''School Pride'' was an American reality television series which aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, from executive producers
Cheryl Hines
Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and director, best known for playing the role of Larry David's wife, Cheryl, on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', for which she has been nominated for two Emmy Awards. She also s ...
and Denise Cramsey. The 7-episode series, which followed the renovation of a different public school each week, aired from October 15, 2010, to November 26, 2010. The premiere episode earned 2.90 million viewers.
Premise
Each week, cameras follow teachers, students and community members as they perform renovations on an ailing school, which will occur over a seven-day period (ten days for the first episode). A group of community organizers and personalities serve to motivate the volunteers and lead the community through the makeover process. Cameras will revisit the school a few months after the renovation to see how the community has been affected by the changes.
Main cast
*
Jacob Soboroff
Jacob Hirsch Soboroff (born March 27, 1983) is an American journalist. He is known as a correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. Prior to his debut on the network in September 2015, he was the host of ''YouTube Nation'' and a co-host of '' TakePart ...
, political correspondent
*
Kym Whitley
Kym Elizabeth Whitley is an American comedian and actress. She is best known for her roles on television sitcoms, such as '' My Brother and Me'', '' Sparks'', ''Animal Practice'', '' The Boondocks'', ''Young & Hungry'', ''The Parkers'', ...
, comedian and former substitute teacher
*
Susie Castillo, actress and Miss USA 2003
*Tom Stroup, SWAT Commander
Development and production
The series was based on the successful rehabilitation of Carver Elementary in
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...
several years ago, in which a community came together to restore the dilapidated school.
Executive producer Cheryl Hines volunteered during the renovation. Afterward, there were positive and lasting effects on the community, with an increase in property value and test scores.[ Hines felt this would be a good subject for a reality show. She teamed up with Denise Cramsey, a former executive producer on '' Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'', and pitched the idea to NBC.][
In January 2010, NBC announced a two-hour special was in the works for Fall 2010.] Enterprise Middle School in Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...
was renovated over 10 days during the school's spring break. The special served as a backdoor pilot
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
, and NBC green-light
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
ed a series in mid-May. The additional episodes were filmed during renovations of the schools over July and August 2010.
Each school received approximately $2 million in upgrades and repairs.
On November 23, 2010, Denise Cramsey died of a brain aneurysm
An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel.
Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...
at age 41. The episode that aired on November 26, 2010 (featuring Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies
The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies is a public university preparatory secondary school located on 18th Street between La Cienega Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in the Faircrest Heights district of Los Angeles, California, on the former si ...
) was dedicated to her memory and was "expected to be the series finale".
Schools
Enterprise Middle School in Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...
*Renovated from March 31 to April 12, 2010
Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies
The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies is a public university preparatory secondary school located on 18th Street between La Cienega Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in the Faircrest Heights district of Los Angeles, California, on the former si ...
(LACES) in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
*Renovated in early July, although the Los Angeles Unified School District initially turned down the renovation invitation.
Lanier Elementary in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...
*Renovated from July 12 to 18
Kingston Springs Elementary in Kingston Springs, Tennessee
Kingston Springs is a town in Cheatham County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,824 at the 2020 census and 2,756 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of .
Climate
D ...
*Renovated from July 22 – 28, the school was destroyed by flood waters in early May 2010, cutting short the school year.
Communication & Media Arts High School in Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
*Renovated from August 1 to 7, the school was slated for closure prior to becoming a finalist for a ''School Pride'' renovation.
Needles High School
Needles High School (NHS) is a public high school in Needles, California, Needles, California. It is part of the Needles Unified School District. The school mascot is the Mustang, and the school colors are royal blue and white. The current alma mat ...
in Needles, California
Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the Californian border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is a ...
*Renovated from August 13 to 19
Hollenbeck Middle School in Los Angeles, California
*Renovated August 22 to 28
Criticism
An article written by L.A. Times writer Steve Lopez
Steven M. Lopez (born 1953) is an American journalist and four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist who has been a columnist for ''The Los Angeles Times'' since 2001.
Life and work
Lopez is a native of Pittsburg, California, and attended San Jose Stat ...
discusses the initial hesitance of
the Los Angeles Unified School District in allowing two of its schools (Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies
The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies is a public university preparatory secondary school located on 18th Street between La Cienega Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in the Faircrest Heights district of Los Angeles, California, on the former si ...
(LACES) & Hollenbeck Middle School) participate in the show. District officials expressed concerns regarding the quality of work performed and products donated, the costs of repairs and maintenance of the renovations, granting 24-hr access to the schools, and the negative publicity that might be incurred by their involvement with the show. Eventually, LAUSD
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...
agreed to the makeovers. After the work was completed, criticism regarding "shoddy work" at Hollenbeck and a "reenacted cene Cene may refer to:
People
* Cene Marković, Serbian commander
* Cene Prevc (born 1996), Slovenian ski jumper
* Charles Le Cène (1647?–1703), French controversialist
* Ilhami Çene (born 1909), Turkish fencer
* Michel-Charles Le Cène (1684–17 ...
that didn't happen" at LACES was cited as some validation for the district's reluctance. Some school district officials noted that LAUSD spent approximately $106,000 in associated costs as a result, but the value of the donations made by the show's corporate sponsors was not stated.
''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' television critic Mary McNamara noted that like most reality shows, the program "attempts to create narrative tension where there is none", but thought this wasn't important in this case because the point of the show was "not about the process or even the payoff, it's about the need" for help at many more schools. A ''Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' critic questioned the show's authenticity, arguing that ''School Pride'' appeared to be scripted or too contrived.
References
External links
*
*{{IMDb title, 1640175
2010s American reality television series
2010 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
English-language television shows
Makeover reality television series
NBC original programming
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows set in the United States
2010s American school television series