Sue Duncan Children’s Center - After-School Program That Gets Results

Sue Duncan Children's Center

Rex James Burgdorfer serves as vice president of investment banking at Juniper Advisory in Chicago. Also an angel investor, he has invested in numerous companies with potential for strong growth through VestedWorld. Outside of work, Rex Burgdorfer contributes to the Sue Duncan Children’s Center and other local charities.

With an original location at Jackie Robinson Elementary School at 4225 South Lake Park Avenue in Chicago, the Sue Duncan Children’s Center also runs a program at John Fiske Elementary School at 6020 South Langley Avenue. The center operates after-school programs that promote children’s academic, artistic, and athletic growth.

Sue Duncan Children’s Center stands out as one of few non-religious after-school programs that offer personal attention and achieve outcomes that exceed expectations. A hallmark of the program is the low tutor-to-student ratio of 1:5, which far exceeds Chicago Public Schools’ standard of 1 teacher to 32 students. In addition to assisting students with their homework, the center stimulates intellectual curiosity and aims to instill in students a love for learning. After working on their homework and engaging in recreational activities, students receive a hot meal before going home. 

As evidence of the effectiveness of the center’s programming, 100 percent of students demonstrate improvement academically and socially, and over 90 percent of students demonstrate improved grades after only one semester. Further, 100 percent of eighth-grade participants have graduated from high school, and a large percent of high school seniors have gone on to enroll in college.