Harlem Prep

Step by Step ~ A Retrospective ~ 1967–1975

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Recent Videos, Articles and Intrerviews

Harlem Prep School – Bahá'í answer to racial inequality in education (Video)

Harlem Prep – Bahá'í Inspired School. Talk by Hussein Ahdieh for Bahá'í Scholars, Dec. 2020 (Video)

A Way Out of No Way Reviewed by Dr. Donald T. Streets, Former Associate Dean, School of Education, University of Massachusetts, in recognition of 50th anniversary of formation of Harlem Prep

From Nayriz to New York: Hussein Ahdieh and the Story of Harlem Prep

The Treasures That Education Can Reveal

Sacrificial Education: For the Good of Others

Murals Protesting Iranian Policies Appear Across Harlem as World Leaders Gather at the UN

In an interview with historian Barry Goldenberg, Hussein Ahdieh remembers Harlem Prep.

Step by Step
You’re in the race at Harlem Prep.
For the race has just begun,
There’s a goal for everyone.
Open the gates,
And open them wide.
For those who hunger
And thirst inside.
For the creative free,
Who once were denied.
Keep on marching…
Until you reach the other side.

Through the halls of opportunity,
To the stairway of success!
Work your show,
You’re on the go,
Just keep those students coming through.
For there’s so much work for us to do
With the help of God and the hand of faith,
We’ll make our dream come alive, hey, hey, hey
No matter what it takes.

—Shirley Jones & Milton Hamilton

A Way Out of No Way
Harlem Prep: Transforming Dropouts into Scholars, 1967–1977

A New Book By
Hussein Ahdieh & Hillary Chapman

After a lifetime in education, I look back on my days at Harlem Prep as the most important and most satisfying period in my career as an educator and as a person.

I have created this site to capture, in some measure, the audacious creativity, dedication, and magic that was Harlem Prep. This site describes our mission, how we learned and taught, our students, our faculty, and the many notable people (and organizations) who helped us.

I would like to honor the memory of Ed and Anne Carpenter who, inspired by the Baha'i Faith, birthed the school and led it through those exhilarating times.

—Hussein Ahdieh