Harlem Private School To Build St. Nicholas Ave Campus

HARLEM, NY — A Harlem private school founded 15 years ago will build a new 28,500-square-foot permanent campus in the neighborhood, school officials announced Tuesday.

Harlem Academy is raising $31 million to acquire a half-acre lot on St. Nicholas Avenue between West 141st and 145th streets for its first permanent campus. The private school has reached 90 percent of its fundraising goal, school officials said.

A new campus will allow Harlem Academy to grow its student body to 240 students, school officials said. The private school will add a kindergarten class and expand each of its middle school grades to two sections in the new building. The new campus will also feature facilities such as a library and outdoor space for an athletics program.

Construction on the new campus is expected to start in April 2020 and be complete by July 2021, school officials said. Harlem Academy currently operates out of three adjacent rental storefronts.

Harlem Academy was founded in 2004 to provide Harlem families a private school alternative to struggling public schools in the district. Most of the school's funding, about 87 percent, comes from philanthropic donations. Tuition, which is set on a sliding scale based on each student's ability to pay, covers about 11 percent of the school's funding, according to Harlem Academy's website.

The majority of Harlem Academy's students come from Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx, according to the school's website. About 90 percent of its graduates have gone on toe four-year colleges.

"We intentionally planted our roots in an area with the lowest-performing public schools and set a mark for success alongside the highest-performing private schools in the country. This new campus will ensure a permanent pathway for promising students to realize their potential," founder and head of school Vincent Dotoli said in a statement.