Proposed Paterson Charter School Puts Entrepreneurship At The Center

Nearly two decades ago, Isaiah M. Jefferson,a UBA co-founder, spoke to high school students about their futures. One student gave him an answer he still remembers.

Asked what a job meant to him, the student replied, “Just over broke,” Jefferson recalled. Then the student asked a question of his own: “Will you teach me how to start a company?”

For Jefferson, the exchange helped plant the seed for what is now Universal Business Academy (UBA) Charter School, a proposed high school in Paterson built around business, entrepreneurship, and preparing students for life after graduation.

The first-of-its-kind school aims to open its doors to an initial class of 120 ninth-graders in fall 2027—before eventually extending through 12th grade over the course of the next three years. Jefferson said enrollment would be limited to students who live in Paterson. But before students can enter a classroom, the proposed school must receive approval from the New Jersey Department of Education and complete the state’s charter-school process.

A Business-Focused Vision for Paterson

Taliah Givens, a UBA founding board member and Paterson native, said the proposed school is meant to complement, rather than compete with, existing options in the city.

Paterson Public Schools, the city’s public school district, already offers high school students pathways that include performing arts, STEM, technical education, and other career-focused programs.

“But we do not have an actual high school that is targeting entrepreneurship and business development as a core,” Givens said. “We are looking to really complement and not compete.”

UBA’s school overview says its proposed curriculum is designed to prepare students for higher education, employment, entrepreneurship and civic life by connecting academics with technology, collaboration and business concepts.

Givens said her family’s ties to Paterson have also played a role in UBA’s outreach. Her father, the Rev. Dr. John D. Givens, is a longtime Paterson resident and pastor of Shiloh A.M.E. Zion Church in Englewood. She said he has supported UBA since its early development, going as far as hosting a retreat for the school’s founding board and introducing the proposal to clergy and community leaders in Paterson.

UBA has also invited local clergy to its weekly board meetings to hear the school’s plans and discuss educational needs they see among children and families in their congregations, Givens said.

Mark Fischer, a UBA founding board member and longtime Paterson educator, said he sees the proposed school as another investment in the city.

“I feel like Paterson is always getting a bad rap, and a lot of great things have come out of this city,” Fischer said. “We want to continue to foster that, to have more great things come out of this city, and as far as in business as well, not just athletics.”

Learning Business by Doing It

UBA’s proposed curriculum would combine traditional high school academics with financial literacy, entrepreneurship, social-emotional learning, and technology.

“We’re not trying to educate our kids just to go find a job,” Jefferson said.

The school also plans to use Virtual Enterprises International, an education program in which students operate simulated businesses and work in departments such as finance, marketing, human resources and sales. Through this curriculum, students would learn to conduct market research, create business plans, and make decisions involved in running a company.

Givens added that UBA students would be able to “build their enterprises, pitch their ideas, and compete with other students around the world for their business ideas.”

Another proposed feature is a Fab Lab, a digital fabrication laboratory, where students could turn ideas into physical prototypes. The Fab Foundation, a nonprofit that grew out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Center for Bits and Atoms, describes Fab Labs as spaces for education, invention, entrepreneurship, and community engagement.

Jefferson said UBA does not currently have a formal agreement with MIT, although he said the university has offered to help train UBA teachers and facilitators to use equipment purchased for the lab. He declined to identify UBA’s MIT contact or provide documentation, citing unsigned agreements.

The Fab Lab would not be introduced until UBA’s first class reaches its junior and senior years, Jefferson said. UBA says the facility would eventually be available to community members as well as students.

Givens connected the concept to Paterson’s entrepreneurial landscape, describing the city as “a city of small business.”

UBA says its Fab Lab would eventually be available to community members as well as students, and connected the concept to Paterson’s entrepreneurial landscape, describing the city as “a city of small business.”

Testing UBA’s Proposed Learning Model

A central part of UBA’s proposed academic approach is the Designing Learning Model (DLM), an instructional framework developed by founding board member Maryann Klaus, creator of the model and founder of the Center for Designing Learning.

UBA says the model uses metacognitive exercises and critical analysis to strengthen students’ reasoning skills before asking them to apply those skills in real-world settings. The founding team points to previous use of the model in Paterson as evidence that the approach can produce academic results.

UBA’s website says the DLM’s effectiveness was evaluated using a cohort of 561 students and cites “96% gains” against state assessment benchmarks. Jefferson later clarified that the 561 figure represents the larger group of students taking the NJ Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA), while approximately 112 students were associated with the DLM program.

Jefferson said 96% of those approximately 112 students passed the NJSLA. He said the DLM evaluation has not been independently evaluated or published.

UBA did not provide the underlying data or documentation, with Jefferson saying the organization could not release additional materials because agreements related to the program have not been finalized.

