Klores co-founded the school<\/a> in 2021 following an effort which took more than a decade.<\/p>\nHe described the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School as a \u201ccathedral of learning\u201d in a school district which has faced literacy challenges and continues to rank among the lowest school districts in the city for reading proficiency as well as one of the most economically challenged school districts in the country.<\/p>\n
Klores further spoke about how basketball became his escape and motivation at an early age, as he also mentioned in an exclusive interview with the Bronx Times last month.<\/p>\n
The school is named after Earl Monroe, who was known as \u201cThe Pearl\u201d throughout his professional basketball career. Monroe, also a school co-founder, spent 13 seasons in the NBA and played a vital role in the Knicks\u2019 second championship victory in 1973.<\/p>\n
His No. 15 jersey was retired by the Knicks in 1986 and he was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990. Decades later, Monroe spoke at the very school which was named after him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDan and I have been involved in this [project] since 2012 \u2014 and look at what we\u2019ve accomplished in that span of time,\u201d Monroe said with his family in attendance. \u201cIt\u2019s a big day for the school, but the most important part of this facility is you guys \u2014 the students.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/EARLMONROERIBBONCUTTING3-rotated-e1792613258514.jpeg\")
Bronx Borough President Gibson with Knicks legends Wallace and Starks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school\u2019s new facility in Mott Haven. Photo by Steven Goodstein<\/p>\n
Now, the new facility will guide current students toward success while it serves as a permanent fixture for future generations.<\/p>\n
Building this new space allows students to build the confidence they need to succeed,\u201d junior Jireh Mercedes said. \u201cThey also keep consistent contact for two years after high school to stay a part of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson was also on hand to be part of a historic day for the school and the borough.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School marks an exciting new chapter for aspiring student-athletes, giving them the tools to excel both on the court and in the classroom while exploring different pathways to success beyond the game,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n
Following the ceremony, an orange ribbon was cut to mark the official opening of the new Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School facility.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cOur school is built on the belief that \u2018A Ball and A Book Can Change the World,\u2019\u201d school executive director Susan Fraleigh said. \u201cToday, as we officially open these doors, we celebrate the realization of that vision and the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our students, our families, and the Bronx community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The country\u2019s first specialized high school for basketball celebrated the official tip-off of its new facility earlier this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[11759,4033,128,101570,8290,139151,54630,139152,139153,9,24,63,139154,139155,139156,129,131,130,139157,92941],"class_list":["post-378836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-adam-silver","tag-borough-president-vanessa-gibson","tag-bronx","tag-dan-klores","tag-earl-monroe","tag-earl-monroe-new-renaissance-basketball-school","tag-john-starks","tag-john-wallace","tag-mel-davis","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-rod-strickland","tag-stephon-marbury","tag-susan-fraleigh","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-tim-thomas","tag-tracy-morgan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/EARLMONROERIBBONCUTTING2.jpg\")
Monroe, who the school is named after, spoke at last week\u2019s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school\u2019s new facility in Mott Haven. Photo courtesy Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School<\/p>\n