Jacob Soboroff

If you’re passionate about education, and/or you’re excited about my new show School...

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:21:00 -0700

If you’re passionate about education, and/or you’re excited about my new show School...

My girlfriend Nicole and I had our picture taken by Scott...

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:46:00 -0700

My girlfriend Nicole and I had our picture taken by Scott Sternberg for The Outsider’s Guide to LA in this month’s Interview Magazine. The magazine just posted some outtakes of our shoot (we’re top left) and others to their website. Here’s more info about the pics:

For Interview’s August issue, we took a look at Band of Outsiders designer Scott Sternberg’s sunny, preppy vision of Los Angeles. Above, some outtakes we really wanted to publish. Clockwise from top left: Nicole Cari and Jacob Soboroff strum along; Andrew Garfield skates mysteriously; Aziz Ansari and Sarah Silverman haven’t a care in the world; Elvis Mitchell asks “why?”; Spike Jonze takes a nap; Bryan Lourd has had enough. All in a day’s work.

This poor cricket went for a drive down a TN highway stuck to...

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:19:00 -0700

This poor cricket went for a drive down a TN highway stuck to the outside of our car window on our way to Kingston Springs Elementary for NBC School Pride. We lost him.

Yesterday we welcomed the students, teachers and parents of...

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:11:00 -0700

Yesterday we welcomed the students, teachers and parents of Lanier Elementary back to their newly renovated school. This morning, the Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate ran an article (and these photos by Gavin Jackson) from the event. In it, I talked about why we were there.

“School Pride” host Jacob Soboroff said the makeover proved that communities can take matters into their own hands when it comes to making schools better.

“Inside, the school is a world of difference,” Soboroff said. “Before, there was mold and paint coming off the walls. There was little or no technology.”

An expanded and renovated playground and a mural, coupled with the renovated facilities, Soboroff said, mean that “the students can reach their full potential.”

Next stop for the NBC School Pride team, Nashville and Kingston Springs Elementary!

I’m in Baton Rouge with the NBC School Pride team working...

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:37:00 -0700

I’m in Baton Rouge with the NBC School Pride team working to renovate Lanier Elementary here. Thanks to Nash Molpus Crews (pictured with me) and John Haffner from Tulane University’s Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, I learned there’s a specific reason some Louisiana schools, including Lanier, are in such poor physical shape: the state government spends zero dollars on school facilities! Nash sat with me for an interview, and afterward the Cowen Institute blogged about it.

We are thrilled that School Pride came to Louisiana, since our facilities needs are so great. Spending on school facilities in Louisiana is fourth-lowest in the nation, and we are one of only nine states where the state government takes no role in supporting facilities. As a result, countless school facilities are in poor condition, and far too many of our students and teachers spend each day in buildings that are literally crumbling down around them. This is why we supported the bill to create the Louisiana Statewide Educational Facilities Authority in the recently-adjourned legislative session, and why we will continue to do all we can until every student in Louisiana has a school that is warm, safe, and dry.

Visiting Lanier yesterday, it was amazing to see what can be done in just one week when a school and community rally together with a little extra financial support and organization. The school was a hive of activity with volunteers painting, fixing ceilings, lighting, and air conditioning, renovating the playground and more. School Pride host Jacob Soboroff interviewed Nash for the show, and we appreciated the opportunity share information and focus more attention on school facilities in Louisiana.

We’d like to thank the School Pride team for coming to Louisiana, and encourage you to watch the show when it premiers on September 24. Read more about it at their official website, follow on Twitter at twitter.com/NBCSchoolPride, and you can even sign up to volunteer at www.schoolpridevolunteers.com. You can also click here to read more about the importance of school facilities and what you can do to help. We all have a role to play in building great schools!

Read the entire blog post here. We’re unveiling the renovated school to the kids on Saturday. School Pride debuts on NBC Friday September 24 at 8PM/7C.

Photo by John Haffner.

I surfed for the first time on the 4th of July. It was one of my...

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:17:00 -0700

I surfed for the first time on the 4th of July. It was one of my all-time favorite days. This photo was taken by Lauren Ross.

Greetings from the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies....

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:37:00 -0700

Greetings from the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies. We’re here making over the school for School Pride on NBC. This is Pablo. We were laying some pavers in the quad area here. Later this summer we’re renovating schools in Baton Rouge, Nashville, Detroit, Needles and another school back in Los Angeles. You can sign up to help us!

Just got back from an awesome week with (some of) the fam on...

