Founder of Bad Boy Records Sean “Diddy” Combs will be opening a charter school next fall in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem called Capital Preparatory Charter School.
Combs has partnered with Dr. Steve Perry, founder of the Capital Prep Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut, who will be overseeing the operations of the school alongside its inaugural principal, educator Danita Jones. Combs called creating the school a “dream come true,” according to the Associated Press.
After spending several years searching for an educational model, the Harlem native handpicked Perry’s Capital Prep program, beginning to embark on a similar project in 2011. Since then, Combs has been working on the plan privately with Perry, meeting with leaders in the community and academic experts to best structure the program.
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Combs and the school board also tapped Dr. Iyanla Vanzant, spiritual life coach who’s ‘Iyanla, Fix My Life’ airs on Oprah’s OWN network. And Derek Ferguson, Comb’s longtime adviser, will also be leading the board with Reverend Georgiette Morgan-Thomas.
The school’s official site, which is now live, describes Capital Prep as a free public school open to students enrolling in grades 6-12. Advertising a year-round “college-preparatory education," the school will also offer advanced college-level courses to high school students.
“Yes! Go to http://www.capitalprepharlem.org and you can apply,” Perry tweeted on Monday.
Bishop T.D. Jakes also took to Twitter to congratulate Combs and Perry on the new venture tweeting, "Congrats @iamdiddy @IyanlaVanzant @drsteveperry on starting your new school in Harlem. Be encouraged."
Located in East Harlem at 1 East 104th Street in New York City, the school has already began accepting applications, announcing that for its first year it will be admitting 160 students in grades 6-7. And in order to reach a full enrollment of 700 students from grade 6-12, Capital Prep Harlem will be adding a grade each year.