Get Schooled

By Jeff

September 4, 2007 11:33 AM | Link to this

The sane part of me - the part that was completely and thoroughly burned by my year in Newton and particularly Randolph - says that he will, but only because he is running a private school where he can hand select the kids he wants and reject the trash.

The idealistic part of me says that he could take over Randolph County Schools and have similar successes to those he has already had.

Which part is accurate?

As you said, time will tell.

By mmm

September 4, 2007 12:17 PM | Link to this

Do you have any more detailed info on his finances and budget? Are they sustainable when he isn’t on the Oprah circuit any more? How much fund raising will he need to do? How big will his school ultimately be?

By SET

September 4, 2007 12:19 PM | Link to this

I always did believe in Choice.

Remember, here people are choosing who to associate with. Because this is a private, tuition charging school, the families involved are assured their kids only go to school with other families’ kids who are similarly inclined.

And when you pay $14k in after tax money to send your kid to 5th grade you will probably not have her sitting next to a b******* child. Broken home, maybe, but wealthy enough to have made the IQ cut.

Freedom of Association is as important as all other Freedoms (speech, for example). It is a greatly endangered freedom.

I think the kids from this school will test typical for such controlled access kids, High. And the school will claim the credit. These kids would test high if they only had a web browser for a school. It’s not the land, buildings & equipment that makes a “good” school, it’s the people in it.

Brave New World.

By King

September 4, 2007 12:20 PM | Link to this

I wish the school and Ron has successful year. As an educator I applaud what he is doing.I just hope that the students and parents buy into his system. I been doing this a long time and it seems like even when you try to bring fun and excitement in the classroom, there are some people( students mainly) that ruin it for everyone! I wish him well and I might try to visit one day.

By SET

September 4, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this

Maybe I should have said “illegitimate child”?

By V for Vendetta

September 4, 2007 12:42 PM | Link to this

I would never wish him anything but success; however, if he wanted to really test the method to his madness, he would have built the school in south Atlanta and made it open to the public. Realistic? No. But it would be mighty telling.

I’m sure many will say that Clark paid his dues already, but I’d be willing to bet he’d be shocked by the apathy, neglect, and overall disdain education is met with down there in the arm pit of Atlanta.

Oh, and if you live in Dekalb, Clayton, or South Fulton, save it. I’m sure there are three or four of you that care about education, but the vast majority of your county neighbors show a different side to that story. It’s not a generalization or a stereotype, it’s a plain-as-the-hair-on-Monica-Pearson’s-head fact.

By JustMe

September 4, 2007 12:45 PM | Link to this

SET -

You crack me up the way that you twist things around to suit your ‘world view.’

The CHOICE here is the school’s choice of student. This school will be able to select the very best of the applicants. Heck, do that for any school and it will be successful!

Actually, the applicants are likely to already be better than some public school kids. Simply by the parents applying shows that the parents care - and believe me when I say that not all parents care!

In the real world as it stands, our society dictates that we education everyone. This means that the good ‘ole public school cannot hand pick the best students - we take’m all: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I would like to see Ron Clark take an ‘average’ public school and then see if he is successful. Only then would I buy into his methods as being successful.

By HA

September 4, 2007 12:48 PM | Link to this

Either way, it was ignorant!!!!

Illegitimate means unlawful, illegal, dishonest. How in the world can a child be born either of those things! They can’t…………so NO child is (born) illegitimate. That’s some stupid ish society thought up! In God’s eyes, we’re all (born) meant to be here………..people can be so stupid!

By Corey

September 4, 2007 12:59 PM | Link to this

SET, you are probably one of those individuals who truly believe that there are more black males ages 18-24 that are incarcerated than in college. That’s an urban myth that blacks who want more aid and whites who disdain blacks bought into. Research has shown that that urban myth is just that. The NAACP and the Sentencing Project have been pushing that myth so that they can receive incresed funding. Don’t take my word for it; do your own research. That is, if you’re not too lazy.

By GB82

September 4, 2007 1:08 PM | Link to this

To all readers, please excuse the ignorance of SET. I have an illegitimate daughter, I adopted 3.5 years ago and as a caring parent she is attending the magnet program in Dekalb county. There are quite a few b(lack)students who want to do well in the public school system. I wish my daughter had the opportunity to attend the academy.

By Phog

September 4, 2007 1:16 PM | Link to this

I’d like for Mr. Clark to come to this area. Work with our kids day to day. Oh, we’re the shining beacon of AYP achievement in the area, but let’s see him operate under our restrictions, which include:

1) Small budget. Thank you, Atlanta, for our yearly $500. 2) Lack of parent involvement. 3) Lack of parent education. 4) Teenage pregnancy. 5) Lack of entertainment in the area. You can cruise through our three stoplights. 6) Lack of job opportunities. 7) Kids’ complacency. 8) Lack of technology. Unlike most of the state, we did not have a local dial-up internet number until 1996 and DSL has just arrived to (most) of the rural parts of the county this year.

