Earl Monroe New Renaissance School cuts ribbon on new home in the South Bronx
The tuition-free charter high school builds its curriculum around the game of basketball.
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With Basketball Hall of Fame members, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, and New York City basketball royalty like Coney Island's Stephon Marbury and Bronx-native Rod Strickland all in one room, the Earl Monroe New Renaissance School officially cut the ribbon on its brand new building in the South Bronx.
"Welcome home, guys," the school's namesake, a member of the Hall of Fame and member of the 1973 NBA Champion New York Knicks, announced to the crowd. "This is it. It's been a long time coming."
The tuition-free charter high school uses a curriculum based around the game of basketball, and encourages students to explore careers related to the game - both on and off the court.
"You have that opportunity to be inspired," Silver said to the students. "As broadcasters, as lawyers, as commissioners, even."
The school first opened in 2021 at an old church in Pelham Bay, but even then, the board told News 12 it was working on a permanent home.
That vision became reality this fall, with the opening of the brand-new, five-story, 69,000-square-foot building.
"I didn't expect it to be this nice," said Mileily Vasquez, a senior at the school. "It's so modern, and it feels refreshing."
"It's just more bright," agreed sophomore Charles Johnson. "It looks better...it looks like Earl Monroe."
Even before the new building opened, students started stacking achievements like Earl Monroe. Every member of its first two graduating classes was accepted to college.
"Hopefully this is the start of something big, and these kids are the beginning of it," Monroe said.
Strickland, who grew up about a mile away from the building in the Mitchel Houses, said he was amazed by resources he could have only dreamed of as a kid.
"It's a great opportunity for the area," he said. "The youth need it. They need inspiration."
