- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by New Jersey Children’s Foundation.

Giving all Newark students the opportunity to achieve.

Citizens Philanthropic Foundation.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Rowan University.

Proudly serving New Jersey for 100 years.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Making a difference.

Newark Board of Education.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

And by The Adler Aphasia Center.

Promotional support provided by Meadowlands Chamber.

Building connections, driving business growth.

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Keeping communities informed and connected.

- This is One-On-One.

- I'm an equal American just like you are.

- The way we change Presidents in this country is by voting.

- A quartet is already a jawn, it’s just The New Jawn.

- January 6th was not some sort of violent, crazy outlier.

- I don't care how good you are or how good you think you are, there is always something to learn.

- I mean what other country sends comedians over to embedded military to make them feel better.

- People call me 'cause they feel nobody's paying attention.

_ It’s not all about memorizing and getting information, it’s what you do with that information.

- (slowly) Start talking right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - Hi, everyone.

Steve Adubato with kickoff the program, talking about urban education that apparently is working.

We're joined by Marcelino Trillo, the principal of Robert Treat Academy, one of the first charter schools in the state of New Jersey and in the nation.

Good to see you Marcelino.

- Great to see you too, Steve.

Thanks for having me.

- Let me, all right, what am I gonna disclose right now?

What am I gonna disclose?

What should I disclose about the Robert Treat Academy and how it happened?

- Well, obviously you have ties to the academy through your father in the North Ward Center.

Of course, your father being the founder, and still very much the reason, you know, for what we do here and how we do it, especially.

So besides that, and that your sister was my former boss, and that your other sister, I still work with at the North Ward Center.

I don't know what else you got in there.

- No, but I, just to be really clear, it's not only a full disclosure thing, it's putting things in perspective.

My dad, you know, Steve Adubato Sr. died many years ago, a struggling school teacher in Newark and then started the North Ward Center.

But along the way he said, "Hey, why can't urban kids have a better education, have more options?"

And that's exactly what the Robert Treat Academy is about.

So, along those lines, Marcelino, as we put up the website, describe what the academy is, what grades there are, and why it's doing well.

- So the academy, like I mentioned before, is one of the, it's actually the first charter school that opened.

- Yes.

- That was one of your father's big things.

He wanted be first, first through the door.

- That's right.

- So we were number one and we'll always be number one as far as schools that open, charter schools that open in New Jersey.

We're a K to 8 school.

We're on two campuses now.

One in the North Ward, the main campus named after your father, the Stephen Adubato Campus, and one in the Central Ward, just off the St. Benedict's Campus, the Jackie Robinson Campus.

There's about 450 students here and about 225 students at the Jackie Robinson Campus.

Hopefully to expand in the relatively near future to be the same size as here.

And why we work, Steve, listen, there's no, there's no mystery.

We've been asked, we, you know, people have been around, we ask for donors, people come to visit, see what we do, our best practices.

There's no secrets.

So school is a simple idea.

Give kids opportunities, have good conversations with parents, be honest with people, and treat kids like you treat your own kids and raise 'em to be the best they can be.

That's about it.

- But the standards are so high at the Robert Treat Academy, and again, it is incredibly challenging.

This Urban Education series we're doing tries to look at different things that appear to be working in urban schools.

But one of the things I know about Robert Treat, only because connected to my family and I've been around it for a long time, is that the preparation for that students get for standardized tests and just frankly doing well is intense.

Describe that preparation.

- Yeah, we take it very seriously.

And, you know, there's always accusations, or not accusations, misunderstandings, I guess, about, you know, preparing for a test instead of preparing for life.

And, you know, we take it from the side that in everything you're gonna do in life, you're gonna have to take a test, right?

You're gonna be a lawyer, you're gonna have to do well on the LSATs and pass the bar.

You're gonna be a Doctor, MCATs, and whatever other tests you have to take.

To be a fireman, you gotta take a civil service test.

So we take it very seriously in terms of how we test prep for the students.

We don't take away from the regular curriculum much, but we do have an 11-month school year, which gives us an extra month to get more education into them.

