Tonight at 8/7C on School Pride on NBC we work with Teach for America to turn around Lanier Elementary School in Baton Rouge. This photo was taken as we reopened the school after a week of work. You don’t need to watch the show to help change education in your neighborhood or across the country. Visit our My School Pride website to find out how to get involved.

Tonight at 8/7C on School Pride on NBC we work with Teach for America to turn around Lanier Elementary School in Baton Rouge. This photo was taken as we reopened the school after a week of work.

You don’t need to watch the show to help change education in your neighborhood or across the country. Visit our My School Pride website to find out how to get involved.

The second episode of School Pride airs this Friday night at 8/7C on NBC. This week we’re in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at Lanier Charter Elementary School. This past Sunday Brian Stelter of the New York Times wrote a story about our program, and he mentions how it’s crossing into territory generally covered by the news.  “School Pride” evidently wants to tap into the national anxiety about the public schools, which has been stoked this fall by “Waiting for Superman” and a recent NBC News series, “Education Nation.” Slivers of “School Pride” feel like they could have been produced by the news division; in the first episode, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California is interviewed by the journalist among the co-hosts, Jacob Soboroff. Asked by Mr. Soboroff “who’s to blame” for the woeful state of Enterprise, the governor cited “labor, special interests, a lack of parent participation, a lack of funding.” Similar questioning accompanies each episode. “The makeovers are a tool to talk about the state of education in our country,” said Mr. Soboroff, one of the show’s four co-hosts (the other two are Kym Whitley and Susie Castillo), who is also the executive producer of Why Tuesday?, a group that advocates for increased voter participation. To appeal to a wide audience, he added, it “pulls at the heartstrings” and has lighthearted, funny moments. Mr. Soboroff said he wanted the show “to be a woodpecker on the conscience of Americans.” To read the complete article, click here. Photo by Bill Pugliano for NBC via the New York Times. 

The second episode of School Pride airs this Friday night at 8/7C on NBC. This week we’re in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at Lanier Charter Elementary School. This past Sunday Brian Stelter of the New York Times wrote a story about our program, and he mentions how it’s crossing into territory generally covered by the news. 

“School Pride” evidently wants to tap into the national anxiety about the public schools, which has been stoked this fall by “Waiting for Superman” and a recent NBC News series, “Education Nation.” Slivers of “School Pride” feel like they could have been produced by the news division; in the first episode, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California is interviewed by the journalist among the co-hosts, Jacob Soboroff.

Asked by Mr. Soboroff “who’s to blame” for the woeful state of Enterprise, the governor cited “labor, special interests, a lack of parent participation, a lack of funding.” Similar questioning accompanies each episode.

“The makeovers are a tool to talk about the state of education in our country,” said Mr. Soboroff, one of the show’s four co-hosts (the other two are Kym Whitley and Susie Castillo), who is also the executive producer of Why Tuesday?, a group that advocates for increased voter participation. To appeal to a wide audience, he added, it “pulls at the heartstrings” and has lighthearted, funny moments.

Mr. Soboroff said he wanted the show “to be a woodpecker on the conscience of Americans.”

To read the complete article, click here.

Photo by Bill Pugliano for NBC via the New York Times. 

I was on MSNBC earlier today talking about School Pride. We debut tonight at 8/7C. Tune in!

I was on MSNBC earlier today talking about School Pride. We debut tonight at 8/7C. Tune in!

