The city will open five new schools this fall, including one centered on an art form born in the Bronx.

“Hip-hop is like our number one export out of the Bronx, right?” Jason Reyes, the incoming principal of the Bronx School of Hip-Hop, said.

What You Need To Know

  • The Bronx School of Hip Hop is one of five new schools opening in the city next year

  • The high school will weave hip-hop into academic classes for students

  • Students can also learn skills like audio engineering

The new high school will welcome its first ninth-grade class in September. Reyes said that in his time as an educator in the Bronx, he’s seen how hip-hop helps students get interested in what they’re learning.

“Not only did they see themselves, they had an understanding, like, that this belongs to us as our lineage. Which led them to, like, just really be way more engaged. And you just see the difference in attendance. You see the difference in achievement, right? So why not build a school that is rooted in so much genius and excellence?” he said.

Students will have the opportunity to learn about deejaying, breaking and graffiti; but the hip-hop theme will be embedded into what Reyes said is rigorous academic instruction.

“Students don’t go to, like, rap class — it’s embedded in ELA, right? So you take English language arts and you are studying English through, let’s say, you know, novels that exist, such as ‘Native Son,’ that could be a novel, by Richard Wright. But then, we also comparing that to Nas’ ‘I Can,’” he said.

“Having students see the genius that lies in both, how they weave together, but also how their creativity can heighten by using rhetorical devices that live in novels that we’ve all read growing up. But most of the time, like, kids don’t really engage with that because they don’t see themselves in some of these texts,” Reyes added.

Students can also study audio engineering and earn certifications in programs used by professionals in the industry.

“They’ll be able to go out into the world after they actually graduate with credentials and say, listen, I know how to do audio engineering. I know beat production. I know video and graphic design,” Reyes said.

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels highlighted the new schools at the Department of Education’s headquarters. Two new schools are in District 75, serving students with special needs: the Bronx School of Arts and Exploration in Highbridge and the Queens Academy for Innovative Learning in Astoria. 

Two new elementary schools are also coming to Queens: the Academy of Cultural Excellence in Long Island City and West Q Elementary in Woodside.

“Each school brings something unique — different focus areas, grade levels and areas of specialization, but together, they reflect a shared fundamental belief at New York City public schools. There is something for every student and every family,” Samuels said.