Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Is Opening a Charter-School in Harlem

Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs said Monday he is the man behind the launch of a charter school opening in Harlem in August.

His revelation came in time to boost applications before the April 1 deadline to sign up for a lottery to get into Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School.

“Creating this school is a dream come true for me,” Mr. Combs said in a statement. “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.”

The charter will be overseen by Steve Perry, who has opened charters in Hartford and Bridgeport, Conn. Dr. Perry said Mr. Combs reached out to him about six years ago after seeing a news report about him.

“He was definitely relentless in making this point that he wanted to start a school,” Dr. Perry said. “He kept it under wraps until today. We wanted to make sure the i’s were dotted and the t’s crossed.”

Dr. Perry said the school won city Department of Education approval more than a year ago. He said that Mr. Combs helped select a principal, provided office space and lent staff to help with development and community outreach.

Source: wsj.com