My new show School Pride debuts this Friday at 8/7C on NBC. The show follows me and my co-hosts around the country as we help communities renovate their schools in order to put a spotlight on the importance of education. I’m excited that, as a part of our launch, NBC is debuting My School Pride, a partnership with Donors Choose to give viewers the opportunity to give back in their own community and across the country. The full press release from NBC is below. NBC LOOKING TO MAKE THE WORLD MORE COLORFUL Pro-Social Outreach Program Tied to Network’s More Colorful Brand Will Incorporate NBC’s Multiple Digital & Linear Platforms Year-Round Initiative Kicks Off This Fall With Focus on Education Tied To New Series “School Pride” UNIVERSAL CITY, CA - October 13, 2010 - NBC is looking to make the world a little More Colorful this fall, unveiling a multi-faceted pro-social outreach initiative that will cover all the colors of the network’s famed Peacock, it was announced today by NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin. A More Colorful World will incorporate many of NBC’s various platforms, including NBC’s daytime, primetime and late-night programming, NBC.com and numerous NBC affiliated stations across the country. will incorporate many of NBC’s various platforms, including NBC’s daytime, primetime and late-night programming, NBC.com and numerous NBC affiliated stations across the country. The initiative will incorporate a variety of non-profit organizations, utilizing all of NBC’s programming platforms in an effort to both educate and help make a difference in the lives of those in need. Throughout the course of the year, NBC will work with various causes and non-profit organizations. Education is the focus of the initial A More Colorful World campaign, launching this fall with My School Pride, a grass roots campaign for parents, teachers and community leaders looking to improve their children’s schools. My School Pride is an outgrowth of NBC and Horizon Alternative Television’s upcoming series “School Pride,” which launches Friday October 15th at 8 p.m. on NBC. “A More Colorful World will allow us to channel all of our philanthropic efforts,” says Gaspin. “Utilizing all of our platforms at NBC, we hope to shed light on a variety of deserving causes and make a lasting difference in the lives of those in need.” “This truly is an important initiative for all of us at NBC and a wonderful way to utilize all of the great assets of the network to give back to the community,” says Rebecca Marks, Executive Vice President, NBC Entertainment Publicity. NBC Entertainment Marketing President Adam Stotsky added, “A More Colorful World is a natural extension for the network and a way for us truly to make a difference in communities across our nation. Kicking this initiative off with a focus on education tied to our promising new series ‘School Pride’ is a perfect fit.” A More Colorful World will focus on six philanthropic areas organized around the six colors of the famed NBC peacock logo; community, youth, health, diversity, culture and environment. Campaigns will include on-air interstitials, national PSAs, devoted landing pages on NBC.com, educational materials, various community outreach events and much more. NBC.com has partnered with DonorsChoose.org (www.nbc.com/school-pride/myschoolpride) to allow viewers an opportunity to volunteer, as well as donate money to schools all across the country. Visitors to the MySchoolPride site can search and view all of DonorsChoose.org’s 20,000 live classroom projects, by entering city/state and finding schools in their community to take action and give a donation. “I’m ecstatic that NBC is kicking off its A More Colorful World campaign with ‘School Pride,’” says “School Pride” Executive Producer Cheryl Hines. “We’ve had thousands and thousands of volunteers this summer and it’s exciting to think about how many more people NBC will reach with the launch of this campaign. It’s been my experience that Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves and do something and I applaud NBC for taking the initiative to lead the way. It’s very impressive that a network would take on such a philanthropic endeavor.” “The show ‘School Pride’ will get the conversation started around the state of our schools. We hope the show will inspire viewers to action by supporting a teacher in their own neighborhood who has posted a project request on DonorsChoose.org,” said Charles Best, DonorsChoose.org CEO. NBC Affiliate Marketing has been working with its affiliates across the country to determine each local station’s pro-social activities throughout the year. Their responses have provided the network and the Affiliate Marketing group with vital information that will enhance the reach of individual causes along with the network elements and resources NBC provides to the stations. NBC Universal’s long-standing, award-winning corporate public service initiative “The More You Know,” which airs PSAs across all of the networks of the company, will continue alongside A More Colorful World’s efforts at NBC. Photo of School Pride Executive Producer Cheryl Hines and yours truly via AP.

My new show School Pride debuts this Friday at 8/7C on NBC. The show follows me and my co-hosts around the country as we help communities renovate their schools in order to put a spotlight on the importance of education. I’m excited that, as a part of our launch, NBC is debuting My School Pride, a partnership with Donors Choose to give viewers the opportunity to give back in their own community and across the country. The full press release from NBC is below.

NBC LOOKING TO MAKE THE WORLD MORE COLORFUL

Pro-Social Outreach Program Tied to Network’s More Colorful Brand Will Incorporate NBC’s Multiple Digital & Linear Platforms

Year-Round Initiative Kicks Off This Fall With Focus on Education Tied To New Series “School Pride”

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA - October 13, 2010 - NBC is looking to make the world a little More Colorful this fall, unveiling a multi-faceted pro-social outreach initiative that will cover all the colors of the network’s famed Peacock, it was announced today by NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin.

