Accepted Students LEAP Into Their Future at Rutgers–Camden

87 high school seniors from LEAP Academy Charter School in Camden and San Juan received their admission letters

The Rutgers University–Camden Class of 2029 has started to take shape. 77 students from Camden’s LEAP Academy University Charter School, plus ten more students from the school’s San Juan location, received early acceptance letters in special ceremonies last month. For the accepted students and their families, the letters represented not just the start of their college careers, but the continuation of Rutgers–Camden’s longstanding commitment to their success.

“LEAP Academy was designed as a feeder to Rutgers–Camden,” said Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, distinguished professor of public policy and founder of the charter school. “These students are a treasure in front of us—if we give them personal attention from a young age, we know they will respond. We have seen them succeed not just in high school, but also as Rutgers students.”

Founded in 1997, LEAP Academy is one of 13 inaugural public charter schools in the State of New Jersey and the first in Camden City. Today, LEAP serves 1,560 students in grades K-12 and has achieved 100% graduation and college placement rates since its first graduating class in 2005. Many students admitted to Rutgers–Camden attend with tuition assistance from the Alfredo and Gloria Bonilla-Santiago Endowment Fund.

The LEAP model prioritizes academic excellence and community development through quality education and comprehensive development programs for inner-city families and students, from cradle to college. The accepted students completed an early college program with Rutgers–Camden faculty in the last semester of their senior year, so they will begin their college careers having already built strong relationships to instructors.

LEAP STEAM+E (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics integrated with entrepreneurship) Academy of San Juan matriculated its first graduating class this year. Like its Camden counterpart, the school serves students who become the first in their families to attend college by offering a pathway from early childhood to higher education.

“Professor Bonilla-Santiago took the LEAP model to San Juan because it is proven to work,” said John Griffin, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers-Camden. “It is at capacity because there is so much need for quality education in Puerto Rico.”

Griffin and Bonilla-Santiago presented Camden and San Juan students their acceptance letters and scholarship offers in person, giving them the chance to celebrate their success with family and local media. 

“It was one of the most rewarding moments of my career to hand-deliver these letters,” Griffin said. “In a digital age, it meant a lot to students that we took the time to reach out personally.”

Now that the students have been accepted, Rutgers–Camden faculty and staff are working closely with them to ensure they will join the Class of 2029 feeling equipped and confident.

“It’s a big deal for students to get accepted early, because they know we want them,” Griffin said. “Our accepted students from Camden and San Juan will have the opportunity to visit campus this spring with their families, ask questions, and make sure they are set up for success.”