Plot Synopsis

This reality series follows a group of troubled students as they attend a school where celebrities and world-renowned experts teach and try to reignite their students' desire to learn. Pregnant, neglected, bullies, or bullied, these kids, ages 17-18, all have one thing in common -- they're no longer in school, but they didn't graduate. These students have either been expelled or dropped out of the conventional school system, and are now given the chance to overcome past failures and turn their lives around. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone to astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, the DREAM SCHOOL instructors have one mission: to excite young minds. In the first season, homeroom teacher and drama coach David Arquette leads self-confidence exercises and teaches the craft of acting. Dr. Mae Jemison, the first woman of color to go into space, teaches them at the California Science Center, where she lets them feel what it's like to float in space. Famed choreographer Doriana Sanchez helps students get over their inhibitions by encouraging a "silent disco" in a public mall. Music class takes place at a recording studio with music impresario Swizz Beatz. Third-generation ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau teaches the laws of physics and buoyancy first-hand in a water bottle regatta in a pool. Plus, the students learn that it's never too early to start getting their finances in order by taking an economics course taught by financial expert Suze Orman. Other instructors in Season 1 include Roy Choi (Cooking & Nutrition), Jeff Corwin (Biology & Ecology), Cliff Dorfman (English & Writing), Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson (Civil Rights & Political Science), Chris Jordan (Photography), Soledad O'Brien (Journalism), Cara Santa Maria (Neuroscience & Science), Oliver Stone (History), and Rob Smith (Life Skills). Plus, Dr. Steven Keller is the school's principal. DREAM SCHOOL is produced by Jamie Oliver's Fresh One Productions and 50 Cent's G-Unit Films and Television.
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This series returned for its second season on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT on SundanceTV, going to a new location for Season 2: New York City. For the new season, DREAM SCHOOL partnered with NYC's Beekman School, and LouAnne Johnson, former teacher and author of "Dangerous Minds," is the principal. Instructors for Season 2 include: Gloria Allred (Legal Studies); 50 Cent (Student Mentor); David Chang (Nutrition and Culinary Arts); Chuck D (Student Mentor and Sociology); Cliff Dorfman (English); David Eisenbach (History); Alvin Hall (Math); Gaye Theresa Johnson (Sociology); Adam Richman (Environmental Studies); Don Rimx (Art); Rabbi Shmuley (Religious Studies); Les Stroud (Earth Sciences); Cenk Uygur (Cultural Studies); Johnny Weir (Physical Education and Communications); Nicole Winhoffer (Physical Education); Dean Winters (Life Skills).