A More Colorful World will incorporate many of NBC’s various platforms, including NBC’s daytime, primetime and late-night programming, NBC.com and numerous NBC affiliated stations across the country. will incorporate many of NBC’s various platforms, including NBC’s daytime, primetime and late-night programming, NBC.com and numerous NBC affiliated stations across the country.

The initiative will incorporate a variety of non-profit organizations, utilizing all of NBC’s programming platforms in an effort to both educate and help make a difference in the lives of those in need. Throughout the course of the year, NBC will work with various causes and non-profit organizations.

Education is the focus of the initial A More Colorful World campaign, launching this fall with My School Pride, a grass roots campaign for parents, teachers and community leaders looking to improve their children’s schools. My School Pride is an outgrowth of NBC and Horizon Alternative Television’s upcoming series “School Pride,” which launches Friday October 15th at 8 p.m. on NBC.

“A More Colorful World will allow us to channel all of our philanthropic efforts,” says Gaspin. “Utilizing all of our platforms at NBC, we hope to shed light on a variety of deserving causes and make a lasting difference in the lives of those in need.”

“This truly is an important initiative for all of us at NBC and a wonderful way to utilize all of the great assets of the network to give back to the community,” says Rebecca Marks, Executive Vice President, NBC Entertainment Publicity.

NBC Entertainment Marketing President Adam Stotsky added, “A More Colorful World is a natural extension for the network and a way for us truly to make a difference in communities across our nation. Kicking this initiative off with a focus on education tied to our promising new series ‘School Pride’ is a perfect fit.”

A More Colorful World will focus on six philanthropic areas organized around the six colors of the famed NBC peacock logo; community, youth, health, diversity, culture and environment. Campaigns will include on-air interstitials, national PSAs, devoted landing pages on NBC.com, educational materials, various community outreach events and much more.

NBC.com has partnered with DonorsChoose.org (www.nbc.com/school-pride/myschoolpride) to allow viewers an opportunity to volunteer, as well as donate money to schools all across the country. Visitors to the MySchoolPride site can search and view all of DonorsChoose.org’s 20,000 live classroom projects, by entering city/state and finding schools in their community to take action and give a donation.

“I’m ecstatic that NBC is kicking off its A More Colorful World campaign with ‘School Pride,’” says “School Pride” Executive Producer Cheryl Hines. “We’ve had thousands and thousands of volunteers this summer and it’s exciting to think about how many more people NBC will reach with the launch of this campaign. It’s been my experience that Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves and do something and I applaud NBC for taking the initiative to lead the way. It’s very impressive that a network would take on such a philanthropic endeavor.”

“The show ‘School Pride’ will get the conversation started around the state of our schools. We hope the show will inspire viewers to action by supporting a teacher in their own neighborhood who has posted a project request on DonorsChoose.org,” said Charles Best, DonorsChoose.org CEO.

NBC Affiliate Marketing has been working with its affiliates across the country to determine each local station’s pro-social activities throughout the year. Their responses have provided the network and the Affiliate Marketing group with vital information that will enhance the reach of individual causes along with the network elements and resources NBC provides to the stations.

NBC Universal’s long-standing, award-winning corporate public service initiative “The More You Know,” which airs PSAs across all of the networks of the company, will continue alongside A More Colorful World’s efforts at NBC.

Photo of School Pride Executive Producer Cheryl Hines and yours truly via AP.

Yesterday I was interviewed on The Young Turks about my new show School Pride, which debuts this Friday at 8PM/7C on NBC.

This is probably the closest I will ever get to Donald Trump. Watch me and School Pride EP Cheryl Hines break down what our show is about and see The Donald walk around behind us! And then tune in 10/15 at 8/7C on NBC!

This is probably the closest I will ever get to Donald Trump. Watch me and School Pride EP Cheryl Hines break down what our show is about and see The Donald walk around behind us! And then tune in 10/15 at 8/7C on NBC!

This just in via @ayazook on Twitter: School Pride promos airing again in NYC taxis! I have said it before and I will say it again: if you mute me I will not be happy. Tune in to our series premiere a week from Friday, on 10/15 at 8/7C!

This just in via @ayazook on Twitter: School Pride promos airing again in NYC taxis! I have said it before and I will say it again: if you mute me I will not be happy. Tune in to our series premiere a week from Friday, on 10/15 at 8/7C!

I appear in this PSA promoting the new documentary Waiting For Superman. In it we all share what we learned from a great teacher. Take a look, then thank a teacher!