Nutter On Board with A&E's Proposed 'Teach' Reality Show

by KYW's Mike DeNardo

Actor Tony Danza's bid to shoot a reality TV show in a Philadelphia high school has the backing of Mayor Nutter.

The A&E show would be called "Teach," and it would put actor Tony Danza in an actual 10th grade English class at Northeast High School this fall.

Mayor Nutter is all for the idea. His education secretary Lori Shorr told the School Reform Commission that the mayor supports the TV internships and educational opportunities the show would provide:

"He also feels really compelled to do something to elevate the role of the teacher.  And I think chronicling Mr. Danza's experience as a new teacher will help to elevate that."

Danza is already in the second week of new teacher training. Students would opt-in to his class, which would be supervised by a certified teacher. The contract up for an SRC vote next Wednesday would give the district $3,500 for each of 13 episodes, and would allow the school district to object to scenes in the rough cut.