Music mogul, rapper, actor and philanthropist, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ made a surprise visit to Capital Prep Bronx School in Co-Op City on Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Diddy and Dr. Steve Perry announced on Aug. 2, 2020 their newest addition to the Capital Preparatory Schools network – Capital Prep Bronx – which was opened with a fully remote schedule in September 2020 in Co-Op City, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Capital Preparatory Schools network, Combs had been an invaluable partner in supporting the Bronx location, providing critical start-up funding to open the school with the resources needed to serve the children.

When Capital Prep Bronx opened in 2020, it served almost 200 students in 6th to 7th grade, according to school officials. The school was set to grow to serve 650 students in 6th to 11th grade during its initial five-year term. Capital Prep already has locations in Harlem, NY (which also opened on Sept. 8, 2020), and Bridgeport, CT, (which opened Aug. 31, 2020), and it is intended to continue to open more campuses in the future, according to representatives.

According to Capital Prep, the Bronx location continues the network’s efforts to provide historically underserved children access to the same high quality, rigorous, and competitive curriculum seen in more affluent communities. As a nod to their roots in college prep, Combs and Perry chose 755 Co-Op City Blvd, the former location of the College of New Rochelle.

Perry said at the time of the Co-op City school opening, “We couldn’t be more excited to open our next school together in Co-op City, a community rooted in social justice and diversity.” He added, “While opening up remote at first is bittersweet, we have developed a best-in-class approach to online learning we are excited to implement with our new families. The Capital Prep college prep model is perfectly poised to transition into the digital space and we are excited to deliver a rigorous education to this inaugural class of scholars.”

Isaish Brown, Bronx native and founding principal of Capital Prep Bronx, said at the time, “We will run our distance learning as a replica of our in-school experience.” Brown added, “Scholars will have live instruction from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., across core subjects plus advisory, four days a week. On Fridays, they will participate in a virtual all-school assembly and access office hours for additional support.”

He continued, “Social Justice, the bedrock of our model, is woven throughout the curriculum teaching our scholars critical life skills and strategies to become agents of change. And, last but not least, after school, we have enlisted amazing community partners to facilitate further activities the children can engage in.”

Combs, a Harlem native and longtime proponent of education and opportunity for young people, worked closely with Perry on the launch of the Harlem location, and the expansion of the network to The Bronx. Representatives for both said it was a top priority for them to build community support and enlist what was described as “an amazing team of educators, parents and business leaders to bring the idea to fruition.”

Music mogul, rapper, actor and philanthropist, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ made a surprise visit to Capital Prep Bronx School in Co-Op City on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2020. Video courtesy of We Tha Business via YouTube.

According to Capital Prep representatives, the Capital Prep strategy is a proven path to success. They said in 2017, Capital Prep Harbor in Bridgeport, CT had the highest percentage of students meeting the State’s growth goal and garnered the school the designation as a “School of Distinction” by that state’s department of education. They said similar growth has occurred in Capital Prep Harlem.

In 2016, Capital Prep representatives said the school’s first year, only one percent of the students were at grade-level in math. Within two years, that number grew to 27 percent. Capital Prep Schools focuses on the neediest students, at the most challenging grades and provides them with access to the love and academic rigor that yield impressive results.

According to its founders, Capital Preparatory Schools’ mission is to provide historically disadvantaged students with the college and career readiness skills needed to become responsible and engaged citizens for social justice. The schools continue to follow the model of Capital Prep Magnet School founded by Dr. Steve Perry in 2005, located in Hartford, CT.

Capital Prep representatives say their unique approach to educating the whole child has delivered incredible results, with 100 percent of its high school graduates being accepted to four-year colleges every year since its first class graduated in 2006. In addition, 81 percent of these students remained in college, they say. The representatives added that this success led to the opening of three additional schools, Capital Prep Harbor in Bridgeport, CT (2015), Capital Prep Harlem in New York City (2016), and Capital Prep Bronx (2020) in partnership with Sean “Diddy” Combs.