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:59:00 -0700

Just got back from an awesome week with (some of) the fam on Martha’s Vineyard. Here are a few pictures taken by my sister Hannah on her old-school box camera.

This morning my School Pride teammates and I announced...

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:05:00 -0700

This morning my School Pride teammates and I announced we’re renovating the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies. Check out this photo I took of the crowd of students after our announcement. They were fantastic.

This photo of the School Pride team announcing the renovation of...

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 07:20:00 -0700

This photo of the School Pride team announcing the renovation of Detroit Communication and Media Arts High School ran in the Detroit Free Press this week along with this article. L-R that’s Tom Stroup, Kym Whitley, yours truly and Susie Castillo.

Photo by Kirthmon F. Dozier for the DFP.

Greetings from Detroit! We just announced that we’re...

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:17:00 -0700

Greetings from Detroit! We just announced that we’re making over Detroit Communication and Media Arts High School for NBC’s School Pride. The school has a 95% graduation rate, but was on the list of 41 schools here slated to be closed.

Greetings from Kingston Springs, Tennessee where we just...

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:51:00 -0700

Greetings from Kingston Springs, Tennessee where we just announced the next school we’re fixing up for NBC’s School Pride. Kingston Springs Elementary was flooded and everything in it was lost during the powerful storms here in late-April. The crowd was amazing! This was my view from the stage.

Greetings from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We’re here today to...

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:04:00 -0700

Greetings from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We’re here today to announce the 3rd school to be made over for NBC’s School Pride, Lanier Elementary. It was pouring today! The show will start in September on NBC. If you want to watch the trailer for School Pride click here.

We had a great weekend road trip to Big Sur, Carmel and Napa.

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:43:50 -0700

We had a great weekend road trip to Big Sur, Carmel and Napa.

Rec league bball. Got the W. 62-39. That’s 3 in a row!

Thu, 27 May 2010 21:53:00 -0700

The squad.

Ball in.

Rec league bball. Got the W. 62-39. That’s 3 in a row!

This fall on NBC I’ll be part of the team aiming to...

Sun, 16 May 2010 21:42:00 -0700

This fall on NBC I’ll be part of the team aiming to transform America’s education system on the new series School Pride. Watch the video for a preview. The show will air Friday nights at 8/7C. Click here for the official website from NBC, and below are more details from the press release.

From executive producers Cheryl Hines (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Denise Cramsey (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “True Beauty”), “School Pride” is a proactive, alternative series that tells the stories of communities coming together to renovate their aging and broken public schools. While transforming the school, the community also restores its sense of value and school pride. The cameras follow students, teachers and parents as they roll up their sleeves and rebuild their own schools, concluding with the unveiling of a brand new, completely transformed school. They are motivated by a quartet of community organizers and personalities — SWAT Commander Tom Stroup, interior designer Susie Castillo (“House of Payne”), comedian and former substitute teacher Kym Whitley (“Til Death”) and political correspondent Jacob Soboroff (“AMC News”). Together, the team of experts will lead the community through the makeover process. Months later, cameras will revisit the school to discover the lasting effects of the transformation — a renewed sense of school pride and an increase in student achievement scores. “School Pride” is produced by Horizon Alternative Television.

We won our rec league basketball game last night. It was the...

Fri, 14 May 2010 10:03:00 -0700

Balling.

Supporting from the bench.

We won our rec league basketball game last night. It was the first win in a while for Way 2 Fonky, formerly Balance & Options. Felt good!

410,000 people went to the Tribeca Film Festival in New York...

Fri, 07 May 2010 07:49:00 -0700

410,000 people went to the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. If you have FOMO (fear of missing out) don’t worry!

Tonight, May 7th, at 11PM on AMC I’m hosting the half-hour AMC News Special: The Stories of Tribeca. I sit down with lots of big names to talk about lots of great films. Tune in and set your DVR.

If you want a sneak peek at some of the interviews, check out the AMC News blog. The picture above is from the set.

This photo is from the last shoot of our AMC News Tribeca Film...

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:51:56 -0700

This photo is from the last shoot of our AMC News Tribeca Film Festival special Stories of Tribeca. Shh. Don’t tell anyone I was wearing shorts.

The show airs Friday night May 7th at 11PM on AMC.

Until then you can catch some of my interviews from the festival on the AMC News blog.

President Obama drove right by our AMC News Tribeca Film...

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:39:33 -0700

President Obama drove right by our AMC News Tribeca Film Festival studio yesterday. I took some video. Pardon my nerdy commentary.