Robert Treat Academy Charter School History

Robert Treat Academy Charter School was founded by The North Ward Center, Inc., led by Stephen N. Adubato

The North Ward Center, a private, non-profit, social service agency has provided preschool and adult education, youth development and recreational programs, and senior citizen services. It has been involved in neighborhood stabilization efforts in the City of Newark, New Jersey, since 1970.

 In 1996, the state legislature passed the New Jersey Charter School Program Act making it possible for citizen groups to apply for a "charter " (a contract with the State of New Jersey) to operate a public school.

Mr. Adubato, an urban educator and lifelong Newark resident, believed that children in America's inner city school districts were not being served by the existing public school system. With the creation of the Academy, he set out to prove that urban, minority children could be successful students if given the required tools by people who believed in their ability to achieve academic excellence.

The Robert Treat Academy's charter was approved in January 1997 as part of the first cohort of New Jersey charter schools. Two classes each of kindergarten and first grade (100) students were selected through a lottery and in September 1997, the Academy became the first charter school in the State of New Jersey to open its doors.

The Academy has been able to achieve its goal of providing a superior educational program for Newark students, and has had a very positive impact on the surrounding community.

Over its first eight years, the Academy added one grade annually. In 2005, with the addition of eighth grade, the growth anticipated in the charter application was completed and the Academy graduated its first class of students.

In 2008, Robert Treat Academy was selected as a National Blue Ribbon School based upon the academic excellence its students have achieved. It was one of only 15 charter schools selected for this honor nationally.  In addition the U.S. Department of Education chose Robert Treat as one of only 8 schools to feature on its website as a Model School. 

In August 2009, the Academy expanded by adding a second campus in Newark's Central Ward. The new facility followed the same growth plan outlined in the original charter and reached full enrollment (K-8) in 2017.

In 2014 Robert Treat Academy was named a Reward School for the third consecutive year.  Reward Schools are schools in which proficiency levels for every category of students is in the top 10% of the state and overall proficiency is greater than 90%.  Robert Treat is the only charter school in the state to be named a Reward School for three consecutive years. The North Ward Campus was renamed to the Stephen N. Adubato (SNA) Campus in honor of the Academy's founder and the Central Ward Campus was designated as the Jackie Robinson Campus in honor of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.