NEW YORK – Andreas K. Dracopoulos, Co-President of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, paid a noontime visit on November 18 to the High School of the St. Demetrios Cathedral of Astoria where he was briefed by official on both the substantial progress the institution has made and the challenges it faces.

The Foundation, as has been reported by The National Herald, has so far donated two million dollars and is the biggest benefactor of the school. In recognition of the Foundation’s support the school board decided to prominently display a portrait of the late Stavros Niarchos with the inscription “Great Benefactor.”

Dracopoulos was accompanied by Antonis H. Diamataris, the publisher-editor of The National Herald.
Nick Andriotis, the chairman of the School Board, and Anastasios Koularmanis, the principal, Helen Karagiorgos, the asst. principal, and the Very Rev. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos, the Dean of the Cathedral, gave a heartfelt welcome to the visitors and, with evident pride in the achievements of the only Greek high school in America.

A tour was offered of the classrooms, science laboratories and the sophisticated computer room.
Koularmanis reported on the successes of students and emphasized that some graduates are attending top universities across the country and almost all the students are admitted to college.

He provided an overview of a series of new programs that are being planned, including the provision of legal assistance for immigration matters to those who need it.

He said that many children of new immigrants attend the school. On the hand that is a sign of the new wave of immigration from Greece, on the other its shows the confidence of the parents in the school and the good reputation it has in Greece.

Andriotes thanked Dracopoulos for his interest in the school and the financial support he has facilitated, but he also noted the lack of support from affluent Greek-Americans.