This autumn, a groundbreaking high school in the Bronx will harmonize education with music by integrating it into every lesson.
Opening soon in Claremont, the Bronx School of Hip Hop is poised to become the city’s inaugural public institution dedicated to using this iconic genre—rooted in the borough itself—as a transformative tool for education.
“We’re crafting a cutting-edge, future-focused public school in New York City that not only innovates but also caters to the community’s aspirations, providing students multiple avenues to express and demonstrate their intellect,” said Jason Reyes, the principal set to lead this unique endeavor.
Although the school’s name suggests a focus on rapping and DJing, the curriculum won’t involve traditional music classes.
Instead, the educators will incorporate the essential principles of hip hop culture into the standard state syllabus, offering a fresh perspective on learning.
“The elements of MCing, DJing, Graffiti, Breaking, and Knowledge of Self are intricately linked to literacy, mathematics, science, technology, entrepreneurship, media, and cultural leadership. This isn’t about offering music as an elective; rather, hip hop serves as a comprehensive framework embedded within the academic program,” clarified Reyes, a lifelong resident of the Bronx.
“So MCing is still the English language. We’re talking about the analysis of rhetorical language, storytelling, literary analysis,” he continued.
“When we talk about how math relates specifically to DJing and production, you’ve got sequencing ratios, algebraic expressions and pattern recognition within that, as well as the whole financial modeling side of math with statistics.”
There will still be plenty of interesting classes that a regular public school might not offer, including audio engineering, beat production, video and graphic design and more.
The idea for the Bronx School of Hip Hop had been years in the making, with numerous longtime educators across the five boroughs recognizing the fascination students have with music.
Harnessing that attraction and using it as a means of engaging with students was something Reyes had done throughout his career, calling hip hop in particular “powerful.”
“It’s culturally relevant, students already are into the music and the culture of it. It provides an entry point for both teachers and students to meet and really create that engagement,” said Reyes, who pointed to Nas as an artist he has looked up to since he was a student himself.
Creating the first-of-its-kind school in the Bronx was a no-brainer, Reyes continued, calling hip hop the “number one export out of the Bronx.”
That notoriety and neighborhood connection could also mean that plenty of big-name musicians might be visiting the unique institution in its inaugural year, Reyes teased.
The Bronx School of Hip Hop will open its doors to its first-ever freshmen class this September in the same building as the merged I.S. 313 and I.S. 339.
New York students can apply to the Bronx School of Hip Hop as they would any other public school in the five boroughs — there is no zoning protocol or admissions test.
The approximately 120 freshman students will be the only ones in the school for the first academic school year, according to Reyes — they will also be the first sophomore, junior and senior classes as time goes on, as well as the first-ever graduating class.
That “founding class” will be integral in crafting the identity and personality of the brand-new institution, Reyes said, adding that he looks forward to having student-made beats ring through the halls for the change of class rather than a boring bell.
“They are the lifeblood of our schools and we definitely honor them,” said Reyes.
