Cypress Hills Collegiate Prep was founded by a community housing group, Cypress Hills Local Development Corp., with the hope that students would become involved in improving their Brooklyn neighborhood through community service. Opened in 2006 in temporary quarters, the school is now housed on the 4th and 5th floors of the Franklin K. Lane building on the Queens-Brooklyn border. Teachers work hard to prepare students for college. Instructors from Sarah Lawrence College's writing program visit the school weekly to help students with their writing skills. Incoming freshman attend a summer orientation session held at the college.  The school offers both Advanced Placement classes and college-level classes through CUNY's College Now program. The Cypress Hills Local Development Corp. counsels students in how to apply to college.

Like the popular PS 89, Cypress Hills Community School, also founded by the Cypress Hill Local Development Corp, the high school is designed to give students individual attention. Classes are small, with 20 to 25 students, and run one hour for most subjects, rather than the 43 minute periods typical in high school. Students attend weekly advisory sessions, small discussion groups lead by a teacher, and spend 40 minutes reading independently every day in their DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) class, also lead by their advisory teacher. Ninth graders have a seminar on community service, while older students volunteer at various community organizations.

While most students responding to a 2011 DOE survey said their teachers inspire them and treat them with respect, the physical plant is barely adequate. The building is drab and students must pass through metal detectors and climb several flights of stairs to reach their classes.

Special education: The school offers SETSS (special education teacher support services).

Admissions: Priority to students who attend an information session. (Laura Zingmond, November 2007, phone updates September 2011)