The Varsity News: UDM to support ‘Fab Five’ star Jalen Rose’s new charter school
February 19, 2011
By: Michael Martinez
Jalen Rose was a leader on the basketball court.
As a point guard, he guided the University of Michigan’s “Fab Five” to back-to-back NCAA championship games in the early ’90s and, later, took the Indiana Pacers to the NBA finals.
Now, four years removed from basketball, he’s becoming a leader in a different career-education.
Rose is co-founding the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, a public charter school that will open in northwest Detroit this fall. Rose hopes the school will give hundreds of at-risk children a chance at an exemplary education.
The first class will consist of 100 ninth-graders. Within four years, the school will have 400 students in grades nine through 12. The students, all from Detroit, will be chosen by lottery.
In an interview at UDM Tuesday, Rose said the academy was his way of showing thanks to his hometown.
“It takes a community to raise a child,” he said. “This community has done so much for me and I wanted to give back.”
Born and raised in Detroit, Rose looked to his mother, grandmother and countless others as role models.
“I was lucky,” he said. “Now, I’m just trying to be that person for people who are coming after me.”
Among those who influenced Rose was Perry Watson, who before coaching at UDM was a counselor at Rose’s high school and an assistant coach when Rose played at Michigan.
The two formed a bond that lasted even after Watson took over the Titans. (It didn’t, however, keep Rose from helping his Wolverines beat his mentor’s Titans 78-60 when the two schools played in the 1993-94 season.)
“Growing up here, playing (Detroit) meant a lot,” he said. “It’s been a real anchor in this community.”
When Rose decided to start the academy, he looked to UDM for support.
Rose met Tuesday with interim UDM president Michael Joseph.
The university has agreed to automatically admit any students who graduate from the academy, Rose said. In addition, it will work to strengthen retention efforts, so students who begin as freshmen will remain through graduation.
Rose said the collaboration would also benefit academy students by exposing them to the college atmosphere.
“It will help them appreciate what university life is like,” he said. “They’ll be prepared for college and go in with confidence.”
He hopes UDM students will take an active role in supporting the academy.
“You have college kids that understand what it’s like, and they can be mentors for them,” he said. “That’s what giving back really is; it’s an emotional thing.”
At the academy, Rose promised students the best possible learning environment, including an extended school day that will begin at 8 a.m. and end at 6 p.m.
Students will go to class five days a week, and will not have a summer vacation.
Despite its potential unpopularity, the year-round approach has advantages, Rose said.
“We’re setting a standard for excellence,” he said. “If you want something in life, you have to work hard. We want to make education fun, but it’s not easy.”
He said the biggest challenge will be creating a culture that’s “second to none.”
“We’re trying to give them the opportunity to win at life,” he said.
The extended school day will give students the opportunity to participate in a number of activities, and Rose said they will be able to choose those for themselves, though he may advocate for one in particular: a basketball team.
But, he added, “I care more about GPAs than points per game.”
Rose, who works as an analyst for ESPN, said he will be present throughout the first week of classes next September. He also plans on making himself available to students on a regular basis.
“If I can play in the NBA and spot a heckler out of 20,000 fans, I should be able to learn the names of 400 kids,” he said. “They want you to care about them, and I’m going to be there.”
Michael Martinez’s full interview with Jalen Rose is available on UDM’s television station. It can also be viewed (in three segments) here:
part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJHjKLzbfyU
part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhOKX7btlc
part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9ODddvatHA
