LOWNDES — Six Lowndes County Schools’ teachers recently attended a one day training at the Ron Clark Academy as part of their Teacher of the Year recognition. The trip was funded by a donation from local State Farm Agents Travis Pate, Paul Cribbs, Bubba Highsmith, Angie Crawford, Brian Sumner, Kelly Barr, and Christi Marsh and a grant from the State Farm corporate office. The funds were given to the Lowndes Education Improvement Foundation (LEIF) whose board worked with the school system to coordinate the trip. Teachers who participated in the training are: Barabara Bray, Clyattville Elementary; Jennifer Copeland, Dewar Elementary; Tara Weldon, Hahira Elementary; Paula McKenzie, Pine Grove Elementary; Cynthia Flowers, Westside Elementary; and Catherine McGahee, Lake Park Elementary.
The Ron Clark Academy is a model school that accepts visitors from all around the world. Their approaches are very innovative and out-of-the box, and they enjoy sharing their successful methods for installing a passion for learning while also achieving high test scores. The academy is housed in a renovated red brick warehouse located in southwest Atlanta and accommodates firth through eighth grade students. Opening in 2007, the school provides technology equipped classrooms and amentities such as a recording studio, a darkroom, a two-story vaulted ciling library, a gymnasium, and a dance studio.
Perhaps best known for his books The Essential 55 and The Excellent 11, Clark was educated at East Carolina University through the North Carolina Teaching Fellows programs and acceped a job in Aurora, North Carolina upon graduation in 1994. Four years later he departed for Harlem to take a job teaching elementary school in an inner-city setting. His success in Harlem was the inspiration for a movie – The Ron Clark Story. The Ron Clark Academy is his latest project.
This quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson graces the front door of the school and, according to Clark, captures the essence of the spirit of the Ron Clark Academy: “Do Not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” One of the Lowndes County teachers remarked of the experience, “I know we have all been inspired to be even better teachers for the students in Lowndes County.”
Lynne J. Wilson: Director of CTAE and Public Relations
