The Mission of Democracy Prep Charter School is to educate responsible citizen-scholars in grades 6-12 to succeed in the college of their choice and a life of active citizenship.

Seth Andrew, a K-12 product of the New York City public schools, was a classroom teacher and inclusion specialist who had tremendous success with his special education students, such that more than 90% of his Special Education students passed statewide examinations in English and Math. Instead of being congratulated or seeing his no excuses practices replicated across the school, he was met with hostility and was asked not to work so hard so that other teachers with similar students wouldn't look bad if he wanted to earn tenure. Extremely frustrated, Mr. Andrew began thinking of his ideal school, a place where all children including those with special needs were on a college prep track allowed to be successful with a safe, structured, and supportive environment. He wanted to work in and build a school where teachers were treated as professionals, with both autonomy and accountability and where everyone was driven by data and results.

The DREAM took root when Mr. Andrew was accepted as a fellow in the prestigious Building Excellent Schools training program. Mr. Andrew studied the practices and procedures of the best high-performing charter schools, spending his residency as Amistad Academy in New Haven. Seth then brought together the founding team which included amazing teachers, administrators, community members, and business leaders who shared the mission of preparing every student for success in college and citizenship. The small group worked to write the charter application which was among the last approved by the Chancellor under the previous cap, and in August, 2006, Democracy Prep welcomed its first group of students in Harlem.

The team built Democracy Prep in Harlem because it is one of the most diverse and culturally rich communities in the world. Composed of extraordinary artistic, architectural, historic, and cultural resources, Harlem is a wonderful place in which to live. Unfortunately, many of the schools in our community were not yet wonderful places in which to learn. Community School District Five (CSD5), part of Region 10 in Upper Manhattan is comprised of 21 traditional public schools. The District was the lowest performing in Manhattan and one of the lowest performing districts in the entire City of New York. Of the 6,084 students in grades 3 through 8 who took the 2004 City and State English Language Arts tests, 4,495 were not proficient and not on grade level.

By showing that all students can perform at high academic levels, Democracy Prep helps to transform not only the lives of the students we serve, but the expectations of the entire system of schools around us. After just two years in operation, we have already begun to prove what is possible, but showing amazing academic results and created a roadmap for success for urban students across Harlem, New York, and the country.