About DYP
DreamYard Prep is grounded in social justice and learning through ART. Our core values are Scholarship, Artistry, and Character. Learn more about DYP from our School Leader, Principal Anthony Santiago.
Stay tuned for Mr. Santiago’s special Welcome video.
Who We Are
Our Mission
The DreamYard Preparatory School cultivates SCHOLARSHIP, ARTISTRY and CHARACTER within its students to develop successful individuals and responsible citizens.
Our Vision
DYP provides rigorous academic and arts focused curricula that emphasize problem solving and critical thinking while deepening students’ understanding of all subjects. We work to empower students with skills to engage the world creatively and pursue professional careers. Community, creativity, and leadership inform a school culture that nurtures the growth of articulate and thoughtful adults. DYP is committed to providing the support and guidance that will allow each student to graduate with a Regents diploma, acceptance to a college or university, and a clear path toward a fulfilling and meaningful career.
Our Philosophy
Students who create learn about the world and themselves while doing it, preparing themselves for life beyond high school. It is our mission at DreamYard Preparatory High School to produce graduates that are Life-Ready. This means that our young people are ready to embrace a meaningful career, believe that they can be successful adults, and are prepared to contribute to society in a purposeful way.
Restorative Justice
We at DYP use Restorative Justice practices as a tool to help us create a caring school community and keep that community whole in building relationships at the Taft Educational Campus. When people make mistakes or cause harm, restorative justice practices can help them to understand the impact of their actions, heal the harm, and restore the community.
Respect
“A great relationship is about two things first, find out the similarities, second respect the differences.
- Unknown.
Restorative Approach
“Diplomacy is listening to what the other guy needs. Preserving your own position, but listening to the other guy. You have to develop relationships with other people so when the tough times come, you can work together.”
-Colin Powell
Our Origins
DreamYard Preparatory High School was founded in 2006 as a Bronx public high school, offering a rigorous college preparatory curriculum that includes AP classes, SAT prep, and Arts Majors.
We make Life-Ready students through the implementation of our three core values of Scholarship, Artistry and Character. These core values are present in every aspect of our school's curriculum, which includes student-led discussions, restorative approaches to discipline, Arts Majors and student input into school-wide decisions. Our students have indeed succeeded, attending universities like Boston College, Syracuse, Cornell, NYU, Swarthmore, Utica College, Cooper Union,
Shenandoah University, Marist College, Fordham University and other schools both in and out of New York State. They are on their way to their own meaningful lives of fulfillment, art, and action.