He may be a “Bad Boy for life” but Sean “Diddy” Combs is doing something distinctly good in the ‘hood.
The 46-year-old music and media mogul recently announced plans to open a new charter school in his native of Harlem, New York. According to reports, Diddy had been secretly meeting over the last five years with a number of education experts and community leaders to figure out ways to make a positive impact on the educational opportunities for youth in the area before partnering with Capital Preparatory Schools to create the forthcoming Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School.
“Creating this school is a dream come true for me,” Combs said via a statement to the press. “I want to impact the lives of young people in my community, and build future leaders. The first step is offering access to a quality education. Every young person should have the tools they need to succeed. All our children should be able to pursue their dreams. That is something I can impact with this school.”
Famed educator and Capital Preparatory Schools founder Dr. Steve Perry will serve on the board of the new school that will be located at 1 East 104th Street in New York City. Initially the school will teach sixth and seventh graders with intentions of adding an additional grade per year until it reaches 700 students in grades six through 12.
“I’m inspired by Sean Combs’ belief that educating our young people is the key to opening up a world of opportunity for them,” says Dr. Perry. “Sean and I have spent many long hours over the last five years talking about education and how best to meet the needs of the young people of Harlem, and I couldn’t be more pleased to continue this journey through the opening of the school.”
The Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School is set to open in fall 2016.
For more information on the school, please visit WeAreCapitalPrep.org.
