Godfrey S Kobets

Godfrey Kobets (left in photo) always referred to himself as the co-founder of the DeLaSalle Education Center. This was in spite of the perception of many people that Mr. Kobets, alone, was the founding inspiration of DeLaSalle.

Mr. Kobets, who died in 1996, was a very humble man, and he knew that this important work was not, nor would ever be, the result of any one person. He also wanted to acknowledge the support of his former student and life-long friend, Norman O. Sanders. Norman had taken a partial leave-of-absence from his law firm in 1971 to assist Mr.Kobets with the legal complexities of starting a non-profit, non-sectarian, non-tuition-charging, inner-city alternative school. As a result, Mr. Kobets considered Norman to be another co-founder of DeLaSalle. (In fact, Norman was the Chairman or Co-Chairman of the DeLaSalle Board for 37 years until his death in August 2008.)

The early literature about DeLaSalle listed another co-founder, Christian Brother Theodore Berni. Brother Ted served as the Center's initial principal, and worked at DeLaSalle until the early seventies. We have lost touch with him since then, so we consequently have acknowledged the Christian Brothers organization, which supported Brother Ted's work, as co-founders of the Education Center.

As they say, it takes a village to raise a child, and at DeLaSalle, it took a (religious) community, educators and civic leaders to raise the thousands of children who have been educated at DeLaSalle Education Center. Thanks to all of you "villagers" who have helped us build on the foundations of great individuals like Godfrey S Kobets!