Kanye West Opening Prep School In Simi Valley
SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) — Rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West is opening a prep school in Simi Valley.
The new prep school will be named the Donda Academy, so named for the rapper's late mother Donda West. It's reportedly opening at the site of a shuttered private school between Simi Valley and Moorpark.
The Donda Academy's website says students will become the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and innovators by providing them with a world-class education. The school also appears to have a particular focus on basketball, and West is said to be personally recruiting players himself.
A number of highly-rated high school basketball players have reportedly committed to attending the Donda Academy, but it's not clear if there's an opening date yet for the school.
West joins a number of celebrities in opening a school, including Oprah, who opened an academy for girls in Africa in 2009, and Lakers star LeBron James, who opened the I Promise school in his hometown Akron, Ohio in 2018. In fact, this isn't even West's first foray into opening a school – last year, he posted a video to Twitter about the Yeezy Christian Academy and started an Instagram account for it, no other details were released about the endeavor.
The school's website appears to be taking applications, but does not include information about any potential tuition.