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When Principal Asya Johnson talks about her alma mater, Delaware State University, what comes through is not simply the academic rigor, but the deep sense of belonging, connection and affirmation she experienced as a young Black woman who could excel in the world.

鈥淚 felt loved while I was on campus by my professors,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚 felt affirmed. I saw people who looked like me aspiring to complete higher education, and telling me, 鈥業 want to be a doctor, I want to be an educator or a lawyer.鈥� 鈥�

Johnson is now looking to make that experience possible for a new generation of students of color, as the founding principal of the first early college high school in New York City inspired by historically Black colleges and universities. HBCU Early College Prep High School, which opened in Queens, New York, in fall 2025, is part of a broader effort to create innovative, community-driven and accelerated high schools designed in the style of HBCUs like Delaware State.

Students will graduate with not only a high school diploma, but also an associate鈥檚 degree and a guaranteed spot at Delaware State, founded in 1891 and ranked 10th overall among all HBCUs today. Just as important, they will experience a unique school culture modeled after Delaware State and other HBCUs. In fact, by their junior year students will be taught directly 鈥� but remotely 鈥� by Delaware State professors for certain courses.

Although New York City is home to more than 100 higher education institutions, it has no HBCUs. In fact, there are none in all of New York state.

鈥淵oung people of color just are not being exposed to HBCUs at all,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淲e’re not even talking about HBCUs,鈥� whose distinguished list of graduates include former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and actor and producer Samuel L. Jackson, to name a few. 鈥淎nd if we are, we’re either discrediting them, or we’re telling students that they can’t afford it, or they don’t give scholarships 鈥� none of which is true.鈥� 

That concern is echoed in UNCF鈥檚 recent , which finds that many K鈥�12 students 鈥� especially students of color 鈥� still lack meaningful exposure to HBCUs. The report underscores the urgent need for clearer, intentional pathways connecting young people to these historically Black institutions.

The new school, and the broader effort to develop HBCU-inspired high schools, is made possible with support from a partnership between UNCF (formerly the United Negro College Fund), the XQ Institute and Transcend, a national nonprofit that helps to design and support innovative schools. This coalition of organizations is also in the early stages of transforming an existing New Orleans public school into an HBCU-inspired, early college high school, with other communities also being explored for such efforts.

鈥淭his work only happens because of the strength of the partnership,鈥� said Sarah Navarro, the chief of schools and systems for the XQ Institute. 鈥淯NCF brings deep expertise in what makes HBCUs so powerful for student success. Transcend supports and facilitates the design process with communities. XQ ensures the model is built to transform high school 鈥� not just launch a single school. 

鈥淭ogether, we鈥檙e not just opening a new campus. We鈥檙e building a scalable model for how high schools across the country can connect students to college, culture and opportunity in a lasting way.鈥�

Key hallmarks of HBCU Early College Prep include accelerated coursework, youth voice and choice, real-world learning and a deep connection to the local community.

Students are taking college courses beginning in ninth grade, with teachers receiving training by faculty at Delaware State, said Shawn Rux, a senior executive director in the Office of New School Development & Design at the NYC Department of Education, a key partner of the coalition. Eventually, those students will take virtual classes with Delaware State professors.

鈥淭he 鈥榠ntentionality around the school design鈥� is key to this enterprise,鈥� said Sekou Biddle, vice president for advocacy at UNCF. As part of the effort, the team asked, 鈥淲hat is it that we know about the HBCU experience that is so catalytic for students? And what if we were intentional about bringing those elements into high school?鈥�

鈥淚t’s around [school] culture, it’s around instruction, but then it’s around bringing those principles to life,鈥� Biddle said.

Channeling the 鈥楬BCU Magic鈥�

To Rux and others, it鈥檚 not just the academic challenge; it鈥檚 the combination of that rigor with a strong, positive school culture that nurtures students and provides them a thoughtfully designed support system.

鈥淚 call it the HBCU magic,鈥� said Rux, a Delaware State alumnus himself.

A valuable resource and reference point for the design of the new school came from a 2020 UNCF report, Biddle said.

