Read the original story as it appeared Feb. 1 on nj.com.

The student council at Robert Treat Academy will donate the proceeds of their annual fundraiser to help the victims of the earthquake that struck Haiti.

Students at the K-8 Newark charter school will sell handmade chocolate hearts lollipops as Valentine grams for $1 each. They are hoping to produce and sell anywhere between 500 and 1,000 lollipops for this year's fundraiser.

The governor-elect told 450 students who gathered in the auditorium that there was no other place he'd rather be than the school that he often mentioned on the campaign trail.

Read the original story in The Star-Ledger

On Wednesday, my car radio was telling me Gov.-elect Chris Christie was going to spend a quiet, restful day with his family. But an e-mail alert said Christie was going to visit the Robert Treat Academy in Newark in about an hour. There had to be a back story.

So I called Steve "Big Steve" Adubato, the North Ward political power broker who prefers to be known as the founder of one of the best schools in the state, the Robert Treat Academy Charter School. I said I was coming over for a pre-Christie visit. He said sure.

Read the original story on the PressofAtlanticCity.com

Newark Technical High School principal Baruti Kafele was awarded a $25,000 Milken Family Foundation education award this week for his successful efforts in turning the school from a poor-performing "school in need of assistance" to one of the top high schools in the nation according to U.S. News and World Report.