Insignia/NJ seeks help with inner-city school fund

Real Estate Weekly, Jan 31, 2001

When Insignia/ESG's New Jersey office endeavored to find a charitable organization that reflected their commitment to quality and professional standards to give back to the community, the leading brokerage firm didn't have to look further than their own office.

Executive Managing Director Robert Rudin has been working with the Chad School, an elementary and secondary school known locally for its overachieving students, in Newark, NJ, for the past four years as a member of the Foundation's Board of Directors, and knew first-hand of the school's remarkable 30-year record of providing inner-city children with the opportunity for quality education and academic achievement. Based on this relationship, Insignia/ESG proudly announced the establishment of a $15,000 scholarship fund to help support the extraordinary efforts and results of this school.

The school's record speaks for itself: Now consisting of both the Chad School (K through 8th Grade) and the Chad Science Academy (9th through 12th Grade), the private institution currently educates 742 children at its two Newark locations, both former parochial schools which were abandoned during the city's post-riot years in the '60s. In 2000, 50% of Chad School graduates went on to attend the Chad Science Academy.

Of its students, 100 percent take the SAT tests, as compared to just 37 percent citywide, and Chad students' average scores are over 1000. Graduates of the Chad Science Academy have been accepted at some of the nation's most prestigious colleges and universities, including John Hopkins, Cornell and Columbia, and 100 percent of academy students are placed in post-secondary institutions, many with full scholarships.

"This is one of the best kept secrets in the nation," said Mr. Rudin, who was first introduced to the Chad School through his work with the Boys & Girls Club of America when he was asked to help the school dispose of an excess piece of camp property in 1996.

Even more remarkable than the academic record is the fact that the Chad School has achieved these results while spending 30 percent less per student than the average state school, and has done so without aid from the state or religious institutions. Most of the families of Chad students make between just $10,000 and $30,000 a year, and the school does not cherry-pick only the top students for enrollment. The only requirement is a determination to learn on the part of the student, and the willingness to sacrifice on the part of parents. The establishment of the Insignia/ESG Chad School Educational Scholarship Fund will go a long way toward easing the burden for some of these parents.

As a result of the school's philosophy, Chad's students are not sheltered, and are allowed to be confronted with the daily tough aspects of life that exists in Newark. But when students enter the Chad School or the Chad Science Academy, their environment is totally different. As a matter of course, the school expects discipline, order and cleanliness to be the order of the day.

But Chad faces many challenges as it enters the 21st Century. Many parents cannot afford the modest tuition. It is a true sacrifice and often a hardship to send their children to a private institution. Funders' contributions are dwindling, and because Chad does not have enough scholarship funds, Chad is losing students from the elementary school who otherwise might attend the Chad Science Academy.

To help Insignia/ESG continue to support this effort call Robert Rudin at 201-712-5600 or write to: Robert Rudin, Insignia/ESG, Park 80 West, Plaza I, Saddle Brook, NJ 07663.