Queen Latifah to host new CBS special 'Teach'

Multi-talented and award-winning performer Queen Latifah will honor teachers when she hosts and narrates "Teach," a new two-hour special that explores America's education system through the eyes, minds and hearts of its most essential resource - teachers. The show premieres Friday, Sept. 6 (8 p.m.), on the CBS Television Network.

The special, from Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim ("The First Year," "Waiting for Superman," "An Inconvenient Truth") and Participant Media, captures the essence of what it means to be a teacher through the lens and extensive footage of a year-in-the-life of four public school teachers.

A musician, television and film actress, author, entrepreneur and headliner of her new upcoming syndicated talk show, Queen Latifah is the proud daughter of a New Jersey public school teacher who fully recognizes the importance of inspiring young minds to strive to become the next generation of great educators.

"There is no profession more essential than that of an educator, and it's time for all of us to embrace and celebrate their importance and contribution to America's children," Queen Latifah said. "My mother was a teacher at the same high school I attended, and she was a great teacher who, in fact, was loved by all and played an important role in so many of her students' lives. I'm proud to be a part of 'Teach' and help to shine a light on the individuals whose job it is to motivate and mentor our most important resource."

"Teach" will give an intense and emotional illustration of how passion, innovation and a toolbox of learned skills drive these educators as they navigate the ups and downs of the 2012-13 school year. Viewers will go into the public school district classrooms of Matt Johnson, a fourth-grade teacher at McGlone Elementary, Denver; Shelby Harris, a seventh-grade math teacher at Kuna Middle School, Kuna, Idaho; Joel Laguna, a 10th-grade AP world history teacher at Garfield High, Los Angeles; and Lindsay Chinn, a ninth-grade algebra teacher at MLK Early College, Denver.