And then from Columbus Day weekend till about state testing, we have Saturday classes for three hours a day for third through eighth graders, where we focus specifically on test prep for math and English.

- Now that's Indigenous People's Day, I believe, you meant.

You said- - Whatever your preference is.

- I got it, I got it.

Especially coming from the neighborhood we come from, sometimes some of our friends are confused.

That being said, let me try.

Let's talk about literacy.

And please check out our website, SteveAdubato.org will come up.

We did a compelling interview with State Senator Teresa Ruiz, who knows the Robert Treat Academy.

Well, she's a former chair of the Senate Education Committee in the state.

We talked about literacy.

Principal Trillo, talk about literacy rates at the academy and why that is directly connected to success in life.

- You can't do anything until you read well, right?

So even the math and even science, social studies, there's any topic you wanna talk about, everything stems from reading.

And I'm a middle, I'm a former middle school math teacher, right?

Math is more of my passion than than ELA.

And there's always been a lot of nice conflict and joking around between the ELA departments and everything else.

But until a kid can read, the rest of the world is kind of closed off to 'em.

Once they can read, the whole world opens up to them.

So we focus a lot K1 and 2, kindergarten versus second grade, especially on every possible intervention that we can to make sure a kid is reading on grade level by third grade.

That's really kind of the benchmark.

If a kid gets to third grade and they're behind, listen, we keep kids back, we'll add more services.

We'll do what we have to do to make sure that kid starts at least third grade where they need to be.

And we find- - That ELL stands for English Language Learner, correct?

- Yes, sir.

- I cut you off.

Go ahead.

Finish your point.

- I said, so if a child, you know, isn't where they need to be by third grade, it really hinders the prospects for a successful academic future.

So we make sure that by third grade, they're ready to go.

- Marcelino, the impact of COVID, not just on test scores, but more importantly, overall on learning in, at Robert Treat, and the larger question of learning in an urban school community, excuse me, in an urban school.

- I think it's been underestimated still.

I think it's been more impactful in the inner city than it has in the suburbs.

And I think that's reflected on what we're seeing on state test scores.

I think math has been more adversely affected than English, language, arts, reading.

- Why do you think that is?

- Well, 'cause I think, like I said before, once you can read, right, those kids didn't anything because they could still read.

They didn't forget how to read.

But math, if you're not doing it, you know, every other day or every other month, you lose math.

Because I'm sure maybe your long division might be a little rusty.

Steve, I don't know.

Maybe you're still good at it.

- Don't push me on that, just 'cause I'm older than you.

- I just asked.

- It's not relevant.

Go ahead.

- But if it's not fresh, you know, math, science, social studies tends to go by the wayside a little more.

- Right.

Do this...

I'm curious about this.

One of the things in preparation for the program is I knew that my dad years back, he would take the kids, and he was into this.

I mean, he was a hands-on leader.

You know where I'm going with the sailing, right?

- I think so.

- What's up with, he would take kids sailing.

There's an annual sailing trip, a skiing excursion.

For Newark kids, what is it and why does it matter?

- Yeah.

Listen, the children need to be exposed, right, to the old world.

Newark, yes, it's a very culturally vibrant city.

There's a lot of great things going on in the City of Newark, but a lot of times for our students, it's a very small world.

You know, they're two or three block radiuses- - A lot of concrete.

- Is where they live their whole life.

- A lot of concrete.

- Yeah.

And that's all they know.

We've seen, one of my favorite stories that I tell is when I first started teaching, I had a student from the Central Ward, never been to the beach before.

So he went to the beach on a class trip, and he stared at the ocean, had to be for 10 minutes, just staring, and going, "It doesn't end."

And I said, "No, no, Khalil, this is the ocean, this is what it looks like."

But just to know that there's a whole world outside of, you know, they're perceived four walls here in Newark, that there's a whole world out there, that they're not stuck here, that there's somewhere to be.

And if you want it to be here, great.

But you could do whatever you wanna do anywhere you wanna do it.

- P.S., I know parental involvement is huge in this equation.

Marcelino Trillo, principal of the Robert Treat Academy, the first charter school found in the state of New Jersey, one of the first in the country.

And this is part of our series, "Urban Education That Works."

