Universal Business Academy Charter School - Fundraiser & Information Event

A New Vision for Paterson

A School Where Students Learn to Build Businesses—and Futures

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PATERSON — Imagine a high school where students learn to develop a business idea, manage money, work as part of a team, use technology, or turn an invention or passion into a company of their own. That is the vision behind the proposed Universal Business Academy Charter High School — a school centered on rigorous academics, business, entrepreneurship, and technology, designed to give students the practical skills to create their own futures.

At the heart of the effort is Isaiah M. Jefferson, a long-term advocate for expanding opportunities for young people from low-income and underserved communities. His belief is simple but transformative: too many students are taught to prepare for jobs without being shown they can also become the people who create jobs. For Jefferson, entrepreneurship isn't just a subject — it's a pathway to independence, economic mobility, and community change.

A decade ago, Jefferson worked to establish a Universal Business Academy in Englewood, reaching the second phase of New Jersey's four-stage charter approval process. That vision has persisted — and now Jefferson and a group of educators, business leaders, and community members are bringing an expanded version of it to Paterson.

“Our students don’t need us to tell them what they should become,” says Mark Fischer, a Paterson community leader and veteran school district educator. “They need us to expose them to what they can become, help them understand the pathways to get there, and give them adults who believe in them while they’re figuring it out.”

Fischer points to a deeper challenge: “Students need help imagining themselves in successful futures. When young people don’t regularly see professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners, coaches, and community leaders who look like them or come from their city, it can be difficult to envision those possibilities for themselves.”

“A mentor has great impact because it creates guided support from someone who has experience,” says Tonya Bradley, a Paterson native and entrepreneur mentored by Fischer at Eastside High School, and owner of Tonya’s Healing Circles. “Growing up in Paterson has had challenges, but with perseverance and resilience you can achieve anything — our students have that drive.”

The proposed school’s model is built to develop the thinking habits successful entrepreneurs, employees, and citizens need: problem-solving, reasoning, collaboration, creativity, and the ability to apply knowledge in unfamiliar situations. UBA plans to use the Designing Learning Model for Cognitive Impact, developed by Maryann Klaus — a model that, used with a cohort of students over four years, has already produced a 96% achievement and graduation rate in one Paterson high school.

In addition to Jefferson, the founding members include Maryann Klaus, creator of the Designing Learning Model and founder of the Center for Designing Learning; Mark Fisher, Founder of Making it Count with Coach Fisher; Taliah Givens, Senior Director of Student Professional Development Programs at the UNCF; Educator and CGW Institute founder Charles Ray; Attorney Albert C. Asphall; and Malcolm Pope, founder of Music Makers NJ.

JOIN US AND BE PART OF THE MOVEMENT

Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026 | Time: Noon – 4:00 p.m.

Location: La Neve's Banquet Hall, 276 Belmont Ave., Haledon

This is your chance to come together around a bigger vision — a school in Paterson that helps a generation of young people understand they don’t have to wait for someone else to create opportunity for them. The event includes a full lunch buffet, drinks, and entertainment.

Tickets are selling out. Purchase your tickets online to attend the luncheon and learn more about UBA Charter High School: Click this link to purchase tickets. Can’t attend but still want to help? Click this link to send a donation.