Hip-hop star Sean 'Diddy' Combs is determined to make sure his first school is a success so he can expand the brand worldwide.
The rap mogul officially added educator to his resume on Monday (29Aug16), when he opened the Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School in his native Harlem, New York, providing free public education for children in grades six to 12.
"It's always been a dream of mine to come back home and open a school, I've just always had that vision in my head," he explained on U.S. breakfast show Today.
"I knew that I was able to achieve to the heights that I was able to achieve (sic) because I started out and had a very good education, and I think we just take that for granted. Also, we're not dealing with the issues that we're not properly educating our children, especially in inner cities. So instead of complaining about it, I wanted to do something about it, so I opened up my own school and I'm just gonna lead by example and try to make the change that way. It's a beautiful thing."
Combs began developing the school idea five years ago, when he discussed his plans with educator Dr. Steve Perry, who founded the similar Capital Prep Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut.
Perry is overseeing the new Harlem institute's development, and with his help, Diddy is eager to turn Capital Prep into a global brand.
"I also wanna expand schools into different cities and countries," he added.
He isn't the first star to ring the bell for a new school - in 2007, TV mogul Oprah Winfrey opened an all girls boarding school, named the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, and fellow rapper Pitbull has also founded two charter schools to help provide education to impoverished families in Miami, Florida, and Henderson, Nevada.
