PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A troubled city high school has finally heard the sound of music coming from a recording studio donated by Drake after a monthslong search for a teacher to run it.
The Grammy-winning rapper gave $75,000 to help create the space at Strawberry Mansion High School, district officials said. Drake, a 28-year-old Toronto native, has said he was deeply affected by a news report on the challenges faced by the Philadelphia students.
Although the studio was finished last summer, Principal Linda Cliatt-Wayman said budget problems and the school’s reputation for violence made it hard to find an instructor. At long last, part-time music teacher Ben Diamond arrived in early February.
“We thought we were going to be ready to go in September. They’ve been dying to get in” to the studio, Wayman said of the students.
Drake became involved after ABC News aired a program focusing on Wayman’s tough-love efforts to improve the school, which serves one of the city’s poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods. Campus assaults have dropped dramatically since Wayman arrived two years ago, but academics and resources remain a struggle. Less than a quarter of Strawberry Mansion students perform at grade level in math and reading.