$400K AT&T grant funds CSUCL’s High School Prep Program at LEAP
02/25/09

The Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership was the recipient of a generous four-year, $400,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation at a special ceremony at LEAP Academy University Charter School on February 25th.  The grant, which was presented by AT&T New Jersey President J. Michael Schweder, will benefit the students, teachers, and parents of LEAP Academy by funding the CSUCL’s new High School Preparation Program. 

The High School Preparation Program is an effort to strengthen student learning and improve academic outcomes for LEAP Academy students in grades eight, nine, and 10.  Through the program, students will receive targeted instruction in mathematics and language arts while LEAP faculty receive professional development in order to deliver the program.

At the ceremony, local and state legislators joined AT&T officials and the Rutgers/LEAP community as LEAP Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago and Superintendent Dr. Deanna Burney received the check from AT&T President Michael Schweder. 

President Schweder, who once worked as a teacher and state legislator in Pennsylvania before his 25 years of service at AT&T, said that the grant will benefit LEAP students and AT&T alike.  “Investing in the educational success of our youth is one of the most important things we can do here in New Jersey.  This initiative helps us to prepare our future workforce,” President Schweder said. 

The grant is part of AT&T’s Aspire Initiative, which recently donated $1.4 million over four years to schools in New Brunswick, Princeton, Cumberland County, and Camden to assist their high school retention efforts. 

National studies have consistently shown that the time when students are most prone to falling behind in their studies or dropping out of school comes between the eighth and tenth grades. 
In response, the High School Prep Program, which adopts the America’s Choice curriculum, will deliver needed instructional resources and social and emotional support to LEAP students. 

The program will be administered through the CSUCL’s Centers of Excellence and will focus on five elements: Academic Interventions, Teacher Development, Emotional and Developmental Support, Character and Leadership Development, and Family Support.

The CSUCL’s Dr. Santiago said the program will have a resounding impact.  “The High School Preparation Program will encourage student learning and offer critical preemptive assistance for students falling behind in math and literacy,” Dr. Santiago said.  “Through this program, we will accelerate learning, raise test scores, break any cycles of failure, and establish patterns of achievement for our students, thereby increasing the opportunities for Camden youth to pursue higher education and professional careers.”