Principal Trillo, A+.

Job well done.

My father would not have given you an A 'cause he didn't give out A, you know?

- He doesn't give A's.

Yeah.

- You wouldn't have gotten an A either.

I know.

- Trust me, I never did either.

Thank you my friend.

- Thanks Steve.

- See you soon, all the best.

- All right.

- Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- Hi, I'm Jacqui Tricarico, Senior Correspondent for One-on-One, and I am so pleased to be joined now by Talia Young, the President and CEO of Newark Symphony Hall, an arts and cultural staple here in New Jersey.

Talia, so great to have you on the program.

- Oh, definitely, the pleasure is mine.

- So first, when we're talking about the Newark Symphony Hall, when I logged onto the website, right there, big and bold, it says, "Art is now, art is impact, art is service."

Describe that mantra and what that means to you and your colleagues and how you're implementing it there at Newark Symphony Hall every day.

- Wonderful point to start with.

I just started as President and CEO two years ago.

I've worked in Newark for over 15 to 20 years.

And what I noticed about Newark Symphony Hall, that we were more than just a historical institution located in the middle of downtown, but we were an anchor institution in the Lincoln Park Arts and Cultural District.

And what we needed to communicate externally, not even to our supporters, our community, but also to ourselves, the capacity that we have to be that anchor.

So we needed to communicate that art is happening now inside of our building, art in the service that we do impacts our community, and really just understanding the whole holistic impact that this institution has in our community.

So I think it's the power of words per se.

- Right, right.

And you mentioned that history, you're coming up on the centennial in 2025.

We're taping this in October of 2024, but in 2025, it's 100 years of this building being there in Newark and a staple in Newark, but there's been a lot of evolution over those years.

Talk about the history of the building itself and kind of how it's grown to what it is today.

- So in September of 2025, the building would be 100 years old, which is extremely exciting to tell the story of what the evolution of the building really is.

The building was erected as the Mosque Theater, where it was a community, still community hub, and then it evolved into a performance art institution where the city took it over as a municipal entity about 30 years ago.

So since that transition into the municipal owners, we became the nonprofit that manages the institution.

And doing that is ensuring that the community has continued access to the building.

There is a priority of inclusion and diversity here at the institution.

But I think that the powerful thing about it is because it has that longevity of history, the evolution of culture, music, art, arts education, we have been that home in Newark.

So when you look at the symphony and classical music, then the evolution into jazz, the evolution into hip hop, the evolution into the art that is now, we've seen it all on our stage.

And I think that is what we're gonna be celebrating and talking about and really connecting those dots across time.

And then what we're gonna do moving forward.

- It sounds like what's happening inside that building is being representative of what's happening outside of that building throughout Newark.

And like you said, such an arts and cultural hub there in Newark.

Talk about how important it is to have a dedicated and affordable, accessible space really for black and brown artists, especially in urban areas.

- We are reflective of our city and the city of Newark is a home of artists, right?

It's historically been home of artists and that literally was what happens on our stage.

So we do provide accessible art base for black and brown students, mature artists, emerging artists, young talent, and we do it in multiple factors.

One, providing the space, two, allowing real arts education and access to sustainable jobs and creating pipeline.

Say through our production assistant courses, our theater classes, and really hands-on activation here with the partners, T.G.

Partners, the school district, Newark Arts Council, all community-based organizations that exist here.

So it is really that space for creative space and creative activation that happens in our city, but they have that accessible component to our location at Newark Symphony Hall.

- You talk about pipelines and it's really become a pipeline to the entertainment industry in many ways.

We know that New Jersey has really been thriving when it comes to the film and television industry.

So many production companies coming here to film.

How important are those programs?

Like you mentioned, talk a little bit more about that production assistant training program.

I wanted to learn a little bit more about that and other programs that you're offering the students that are coming through those doors to really help them get on the path to be able to pursue those jobs in the state of New Jersey.

- Yeah, I think it's a very exciting time for the state of New Jersey with the leadership of Governor Murphy and really activating that tax credit incentive.

It has driven business to New Jersey from the film industry.

And as a union building, we know from our day-to-day how unions interact into that field, right?

