School Pride
on NBC
By Ally Matteodo
Airing for the first time
Friday, October 15th at 8:00 p.m. ET, NBC’s new reality series
School Pride definitely deserves the title of Best TV Show of the Week.
The program follows a quartet of community organizers as they seek to renovate
schools in dire need of help. Students and teachers from struggling,
dilapidated schools send in videos of their crumbling facilities and a team
responds with a deluge of materials and support. The team includes Susie
Castillo, a former Miss USA and interior designer; Kym Whitley, a comedian and
former substitute teacher; Jacob Soboroff, a journalist; and Tom Stroup, team
leader and SWAT commander. With the help of community volunteers, the team
works to clean up the school within ten days. The first school receiving a
facelift is Enterprise Middle School in Compton, California.
School Pride
focuses on students, teachers, and community members pitching in to repair their
school, from painting walls to building bookcases. When the learning
environment is changed from one overrun with roaches and deteriorating ceiling
panels to one with a bright reading room loaded with books and a science lab
with microscopes for every student, test scores increase and students take pride
in their surroundings. It’s also incredible to watch the dedicated teachers of
Enterprise Middle School, including Doris Mason and Rogelio Soriano. These
teachers used their own resources to buy school supplies, and many of the
students view Mason as not only a teacher, but a surrogate mother and mentor.
In addition, when Omar Spry, the assistant director of facilities, witnesses the
new athletic renovations, including a beautiful basketball court, he is moved to
tears. These individuals care about the kids, reassuring us that no matter
what, the students are in capable hands. This is an empowering show the entire
family can enjoy.
Best TV Show
of the Week
The Parents
Television Council -
www.parentstv.org
