Patrick's visit to The Ron Clark Academy

You've seen him on Oprah and may have seen the movie, The Ron Clark Story, well Patrick needed to see first hand wants really going on. This past Wednesday, i was afforded the opportunity to visit the academy in downtown Atlanta. From the initial view of the school, it gives you the appearance of a mini-university. The architectural improvements dispel the facts that the academy is housed in a once dilapidated factory building.

The day began with a short welcome and reminder of the guidelines while visiting the school ( no videoing of lessons, songs, or student interactions because that footage might go viral on the internet, i.e " You can have what ever you like!")

Once we headed to the school, we were greeted with the seemingly entire school body singing and dancing. To my surprise, there was Ron Clark singing and dancing and interacting with every visitor. You would kind of imagine that an individual that has achieved such success would be a little more aloof, but to all of our surprise he was right there and remained as an intricate part of our day at the academy.

Throughout the day we sat in Ron Clark's classes and witnessed some strategies, techniques, and uniqueness of the instructional methods. As an administrator, i was impressed with the students attentiveness and alertness throughout the class period of over and hour. One of the reason i observed was the frequent breaks through dancing, singing, and chanting. Such techniques are not difficult or imaginable, they just need to be implemented through ritual and routines.

In summation, what i picked up most from the school was the family atmosphere of all staff members. There was no sign of administrative hierarchy. And overall, the ideas were not some rare scientific breakthroughs. The school is a makeup of great teacher ideas that are backed by matching budgetary funds.

Good job Ron Clark Academy.

Stay tuned for my new book release, "How to get a private school education, in a public school setting!"