The Rutgers/LEAP Initiative
“A Preschool-to-16 Partnership”

What makes LEAP Academy University Charter School one of the most effective primary/secondary education centers in the state is its unique and comprehensive association with Rutgers University.  Through this partnership—the Rutgers/LEAP Initiative—LEAP Academy is able to provide extensive support programs and college exposure to students from early childhood through college.

This Initiative augments LEAP’s normal K–12 instruction with 1-2 years of preschool education, on-site medical care, and college preparatory learning that grooms students for post-secondary education.  These services (and others) are made possible through the Rutgers/LEAP Centers of Excellence—university-contracted programs that support LEAP’s curriculum with holistic services.

In addition to offering preschool–12 education, Rutgers and LEAP have worked together to create the Rutgers/LEAP Alfredo Santiago Endowed Scholarship.  The scholarship provides financial aid to LEAP graduates attending Rutgers campuses and since 2005 it has helped 22 LEAP alumni pursue college degrees. 

The Rutgers/LEAP Initiative arose from the pressing need to find new and more effective methods of reaching out to students and families in urban school districts.  In cities like Camden—where 45% of children live in poverty and fewer than 40 % of students earn high school diplomas—an entire generation of students is in danger of losing their greatest chance for future success. 

Created in 1993, the Rutgers/LEAP Initiative was designed specifically to confront this education emergency.  Led by Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago and the Rutgers Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership, a committed group of university and local stakeholders devised a plan to establish a public charter school, and opened the LEAP Academy in 1997. 

Since then, the partnership between Rutgers and LEAP has prospered, generating over $75 million in operational support for the school, close to $20 million in external support for special programs, and $18 million in capital funding.  With that revenue, the Initiative has created valuable opportunities for children and families in the city while serving as a service-learning-site for Rutgers–Camden students and advancing its strategic plan for expansion. 

The Rutgers/LEAP “Preschool-to-16 Partnership” is made all the more visible by the construction of two permanent school buildings within the city’s University District (and plans for a third), making it possible for a student to be educated from infancy through graduate school on Cooper Street.