鈥淗BCUs are often overlooked as sources of effective methods for producing high-achieving Black students, although their existence is based on this very premise,鈥� the Imparting Wisdom report notes. 鈥淗BCUs have been engines for ingenuity, academic excellence and social justice for decades, and the strategies and practices they implement can inform educational practices and systems.鈥�

The report identifies a series of recommendations based on three 鈥渂est practices鈥� among HBCUs including: cultivating nurturing support systems with a high level of student and faculty interaction; leveraging African American culture and identity; and setting high academic expectations and an intentional college-going culture.

Competition to attend the new public high school was fierce, with some 1,000 applicants for about 100 seats. The school will grow each year, as it progresses from having ninth graders only to eventually a full slate of students in grades 9 through 12.

To apply, students are required to not only submit their academic credentials (including test scores), but also write a short essay about the Amanda Gorman poem, 鈥淭he Hill We Climb,鈥澛燼nd submit a video statement about themselves. While many students in the new class attended other New York City public schools previously, some came from private and parochial schools, according to Johnson.

鈥淥ur school is actually bringing students back into the public school system,鈥� she said.

Designed for Belonging

Among those to earn a spot at the new Queens public school are ninth graders Mya Williams and Chance Thomas.

Mya, an aspiring veterinarian, was attracted to the school after hearing about it at a school assembly. Principal Johnson had been visiting middle schools to drum up interest.

鈥淪he talked about how we would get an associate’s degree at the end of our four years, and we would get college credits,鈥� Mya said. 鈥淎nd that really caught my attention.鈥�

Both students describe their new school as academically demanding, but also supportive.

According to Chance, the school is cultivating students鈥� work ethic and valuable skills like time management. 鈥淭hey definitely push us with the workload and the expectations, because a lot of our peers [at other schools] don鈥檛 have that,鈥� she said. 鈥淓xpectations are really high, but our professors [how teachers are referred to] are really supportive.鈥� 

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 good that we鈥檙e challenged,鈥� Mya said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 preparing us for college.鈥�

The two students also highlighted the 鈥渉ouse鈥� system, akin in some respects to sororities and fraternities, or to the student houses featured in the Harry Potter books and films, an analogy offered up by Principal Johnson. In fact, HBCU Early College Prep uses a point system like Hogwarts School, with rewards for those that amass the most. But in this case, the houses are named after well-known HBCUs like Spelman College and Howard University.

The experience 鈥渂uilds a sisterhood and brotherhood within those houses,鈥� Chance said.

“Listen to how these students talk about their school. They’re describing rigor and community in the same breath,” said Aylon Samouha, co-founder and CEO of Transcend. “That’s not an accident. That’s the result of intentional design.鈥�

鈥淲hen students feel like they belong to something meaningful,鈥� Samouha said, 鈥渨hen the adults around them have high expectations and real support structures, engagement stops being something you have to manufacture. It becomes the natural byproduct of a school that was designed with students’ full humanity in mind.”

Coming 鈥渉ome鈥�

It didn鈥檛 take long for ninth graders at the new school to experience Delaware State firsthand. In November of last year, HBCU Early College Prep organized a field trip for students over homecoming weekend.

During the visit, the ninth graders toured campus and participated in a pinning ceremony with the college president. Over time, students will have the chance to attend career fairs and other activities at Delaware State, said Kareem McLemore, the university鈥檚 vice president for strategic enrollment management and international affairs. And, they will be earning college credits from the institution each year.

The high schoolers also had a chance to meet with upperclass students at an existing early college high school located on the Delaware State campus to better understand the accelerated model.

As part of the model, each student also is paired with a 鈥渟uccess coach,鈥� an upperclassman from Delaware State who can provide remote support, including tutoring and personalized academic advising.

As a brand new school with only ninth graders right now, HBCU Early College Prep is still early in its journey. But Principal Johnson, Rux from the city education department and their coalition partners are aiming high:

鈥淲e just want to make sure,鈥� Rux said, 鈥渢hat when students walk out that door at the end of their four years, they鈥檙e fully prepared to really take on the world.鈥�

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of 社区黑料.

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