Myron Jacobson; Founder of Newbridge School

Myron “Mike” Jacobson, 73, founder of the private Newbridge School in Santa Monica. The Brooklyn native was educated at Goddard College in Vermont and at New York University, where he became a professor of education, concentrating on public school reform. After he relocated to California, Jacobson was dissatisfied with the public education available to his two young daughters. So in 1972, he established Newbridge, which now has 116 students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12 on campuses in Santa Monica and nearby Palms. Jacobson, who headed Newbridge until his death, built his private school on the model of an ideal public school, maintaining small class size and striving to motivate students through innovative methods. He was known for recruiting exceptional teachers, including Irwin Russo, executive producer of the films “Teachers” and “Trading Places.” Russo had been a teacher in New York, but gave it up for Hollywood, only to remain interested in the profession and ultimately be lured back by Jacobson. Long involved in community control of schools, Jacobson helped launch the Los Angeles alternative school movement and served as a longtime advisor to Westside Alternative School in particular. On March 20 in Los Angeles.