Parents and Educators Weigh the Proposal

As UBA seeks support, the perspectives of Paterson families and educators will help show whether the proposed educational model aligns with what residents want from their high schools.

For Tonya Bradley, a lifelong Paterson resident, mother of four and local business owner, UBA’s proposed focus on entrepreneurship has personal significance.

Bradley first learned about the proposed school from Fischer and later attended UBA’s Sept. 12 “Fundraiser for the Future.” Three of her children are currently school-age and attend three different schools in Paterson.

Her children have already been introduced to entrepreneurship through Sankofa Leadership Academy, a local community-based program. She says the program has been instrumental in exposing her children to the concept of business ownership, and made the idea of a high school providing that education and mentorship over several years even more compelling.

“You can also become a business owner,” Bradley said of the message her children have received through the program. “You don’t have to just be the employee working for the business.”

Bradley said that opportunity resonates with her own experience starting a business without the kind of guidance she hopes younger people can receive.

“No one showed me how to get started or what to do,” Bradley said. “Everything was really hands-on and grassroots, just trying to find answers from people.”

That experience is part of why she said she would consider UBA for her children if they are eligible when the school opens.

“Everyone should have options and opportunities,” Bradley said.

Ronald Jackson, a longtime Paterson Public Schools educator, said students need exposure to career and financial skills alongside the academic requirements needed for graduation.

Jackson, who works as a teacher-coordinator of discipline, harassment, intimidation and bullying, and dean of students in Paterson Public Schools, was introduced to UBA through Fischer. Jackson said he has met members of the founding board and is interested in potentially serving on the school’s advisory committee.

Drawing on more than 30 years in education, Jackson said he sees the value in students receiving greater exposure to subjects such as entrepreneurship, banking, real estate, accounting, and business law.

“You got to focus on life skills as well,” Jackson said.

He said a business-focused school would be most valuable if classroom instruction were paired with partnerships with banks, credit unions, and local businesses that could provide students with career exposure, internships, and potential pathways into employment.

Jackson said UBA would also need qualified teachers, a curriculum aligned with state standards and strong financial and instructional leadership, encouraging its founders to examine established business-focused schools to study and determine which approaches have produced the best results.

UBA’s founding team is also seeking community input through a community participation and needs survey. Jefferson said UBA had received 48 survey responses as of late September, including 12 from its first community event in July and 36 from the fundraiser.

Among the 36 fundraiser respondents, 31, or 86%, selected financial and economic knowledge as an important outcome for high school graduates. Twenty-six, or 72%, selected leadership and teamwork, while 25, or 69%, selected financial business literacy. The same number selected digital skills and technology. Respondents could select more than one answer for some questions, Jefferson said.

A School that Still Needs State Approval

Despite UBA’s plans for fall 2027, the school is not yet approved to open.

The NJ Department of Education oversees the state’s public charter schools. New applications undergo a two-phase review, and applicants that receive initial approval must later complete a preparedness review before receiving a final charter. That review examines whether a school is prepared academically, financially, and organizationally to open.

Jefferson said UBA has not yet submitted its charter application and is preparing its Phase One application for the Oct. 15 deadline.

The state administers two charter application rounds. The March round is open to prospective charter schools generally, while the expedited October round is reserved for founders with demonstrated experience operating an educational institution.

Building Support Toward 2027

UBA’s Sept. 12 fundraiser at La Neve’s Banquet Hall in Haledon drew 36 attendees, according to Jefferson. Despite its “Fundraiser for the Future” title, Jefferson described the gathering primarily as a community outreach effort intended to introduce UBA’s proposed academic program.

He said the fundraiser also allowed organizers to connect with community members and political leaders from NJ’s 35th Legislative District.

The fundraiser is one step in a larger process that will determine whether an idea Jefferson traces back nearly two decades reaches a Paterson classroom.

Whether the school welcomes its first class in 2027 will depend first on the state approval process and, second, the support of the Paterson families and educators it hopes to serve.

UBA has also received support from state lawmakers representing Paterson. In a Sept. 24 letter addressed to the Charter School Review Commission, the 35th Legislative District delegation expressed support for establishing the proposed school.

The letter, signed by Sen. Benjie E. Wimberly and Assemblymen Kenyatta Stewart and Al Abdelaziz, cited UBA’s proposed combination of academics, business education, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, technology, and hands-on learning. The lawmakers wrote that the school could provide another educational pathway connecting what Paterson students learn in high school with college, career, and economic opportunities after graduation.

Bradley said she hopes one of her children will eventually have the opportunity to attend UBA. As a parent, she said the proposed school represents another possible path for families seeking something different for their children.

For Jackson, however, opening the school would only be the beginning. He said UBA’s success should ultimately be measured years after students leave its classrooms, including whether graduates continue their education, enter business-related careers, or build companies of their own.

It is a longer-term version of the question Jefferson remembers hearing nearly two decades ago: “Will you teach me how to start a company?”