And what we have to do is really create the connection point to the unions, which is stable labor, stable workforce and economy, and creating that access with local artists.

So what a lot of people do not know is that we shoot a film, movie, commercial at least once a month here at Newark Symphony Hall.

Our property is ideal for production, filming, and really the historical environment of it.

So what we notice is that the best way to diversify the unions and the trade unions is get hands-on access in creating pipelines.

And to do that, we created this workforce labor program, which is production assistance, specifically lighting design for stage or film, sound for lighting, for stage or film, and as well as bootcamp.

So when people get the opportunity to get on a set and be a PA, which is really the ground level, mostly, you know, of this industry, they feel comfortable.

They've had the training, they're equipped, and they're prepared.

So when that call happens, they're ready for it.

And I think the critical thing that we're doing is making sure that we can create that pipeline.

So as the film industry blossoms here in Newark, here across the street, we can be a source to diversify the PA, well-trained, access, and then having that pipeline.

- Part of this Celebrating 100 Years, part of that is really this massive expansion that's happening.

Give us a minute or less on the expansion and what we can see happening at Newark Symphony Hall over the next year or so.

- So again, under the leadership of the governor, as well as our mayor, Ras J. Baraka, they have invested in this institution, understanding that if funds directly do not go into it and preserving this institution, we won't have a future.

So over the last four years, we've raised over $20 million to restore and reactivate this institution.

We completed phase one.

It's a five-phase project.

We completed phase one last summer.

But we're going into phase two in January to point $10.9 million, which will open up the arts education lab here at Newark Symphony Hall, bring back the marquee, and then just also health and safety protocols to really be able to activate 200,000 square feet of space.

- And it sounds like all that to really keep restoring the building, keeping it a center of Newark and making sure it's there for all the residents throughout Newark and beyond.

So thank you so much, Talia, for sharing more about Newark Symphony Hall, what's going on there and how it's benefiting the city and the rest of us here in New Jersey.

- Definitely my pleasure.

- Thank you so much.

We'll be right back after this.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- Hi, I'm Jacqui Tricarico, Senior Correspondent for "One-on-One," and I am so honored to be joined now by Pooja Desai, also known as Tia Bua.

She is a storyteller and a children's book author, with her newest children's book out, "Tia Bua Believes in Your Magic."

It's so great to have you with us, Pooja.

- Thank you so much for having me, Jacqui.

I am so grateful for you being part of this journey.

- And, you know, let's start, let's learn more about this journey because we say Tia Bua, you are Pooja Desai, but Tia Bua is the character in this book and in a lot of these children's books that you've written already that not all of them have been released yet.

We'll get to that a little bit later.

But first describe to us, who is Tia Bua?

- So I'm both.

Tia Bua, basically, tia means aunt in Spanish, and it means aunt, and bua means aunt in Hindi.

So my nieces have been calling me Tia Bua.

It's been a way of like combining our cultures together.

And so basically it's Auntie Auntie, and that's what I am.

I am an aunt to these cute little nieces and nephews of mine.

- So for your, describe your background for us first, your professional background, and how it developed into mindfulness, because that is the overarching theme in this book, in this children's book.

So take us back a little bit in your professional career and how it evolved and kind of led to this path of you writing children's books.

- Oh, yes.

Okay.

So 27 years in healthcare, and it has been a wonderful journey.

I wear a lot of, as I say, a lot of different heels in my current organization.

I have, you know, how we came to mindfulness, I think in 2020, we all suffered a lot, you know, collectively, independently.

And during 2020, I was trained by my current organization to be a cognitive fitness coach, which we started taking call about 24 hours a day during, you know, the suicide crisis.

Because unfortunately there was, the burnout was real, and we had a lot of staff, you know, calling in, trying to just find help from being burned out.

And during that time, unfortunately, as I was also a pillar for my team, my family was also falling apart because I had a daughter who, unfortunately, got long COVID and was in and outta the hospital for 37 visits until we figured it out.

And when that happened, I realized that, you know, I failed her.

In essence, there was no, nothing like this book out then in 2020 to help them from being isolated.

You know, because she was over the age of 18, I couldn't stay in the hospital with her.

