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CMA High
School
students
and
volunteers
wrap-up
new
school
makeover
Communication
and
Media
Arts
High
School’s
reality
TV
makeover
to
include
district’s
first
counseling
suite
By Karen
Hudson
Samuels/Tell
Us
USA
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
The
building
makeover
of
Detroit’s
Communication
and
Media
Arts
High
School
was
revealed
Friday
morning
at a
ribbon
cutting
ceremony,
filmed
as part
of the
new NBC
reality
show
“School
Pride",
that
will air
this
fall.
Movie
cameras
were
rolling
as CMS
students
piled
out of
school
buses
which
stopped
just
short of
the
Hollywood
type set
and ran
toward a
huge
two
story
curtain,
awaiting
the 'Big
Reveal'.
On hand
were
“School
Pride”
celebrity
hosts
Kym
Whitley
and
Jacob
Soboroff,
who said
they
were
impressed
by the
welcome
and
enthusiasm
of the
Detroit
community,
a,
message
they
plan to
carry
with
them.
The week
long
makeover
project
came
with the
help of
community
volunteers
along
with $1
million
in
donations
made by
over
twenty
Detroit
area
businesses
and a
few
major
sponsors
including,
Statewide
Disaster
Restoration,
GM-On
Star and
Home
Depot.
The
generous
donations
went
toward
the
purchase
of two
new
boilers,
four
rooftop
air-conditioning
units,
skilled
craftsmen
and
materials
ranging
from
paint to
concrete.
CMS
students
cheered
during
the
final
taping
segment,
'The Big
Reveal'.
This all
part of
the new
NBC
reality
show
“School
Pride",
that
will air
this
fall.
(Photo
by HB
Meeks/Tell
Us USA)
Neighborhood
residents
living
across
the
street
from the
52 year
old CMA
building
were
pleased
to see a
positive
story
and
development
for the
city.
The
school
was
saved
from
closure
in June
resulting
from
pleas of
parents
and the
timely
involvement
of
“School
Pride”
which
seeks
out
aging
schools
for a
makeover
and a
new
lease on
life.
When
students
at
Communication
and
Media
Arts
High
School
return
to
classes
this
fall,
they
will
have
access
to the
district’s
first
College
Counseling
Suite, a
room
that
will
offer
services
to help
them
research,
communicate
with and
gain
acceptance
to
colleges.
“I saw
this
concept
at work
earlier
this
year
when I
visited
some of
the
highest-performing
schools
in the
state,
and I am
proud to
say that
every
single
DPS high
school
will be
getting
one of
these,”
said DPS
Emergency
Financial
Manager
Robert
Bobb.
“The
district’s
five-year
Academic
Plan
aims to
ensure
that
every
DPS
graduate
is
prepared
for
college
by 2015,
and the
College
Counseling
Suites
take
that
plan one
step
further
by
ensuring
every
student
has the
necessary
tools to
get into
the
college
of their
choice.”
“School
Pride”
hosts
Jacob
Soboroff,
Tom
Stroup,
Susie
Castillo,
Kym
Whitley
and
executive
producers
Denise
Cramsey
("Extreme
Makeover:
Home
Edition"
and
"True
Beauty")
and
“Cheryl
Hines
("Curb
Your
Enthusiasm")
were all
on hand
for the
ribbon
cutting.
(Photo
by HB
Meeks/Tell
Us USA)
Cheryl
Hines
explained
to Tell
Us
Detroit,
that she
had
always
supported
Arts in
the
school
but one
day
while
driving
through
a
Compton,
California
neighborhood,
she felt
an
inspiration
to do
more.
Hines
said she
contacted
an
elementary
school
in
Compton
and
asked
“How’s
your
school”.
From
that
conversation,
the
seeds of
“School
Pride
were
born.
The
series
will air
in
September
on
NBC-TV.
The
story of
Detroit’s
CMA high
school
is one
of seven
“School
Pride”
episodes.
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