and low-income patient care coordination. Community bridge between the program and Bronx families.

Get In Touch

Let's Build Something Together

Who We Want to Hear From

We are actively building partnerships with Bronx schools, potential venue partners, funders, and anyone who believes in this work.

Bronx school principals and administrators
Funders and donors
Community organizations and venue partners
Researchers and academic advisors
Families with 6th grade scholars at Bronx schools
Anyone who wants to support the mission
stephen@mastersproject.org
LinkedIn