And giving her the tools and resources, you know, is the reason why I pushed to develop this book because it does help everyone, it helps control your mindset in these adult-like situations.

- Well, like you said, this book is available to children in many different ways.

Barnes & Noble, you can pick it up, you can pick it up on Amazon, but you made sure that it's getting into the hands of children that are in the hospital for a very various different reasons.

Why was that so important to you?

And how do you see firsthand them using it as a tool for them to understand those big feelings that can be associated with being in the hospital for so many different reasons, so many different health reasons?

- You know, being in Healthcare for 26 years and, you know, in different areas within a hospital, I always found that, you know, peds oncology, although hard floor to work on, you know, just having a resource like coloring was so important for them right before a test, you know, calming them down.

And I think that's really what, you know, really inspired me to want to do it because we know that they're there.

And for some of 'em, this is also their last chance of, you know, figuring out how to believe in their magic.

And, you know, helping them along in these horrible situations that they do encounter is very important to me, not just in a setting of, you know, within the family and healthcare, but underprivileged areas, you know, in urban areas where kids don't get these resources, and, you know, we're more punitive than we are helpful in those areas.

So I think that's what really inspired me to making sure that if you're sick, if you're scared, this was a safe book and a safe place.

- As parents, I have two little ones, being mindful is such a hard concept, I feel personally, to teach my children because it's hard for us as adults to be mindful all the time.

Can you give us right now just some helpful tips, tools that you could share with parents, caregivers?

Just a few ways that we can help our children be a bit more mindful because that mindfulness really is the essence of just being more caring and forgiving and accepting and so many different ways of life.

- Yes, absolutely.

The most important, and not that I've invented, you know, we've been hearing it for years and centuries, but taking a deep breath, that's so important and so, you know, underutilized.

Taking three deep breaths and helping control that mindset, whether you're in a, you know, situation where you're anxious or you're scared, that's the first step.

You know, understanding your tools, taking the child out of the element that they're in, you know, going outside for air, you know, giving the child a hug, even if they're not asking for one.

I think those have been very, sometimes with my 8-year-old, sometimes not so much, and then we practice it again.

But the most important thing that I truly believe in is taking that deep breath, taking that moment to pause and reflect, and it really does help.

And it's something that I highly encourage in all the settings that I'm in.

- And like you said, if you keep doing it, it does become part of your routine and helping children realize, it's not gonna always work the first time, but learning to have that as a tool that they can use to calm their mind, calm their body.

I know November 11th is an important date for you.

The first book, this book that was released was released November 11th of last year.

This, we're taping in October of 2024.

And I know your second children's book is gonna be released in November, November 11th, 2024.

Talk about the next book that we're gonna see.

And this is the second book of 30, am I right?

You've already written- - Yes.

- 30 children's books and you're gonna just start releasing them every year.

- Correct.

And they tap into a lot of different situations.

The first book was the introduction of, you know, "Believing in Your Magic," and that was released 11.11 of last year.

And that gives you the breathing tool and it gets you there.

And the second book is "Tia Bua Celebrates Being Mixed, Blended, Colored, and Loved."

It's, you know, a first step for us to teach diversity and inclusion at a very young age.

And, you know, a way for us to check our biases and just know that, you know, how we treat our kids is how they're going to grow up and treat either their children, or in an employee setting, treat their employees.

So if there's a way where we can raise kinder humans, I feel like the workforce will actually benefit from it, you know, later.

So it's two folds.

I hope to tackle them while they're younger so that we can have better leaders when we're older.

- Definitely, important concepts we need to and should be teaching our children now.

Thank you so much for joining us, Pooja, to share more about your book and the many other, it sounds like another 29 that are gonna be released now from Tia Bua.

Thank you so much, Pooja.

- Thank you so much, Jacqui.

Follow the magic.

- We thank you so much for watching, we’ll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

Funding has been provided by New Jersey Children’s Foundation.

Citizens Philanthropic Foundation.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Rowan University.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Newark Board of Education.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

And by The Adler Aphasia Center.

Promotional support provided by Meadowlands Chamber.

And by NJ.Com.

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