Rising Star: Karim Abouelnaga ’13

Coined as a natural teacher and referred to as a “rock star” by audiences who hear his message, Karim Abouelnaga ’13 is a young, dynamic entrepreneur that we can all learn from. Born to immigrant parents, raised by a single mother, and astutely navigating the streets and his inner-city public schools, Karim was the first one in his family to attend college and won over a quarter million dollars in scholarship and aid to attend and graduate in the top 10% of his ivy league university, Cornell. Upon graduation, he turned down his Wall Street job offer to commit his life to educational equity.

At 18, Karim founded PRACTICE to level the playing field over the summer for kids growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods just like him. In the two years after college, Karim and his team raised over $2 million from some of NYC’s most well-respected philanthropists – including the Rockefeller, Tisch, Mailman, Sackler, and Ackman families – all before turning 24 years old.

In 2016, Karim led PRACTICE’s transition from a 501(c)3 nonprofit to a for-profit certified Public Benefit Corporation to sustainably scale the organization’s reach and impact without philanthropy. Since inception, PRACTICE has partnered with over 200 schools, served over 35,000 inner-city youth and trained over 1,000 aspiring educators. Karim’s rise from poverty to ivy league education to operating a multi-million-dollar education company before the age of 25 redefines possibilities and brings truth to the notion that you can do good for the world and do well for yourself.

At 26, Karim published his first book, Breaking Through from Rough to Ready, at 29 published his second book, The Purpose-Driven Social Entrepreneur and is currently working on releasing his third book with practical changes that could be made to improve our country’s public school system.

Karim is a sought out motivational speaker and keynote because of his personal experiences and success. He engages his audiences on the topics of equity, community engagement and revitalization, and leading with purpose. His talks have spanned corporate stages (for McDonald’s and Ford) to the TED stage, where Inc and Business Insider named Karim’s TED Talk one of the 9 Most Inspiring Talks of 2017, alongside those of Elon Musk and Tim Ferris.

Here is his TED Talk  – A Summer School Kids Actually Want to Attend.

Karim is a 2017 TED Fellow, a 2014 Global Good Fund Fellow, and a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow. At 23, he was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in Education, and at 24 was named to Magic Johnson’s 32 under 32 list. In 2016, he was ranked in the top 3 most powerful young entrepreneurs under 25 in the world. Karim’s Forbes day-in-the-life feature is Forbes’ most viewed video of all time, with over 4.5 million views. He earned a Bachelor’s in Hotel Administration from Cornell University and a Master’s in Education Policy from Columbia University.

Karim started PRACTICE while in his dorm room at Cornell University.  In his first semester at Cornell, he realized the significant difference in his K-12 experience compared to that of many of his friends on campus. There, he rallied a group of classmates to create an organization to level the playing field for low-income children. Karim was determined to change the inequities he experienced in the public schools he grew up in to ensure that a student’s zip code doesn’t determine their future.

As CEO, Karim understands the importance of first-hand experience when working with urban schools and that is the foundation of our inside-out approach to education. PRACTICE’s leadership team and tutors are of and from the communities they serve. A majority of their tutors are college students working on undergraduate or graduate degrees who intimately understand the realities of urban classrooms and are driven to help urban students like themselves reach their full potential.

Karim speaking at Cornell Entrepreneurship Summit 2013, Purpose, The Nothing That Makes You Something.

PRACTICE’s model combines the best of traditional educational organizations with proprietary, cutting-edge solutions, a first-hand knowledge of urban school systems, and a strong focus on data and outcomes.

PRACTICE’s work includes a rigorous, culturally responsive curricula taught by Education Champions that look like the kids they serve, as well as software solutions built to help students succeed, that connect parents and educators, and provide real-time insights and data from both inside and outside of the classroom.

The education programs include two important elements: mentoring and academic enrichment. The academic curriculum aligns with local and national standards and focuses heavily on math, reading, and English. However, the most unique element of the model is the use of peer tutoring and mentorship. For PRACTICE, learning by example is one of the most powerful vehicles of change.

THE PRACTICE DIFFERENCE

Responsiveness is a hallmark of its approach, and everything is highly customized to meet the specific goals of each principal as well as the unique needs of each school and community. PRACTICE is a partner, not a vendor to the schools. They know the pressures principals face every day. Their approach is based on respect for teachers and administrators. Together, they develop robust programming, a rigorous, culturally responsive curricula and software solutions that help improve student outcomes.
The services PRACTICE offers to educators include:

• On-Demand Virtual Support
• Virtual Enrichment
• Software Solutions
• Tutoring and Enrichment
• Summer Enrichment
• Professional Development and Coaching

Here are some case studies of the work Practice does.

PRACTICE also offers customized services directly to parents.  Their bespoke approach to tutoring allows parents to provide their children with customized, classroom-compliant support on a flexible schedule that works for each family.

The Education Champions understand the realities of urban classrooms. They partner with teachers on the parent’s behalf to provide every student with an engaging, culturally responsive learning experience that aligns and amplifies their classroom learning.

The Education Champions who provide private tutoring are undergraduate or graduate students from some of our nation’s top colleges. They are driven to help diverse students like themselves reach their full potential.

The expert team of educators have developed a thoughtful and proven model that is both evidence-based and outcomes-focused. It not only helps students excel academically but increases their confidence, happiness and gets them excited about learning.

PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

2009
McKinsey issues The Economic cost of the US education Gap highlighting the summer learning loss.
2010
A late-night conversation in a Cornell dorm room hatches the idea to help underserved kids in school.
2011
Practice Makes Perfect launches as a non-profit with first summer program to stop the summer slide.
2013
Receives Echoing Green Fellowship and recognition by Clinton Global Initiative
2015
Forbes names Karim Abouelnaga as a 30 under 30 in Education
2015
Receives first contract with NYC DOE
2016
Practice Makes Perfect incorporates as a Public Benefit Corporation
2017
Named to B-Labs Best for the World list for governance and customer impact.
2017
Karim’s TED Talk named one of the 9 Most Inspiring of 2017
2018
School year services added for full year programming.
2020
Achieves milestone of 20,000 students served.
2021
Practice Makes Perfect renames as PRACTICE Benefit Corporation
2022

PRACTICE expands to serve Denver Public Schools partnering with two schools, Munroe Elementary School and Castro Elementary School

Karim is married to Kadaicia-Loi and they are expecting their first child at around the time of the Hotelie Hall of Fame.  They live in Tampa Bay, Florida.  Karim is serving as the President of the Cornell Club of Tampa Bay.