Over the years, the neighborhood had deteriorated into an abyss of drug use and crime, as its drug dealers weren't quite ready for the sunshiny environment of an educational space for kids. "There was the threat of drive bys by the drug dealers; I was interfering with their business, and of course, they didn't like that," continues Hans.

Hans and Ivan Hageman were two wanted men by the local street hustlers of East Harlem; it even got to the point where there came a need for 24-hour security protection. As a former assistant district attorney in an Office of Special Narcotics Prosecution, Hans had a few strings to pull for support.

He called in a few associates to help him out, some of whom were from the Nation of Islam, a group of American Muslims known for their security measures and capabilities to help him out with the protection of the school. Eventually, he met face to face with the drug dealers. After seeing how resolved he was in maintaining the quality and safety of his school and the children in it, Hans says they eventually retreated out of respect.

"These guys had to know that you were serious, and I was serious." He even got a few of the ex-drug dealers jobs in construction, and continues to write one of them with a long-term prison sentence, today.

Colleagues of the Hageman brothers were touched by their immense sacrifice and efforts in fighting off every and any obstacle in the way of their students. With the opposition they had to overcome just to give Exodus House students a decent education, it's ironic how the astounding success in the entire effort came about by a very simple cause, really -- they cared...and everyone knew it.

The Exodus House Student
Students at Exodus House feel this care on a daily basis. With a school population of 60 children, a typical class size is no larger than 15. Hans holds no bar, "School days here are long and rigorous. There's plenty of intensive, intensive work for these kids...and they can handle it. We prove they can."

The school comes along with rigorous academics, school days that don't end until 5:30 in the evening (sometimes even later), and an eleven month academic schedule. To top it off, I have the executive director sitting in front of me, admitting that yes -- there's lots of stress and pressure that comes along with being an Exodus House student, going on to say that "everything here is a lesson."

As opposed to some other schools whose "philosophies" are but abstract additions into dusty, antiquated student-parent handbooks, the Exodus House philosophy is embedded into the prolific young mind. You see it in their eyes and deportment. The Exodus House student expects and demands success -- from themselves.

"Competence with Character" reads the words scripted on the front stones of this school, and the Exodus student knows each virtue well. "There's a focus on self-discipline here," states Hans. "Like the traditional black family almost...you respect your elders, you don't talk back, you give respect."

Half of the students graduating from Exodus go into boarding school, as they're taught to look at changes or dilemnas in life as conquerable challenges, not problems. "They're taught basic survival," says Hans. Exodus students have been granted scholarships into prestigious boarding schools like Phillips Exeter Academy, Brooks School, Concord, Dana Hall, Miss Porter's, Northfield Mt. Hermon, Proctor, along with a number of others.

They've also gained acceptance into a number of selective alternative NYC public schools, including: Beacon School, Manhattan Village, and Young Women's Leadership School. With results like these, Hans makes it a point of differentiating a school like Exodus from what he calls, "a finishing school." "We're not here to just 'finish' or 'polish' you off," he says in response to those parents who may view the school as mere gloss to add onto their childrens' educational resume. Hans makes sure to emphasize the fact that Exodus education is a process, not an end.

"What we really look for in the prospective Exodus House student is the ambition to succeed...we need to see that the students themselves have the passion and urge to do well. The admissions process into Exodus is a selective one, and rightly so, so if or when you are accepted, it's your big break. In a sense, through the crafting, discipline, and care provided by the school, attending Exodus is your ticket to a successful future -- but you'll have to work for it.

Continue to Final Page