New York, NY - Congressman Charles B. Rangel and Ambassador Se-joo Son, South Korean Consul General in New York, joined together in applauding and wishing the students at Harlem's Democracy Prep Public Schools (DPPS) well in their upcoming trip to Korea. Approximately 40 students will be traveling to Korea from November 8 to 21, as part of a cultural exchange initiative.

"I was born here on 132nd Street, live right here on 135th Street and went to school at P.S. 89. We didn’t know about Korea. And now, these Democracy Prep youngsters are going to go to Korea, across the Pacific, to talk with people of a different culture to share some of the same experiences that they have with their families," said Rep. Rangel, a decorated Korean War veteran and recipient of the Korean government's Kwang Wha Medal, which is one of the highest honors a foreigner can receive. "Democracy Prep is going to Korea to represent my community, my city and my country. I am so proud of all of the Democracy Prep students,"
Currently students at DPPS are required to take four years of Korean language classes. Many students perform traditional Korean music and dance. The founder of DPPS, Seth Andrew, was inspired by the Korean education system while teaching English in Korea, returned to the U.S. and founded the school in 2006.

"When I taught school in Korea, I witnessed a culture whose highest value was education. Teachers in Korea are respected with the utmost dignity. It’s also a place where everyone works very hard to achieve, where people do not believe that talent is fixed. When I returned to teach in the U.S., I was frustrated that we did not have the same reverence for education in our culture. There was no sense of urgency to improve," said Andrew.

"I decided to start a school that emulated the practices of the best schools in the world, and I was deeply inspired by what I observed in Korea. At Democracy Prep, our mission is to ensure our scholars are actively engaged citizens throughout their lives. Travel is an important part of being a citizen, of exploring and understanding other cultures. We’re excited to have our high school scholars take this trip, to create connections between Harlem and Seoul."

Since opening its doors to 108 sixth graders in 2006, Democracy Prep has a proven record of success in increasing student academic achievement, closing achievement gaps, and achieving results for low-income and other educationally disadvantaged students.

"Whatever formula for excellence Seth Andrew picked up, whether he picked it up in Korea or church or synagogue, I don’t care," added Rangel. "We’re not going to listen to anybody give any excuses why we are not succeeding educationally. This involves the security of the United States of America. We have to compete to meet the intellectual challenge of any country in the world. Young people, you are it, you are the future."

In a very short period of time, DPPS has quickly gained national recognition. Its recent #VoteForSomebody video went viral on YouTube (with more than 150,000 views), which led to the students performing on Anderson Live. The students also performed the song at Friday's kick-off event, with Rep. Rangel and Amb. Son in attendance.

"Without American help to Korea, we could not have realized the dream [of excellent education]," said Amb. Son. "We never forget the Unites States' help. I have experienced absolute poverty: I was born in a small town, but my parents did not forget the importance of education. I would think about the other world across the sea, and I tried to work hard and study hard. Today I am in New York as Ambassador to Korea, so my dream came true. Today the relations between the US and Korea are excellent, and there is great potential in education: DPPS is the exemplary mother to achieve this kind of success in education."
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that it will award DPPS more than $9.1 million over a four-year grant period to open or expand 15 schools over the next five years. Currently, Democracy Prep educates 2,000 students in Harlem. With the U.S. Department of Education Charter Schools Grants Program, Democracy Prep will more than double its impact, ultimately educating over 5,000 students by the end of the grant period.

ABOUT DEMOCRACY PREP

Democracy Prep Public Schools is a growing network of seven non-profit public charter schools serving more than 2,000 citizen-scholars in grades K-12. Over the past five years, Democracy Prep has been the highest performing Charter Management Organization on the Chancellor’s Progress Report, and in 2010 Democracy Prep Charter Middle School was named the #1 middle school in the entire City of New York. DPPS intends to be a growing network of turnaround public charter schools that share the same goal of ensuring that all scholars “Work Hard, Go to College, and Change the World.”