Sound Business Inc.

Sound Business, Inc., (SBI), is an independent 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization in New York City. It has been based in Harlem’s A. Philip Randolph Campus High School (Randolph High), since 1991. For more than 3 decades, it has educated, organized, and mobilized students, alumni, and others linked to Randolph High, to form an Inclusive Grassroots Cooperative (IGC). The IGC, (a reimagined model for public support in public schools), has ensured that Randolph High continues to provide youth, from underserved communities, with an education that can transform their lives. Furthermore, this same IGC has created an alumni and friends community that builds upon and preserves the Randolph High legacy of empowerment. 

The SBI initiative within Randolph High is the College and Career Preparatory Institute,(CCPI). The CCPI programs include (1) The Student Advancement Center (life readiness courses presented to 800 freshman and sophomore students), (2) The College preparatory Academy (preparing students academically, attitudinally, and socio-culturally for admission to selective colleges), (3) Mentoring Kings (a male mentoring program with a prominent writing component), (4) Theatre Tech Workshop (a workforce development program aiming to provide access to LocalOne ISTAE union membership (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), (5) Performing Arts @ Randolph (nine ensembles including Modern Dance Workshop, Spoken Word Ensemble, HBUC styled Step Teams, and Multi-cultural Dance-Vocal-Drama Teams; each featured in Winter and Spring productions in Randolph High’s 1200 seat theatre).

The SBI work to redefine the role of the public in public schools is an ongoing process. When the IGC is successful in engaging 3000 of Randolph’s 11,000 alums (note: Randolph High, which enrolls students from Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx, was established in 1979), alumni will lead the way in providing Randolph High with intellectual and financial resources. The network of alumni and friends will claim ownership of and responsibility for Randolph High's service to youth from historically underserved communities.