The Harlem Prep Experiment: Exploring the Relationships of a Community School in Harlem, 1967–1974

• In Event: A New York State of Mind: Local Struggles for Equitable Education

Abstract

This study explores the history of Harlem Preparatory School, an independent community school in Central Harlem from 1967 to 1974 that successfully educated former “dropout” students and other non-traditional students. Specifically, this paper highlights the unique community coalition that Harlem Prep administrators and supporters cultivated, bringing together a very diverse range of supporters across racial and ideological lines including Black activists, local Black-owned businesses in Harlem, major philanthropies, and giant (white-owned) corporations. Contextualized within recent history of urban education scholarship on the antagonistic relationship between schools and communities in cities, this paper offers an alternative story about how a school successfully partnered with its community in ways that can inform educators and activists today.

Author

• Barry Goldenberg, Teachers College, Columbia University