Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs Opens New Charter School in East Harlem

EAST HARLEM, NY — There's a new, highly recognizable, player in the Harlem charter school industry. Sean Combs — also known as Puff Daddy, also known as P. Diddy, also known as Diddy and also known as Puff(y) — celebrated the his newest venture, Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School on Monday.

The hip-hop mogul and founder of Bad Boy Records first set out on his mission to open a charter school in his hometown Harlem since 2011, the New York Times reported in March. Combs partnered with Steve Perry, founder of the Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Conn., to found the school, which had its charter application approved in 2014, the Times reported.

Capital Prep Harlem, located on East 104th Street and 5th Avenue, will be modeled after the Hartford School.

“It’s important to note it was he who inspired our team to come in and expand into New York,” Mr. Perry told the Times in March. “It starts there, and the rest of the role will develop over time.”

The Capital Prep education model teaches students to follow five core beliefs: to engage in collaborative activities, to work as problem solvers, to act as empathetic citizens to improve their expertise in research and to exhibit characteristics that exemplify pillars of knowledge within the community.

The school is focused on preparing students for college and utilizes an 11-month curriculum to prevent students from forgetting what they learn over summer vacation, according to the school's website.

The school was originally scheduled to open in 2015, according to the charter application, but that ended up getting pushed back a year. The school will enroll about 160 students in the sixth and seventh grades this school year, but plans on expanding in future years. The charter application lists a maximum planned enrollment of 700 students from grades six through 12.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons via Freelance photographer Richard Burdett