PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. -- Six Pulaski County Special School District educators recently attended a professional development conference called the Ron Clark Academy Experience.
Erikka Johnson, principal at Harris Elementary, Amber Grimes, assistant principal at Daisy Bates Elementary, and Kwadjo Boaitey, Rita Deloney, Ian Milne, and Charde Wilson, teachers at Mills Middle School, attended the 2-day conference in Atlanta, Ga.
"Being able to visit the Ron Clark Academy was a magical experience,” said Ian Milne. “It provided an awesome opportunity to reflect with colleagues on the importance of making learning fun while simultaneously holding students to the highest standard. The Ron Clark Academy provided a model and inspiration for how I can elevate my teaching in better service of my students."
“Something that I enjoyed about the school was that the teachers were excited about what they were teaching,” said Charde Wilson. “Students were excited about how and what they were learning. Everyone was just happy. Also, the rigor and level of expectation for each student was very high so students wanted to reach that level of challenge.”
“Ron Clark kept saying his goal is to revolutionize education, and from what I saw he is certainly doing that in his microcosm of our world and we can feel the reverberations all the way over here,” said Kwadjo Boaitey. “Thinking on the trip I was reminded of Gil Scot Heron's treatise ‘The revolution will not be televised.’”
The Ron Clark Academy shares methods for instilling a passion for learning and helping all children achieve great levels of success. Participants of the conference learn ways to increase student engagement, ensure academic rigor, and create a climate and culture that leads to success.