Plot Synopsis

After more than 30 years in entertainment as an actor, talk-show host, Broadway star, cookbook author, pro boxer and song-and-dance man, Tony Danza becomes a 10th-grade English at Philadelphia Northeast High School, the city's largest urban high school. Danza must do some learning of his own as he adapts to the demands of teaching two back-to-back 45-minute periods and handling his diverse class of students -- more than 57 languages are spoken in the school. Before the school year started, producers interviewed the students in Danza's classes and consulted with Principal Carroll to make sure they would be appropriate for the environment and represent a typical cross-section of the student body at Northeast. Danza did not meet those students until the first day of classes. In addition to teaching, Danza also managed extra-curricular activities and led charity events while juggling those responsibilities with his personal life, having left his family behind when he moved to Philadelphia. Danza earned a degree in History Education, but he took on the challenge of teaching high-school English even though he wasn't certified. Since the production schedule was moving too quickly and he was unable to earn an emergency certification, a certified mentor-teacher is in the classroom with him at all times. But Danza used more than book smarts to reach the kids. He relied on his experiences growing up -- his father was a garbage collector and he taught himself boxing, singing and dancing -- and he conveyed to students how he overcame adversity to get to where he is today. When asked if he'd teach at Northeast for a second year, Danza replied "I'm wrestling with going back. I have my own family, which I think needs me. I'm not sure. I also fell in love, not just with Northeast -- it's a living, breathing exciting organism, led by our leader Ms. Carroll -- but I fell in love with the city too."