Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons’ Arn Tellem, wife donate $139K to Jalen Rose’s school to aid online learning
July 27, 2020
Thanks to a large contribution from Detroit Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem and his wife, Nancy, a local school will receive brand new laptops entering the fall semester.
The Tellem family donated $139,000 to the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, the school announced Thursday. The money will be used to purchase a new laptop computer for every student, as the academy prepares for a school year that’ll be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a news release, the school will transition to a hybrid of online and face-to-face learning this school year.
”Many of our families lacked the devices and internet connectivity that were needed for online instruction after the state ordered school buildings closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Rose said in the release. “What Arn and Nancy are providing is a game-changer for us as we try to bridge the digital divide and meet our scholars needs during these uncertain times. The continued influence of Arn, Nancy, Tom and the entire Detroit Pistons Family has been paramount to our success.”
The Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, co-founded by Rose in 2011, is an open-enrollment charter school that boasts higher-than-average graduation rates and college acceptance standards.
The academy has a longstanding relationship with the Pistons, as owner Tom Gores has donated to the school in the past. Platinum Equity will serve as the presenting sponsor for the JRLA Celebrity Golf Classic this August for the seventh-consecutive year.
Rose, a Detroit native and member of the Fab Five for Michigan basketball who spent 13 seasons in the NBA, was previously represented by Tellem, who had a decades-long career as a sports agent.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa. Read more on the Detroit Pistons and sign up for our Pistons newsletter.
