A new high school focused on hip-hop is coming to New York City.
According to the New York Daily News, the Bronx School of Hip-Hop will open in Claremont and begin with about 115 to 125 ninth graders, eventually expanding into a full high school.
Founding principal Jason Reyes described the approach as rooted in culture and academics.
“At the core of what we're talking about here is hip-hop culture being used as a vehicle for learning," Reyes said. “This is not just performing arts. It's that and students really digging deep into literary analysis. A good example would be, I'm looking at Kendrick Lamar's album, To Pimp A Butterfly, and I'm comparing that to, let's say, Catcher in the Rye, understanding rhetorical devices."
He added, “And mathematics, you might see students understanding pattern recognition in music, and then creating an algebraic equation.”
Reyes said the school is meant to connect with disengaged students, saying, "Students are disengaged when they don't see themselves in the learning. This school is designed for this generation."
He also said students will graduate prepared for careers in the hip-hop industry or for college. He shared a plan for the school to partner with Lehman College and Bronx Community College to offer college credit in fields like audio engineering, video production, graphics, and business.
The school’s advisers include Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, and Special Ed, and aims to build additional partnerships with artists.
The Bronx School of Hip-Hop is part of a broader rollout of five new public schools across the Bronx and western Queens.
City officials say the expansion is meant to address overcrowding, respond to shifting enrollment trends, and offer more tailored options for families, even as overall student numbers continue to decline and the system faces pressure to reduce class sizes.
An opening date for Bronx School of Hip-Hop has yet to be announced.
