The founder and namesake of Robert Benjamin Wiley Charter School is being remembered this week. February 7th, 2022 would have been his 77th birthday.

Wiley oversaw operations for years at the Greater Erie Community Action Committee which is a social service agency.

Later on he founded the charter school to give kids a chance to go to school and get ahead in life.

Kids like Carla Johnson, who went to college on the advice of Wiley and later was named the CEO of the school.

“He influenced me so much that I named my son Benjamin after Mr. Wiley. So when I had the chance to come to the Robert Benjamin Wiley Charter School I jumped on it quickly because I wanted to do for young people what he did for me,” said Carla Johnson, CEO of R. Benjamin Wiley Charter School.

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A number of the Wiley celebration events planned for Friday, February 4th were cancelled due to the storm and have been rescheduled for Friday, February 11th.