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Celebrities Focus On Making High School More Relevant For Today's World

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — Stars walked the red carpet in Santa Monica Friday evening and they say they are committed to re-thinking the future of American high schools.

"XQ Super School Live" a special, one-hour telecast aired Friday night on CBS2 and on all other major U.S. networks.

The program was presented by the Entertainment Industry Foundation, and combined live musical, comedy and documentary segments. It hopes to challenge viewers to understand transforming high-school education is crucial for the future.

Viola Davis was one of several stars who turned out for the event, including actress Miranda Cosgrove along with musicians Common and Wiz Khalifa.

"Education across the board for everyone," Davis said. "Whether you make nothing, or 50 million dollars a year, everyone should be afforded a great education."

Actor Samuel L. Jackson says schools should be innovative to help students succeed in the 21st century.

"We need to find away to make the experience more exciting more inclusive for things that they wanna do or wanna learn or things that will serve them in the real world," Jackson said.

Circulos High School in Santa Ana was awarded $2.5 million over a five-year period to redesign how school is done.

Jackson looks back fondly on his education. "I am disturbed by the numbers of kids that drop out," the actor said. "I never missed a day out of school because i didn't want to be home with my folks and all my friends were in school, so I went to school."

Since it launched two years ago, the 'XQ SuperSchool Project' has raised more than a $100 million to help schools innovate.

 

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