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The Knicks now have something else extra special to celebrate.
The country’s first hoops-themed school — a Bronx charter named after one of the NBA team’s all-time greats — saw all 97 students in its second graduating class accepted into college in June and is set to open sparkling new digs this fall.
“The school went crazy for the Knicks this year,” said Dan Klores, a Peabody Award-winning producer and playwright who founded the school, the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball Charter.
“But here’s what parents want to know: 100% of the kids are getting into college. That’s the bottom line,” Klores said.
He added that current star point guard and Brooklyn native Jose Alvarado will be one of three Knicks from this year’s championship group attending the new school’s ceremony Oct. 15.
He did not divulge the other two Knicks who will be attending but said three players from its 1973 championship team — school namesake Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Bill Bradley — will also be on hand, along with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
“It’s going to be like Elvis [Presley], [Bruce] Springsteen and The Beatles together,” Klores quipped of the appearing lineup.
The school has been moved from 1617 Parkview Ave. to a new five-story building at 647 Elton Ave. in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx.
The school focuses not just on athletics but the business surrounding professional basketball — ranging from broadcast journalism, business, arena entertainment, sports apparel, nutrition, physical therapy, psychology, print and digital media, the law and marketing.
Students get hands-on experience in many fields, not just sports, and honor students get to study abroad.
The new 69,000-square-foot building will house a broadcast studio with podcast and editing rooms. Sportscasters Marv Albert and Mike Greenberg serve on the school’s advisory board.
Students will also benefit from dance and music studios, an 800-foot garden on the third floor and a huge gymnasium.
The school wants parents to enjoy the new facility as well.
“We’re opening the school on the weekends to provide free child care for mothers thanks to philanthropic dollars,” Klores said.
The demand for the school is off the charts: 900 applicants for 130 seats for the upcoming ninth-grade class.
Ninety-four percent of its students are black and Latino, and most are economically disadvantaged and from single-parent households.
Many of the students enter the Monroe school years behind in reading.
The school employs seven full-time literacy coaches in addition to the teaching staff to help students catch up.
“You’ve got to learn to read and write. Literacy is critical,” Klores said.
Students aren’t forgotten after graduation, either. Teachers are assigned as mentors to see how they are doing the year after moving on.
Physical and mental wellness are important, too. Monroe has a full-time psychologist, pediatrician, nutritionist and reps from legal aid and Planned Parenthood as well.
The school also offers a “leap year” if graduating students want to stay for a fifth year while they decide on their profession or next step in life.
Six graduates have chosen to do so this year, up from three last year.
Students in the Leap program go to Monroe three hours a day and then to their full-time jobs
School graduates have been accepted at dozens of colleges, including Howard University, the University of Rochester, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, Hampton University, Fordham University, CUNY Baruch, Hunter and City College, Clark Atlanta University, Tuskegee University, Coppin State University, University of Connecticut, Fairfield University, Norfolk State University, Morgan State University, Pratt Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology and Savannah College of Art & Design.
Though all students were accepted to colleges, not all of them attend.
Some graduates want to start their careers right away, and some joined the military.
“College is not the only mark of success,” Klores noted.
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