Watch Class Act from at West Hempstead Secondary School

WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- West Hempstead Secondary School is fostering community and future leaders through its STEM, peer mentoring and other programs on Long Island.

CBS News New York's Chris Wragge was on campus for our first Class Act of the 2024-2025 school year.

See what makes the school so special and watch more from our morning below.

West Hempstead up early for Class Act

Hear from the school principal, students and staff about the West Hempstead pride that has them up early for Class Act Friday with Chris Wragge.

"We're incredibly proud of our students and our staff here and the programs that we offer for our students when they enter the Secondary School in seventh grade, and really individualize their pathways so that when they graduate, they're ready to take on the challenges life has to face," said Principal Joseph Pumo.

Fostering community and civic readiness

A community feel and family environment drive the West Hempstead Secondary School system on Long Island, where fostering a sense of civic readiness starts in the seventh grade.

The school is seventh through 12th grade, and it's front and center in the New York State Peer Mentoring Program, with countless opportunities for the older kids to mentor the younger ones .

The experience at West Hempstead is very much "we before me,"  from mentoring to the Thanksgiving food drive that has been a tradition for almost 20 years.

STEM program sewing the seeds of the future

The STEM department at West Hempstead Secondary School is preparing the future generation to face life's challenges.

It's full of award-winning ideas and minds who have a grant to do some important work, which future classes will build on.

They spend their downtime thinking of ways to elevate their game, and even have a highly anticipated science prom to share ideas.

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