By Bridget Gutierrez

September 4, 2007 1:19 PM | Link to this

mmm: As I pointed out in my story today, Clark paid for the property with proceeds from his book.

Then, he told me, he took out a $2 million personal loan to pay for the campus renovations.

He’s said he’s been paying teachers’ salaries from his speaking fees. But he’s also got donors galore — including Delta, Dell and Promethean.

Any books or CDs he sells through the school’s Web site will go toward scholarships for the kids, many of whom do not pay the full $14,000 tuition.

Clark did hire a development director who is working to keep donations coming in. They’ll also raise funds from educator conferences that will be held at the campus as well as visits from individual schools and teachers.

As I understand it, each grade at the school will have 30 students. When the campus reaches full capacity — fifth through eighth grades — there will be 120 students.

By Bridget Gutierrez

September 4, 2007 1:24 PM | Link to this

V: Clark did build the school in South Atlanta. It’s not far from the old Carver High School. “Streetwalkers,” as Clark likes to call them, still frequent the sidewalks outside the school.

By SET

September 4, 2007 1:49 PM | Link to this

Corey & Co: I work with criminals, remember? More of them seem to be on probation, parole, living under bridges, in homeless shelters and confined in locked mental health facilities than actually in jail or prison. They cycle in and out of jail and prison. Our local jail “court caps” everybody on $100k bail or less for non-violent crime. The state of CA Penal system is facing a federal takeover which will lead to massive release of CA prison inmates. My state has more crooks out than in.

I wish we had jails to put them in or the will to execute the 600 or so on death row - but CA doesn’t. Oh, and 25% of our incarcerated are illegal alien colonists, mainly from Mexico. And the other 75% tend to match certain profiles. Illegitimacy being one of them.

Back to point. The comments above about “children of unwed mothers” being just as good or something like that… In your dreams.

The destruction of the family by the US “Great Society” programs has already destroyed black society and is only creeping up to critical mass with whites. Those children as a group (unwed mother kids) are far more likely to be institutionalized and be unable to support themselves and their children than normal children. You’d have to have lived prior to the 60’s to have a clue of the difference this has made in society.

Individuals are capable of anything - But group behavior is as certain as house odds at a casino. Thus my observation that you will not find a many (if any) products of unwed mothers at a $14k/year private school.

All these people (inmates) were once children and I believe that with better public schools - as we had in 1955 - more of these people could have been made productive citizens. Instead we have these failure factories that make the students as bad as they can, while piously claiming to respect the children’s “rights”. When they (the lower class kids) walk out of the public schools their behavior now tends to make them unemployable and very jailable. And I watch the process in the courts.

And I say that things are getting worse by the year. Meanwhile our ruling classes (both parents with professional degrees nowadays) - who I am also very socially familiar with - are busy moving into gated communities and sending their kids to $20k year private grade schools. And they having the nerve to talk about how good the school is.

Good Luck to Ron Clark. But my opinion stands. His students would be ok no matter what the building has in it.

Brave New World…

By Janine

September 4, 2007 1:59 PM | Link to this

Well, If what you mean by successful is that the kids will do well on all the tests, be motivated , and 99% will go to college…..* this is a NO Brainer!* Of course Clark and his school will be successful! Almost any JohnDoe could start a school,charge more than most people in the world make in a year, choose the students carefully, and be totally successful…However, if you rephrase the question: Would Clark be successful if he were to take over one of the so-called “failing” APS or Dekalb public schools…. AND have to take ALL COMERS…..Ain’t No WAy!!!!

By Janine

September 4, 2007 2:03 PM | Link to this

And I totally agree with SET when he says..“Good Luck to Ron Clark. But… His students would be ok no matter what the building has in it.”!!!!!

By Janine

September 4, 2007 2:08 PM | Link to this

Just so it’s clear..By “his students”, I mean, those 60 students who were chosen out of the 360 who applied… whose parents are paying $14000 per year [+books, fieldtrip expenses,incidentals]. By the way, what was the criteria for choosing those 60 over the others.???

By Mom of Two

September 4, 2007 2:20 PM | Link to this

It is so incredibly obvious that none of the people who have posted so far on this blog have actually read the article or seen the movie. Do your research and THEN come here and post based on facts not wild, unfounded, completely untrue assumptions.

By Bridget Gutierrez

September 4, 2007 2:24 PM | Link to this

Janine: Clark and his co-founder, Kim Bearden, who was a former Teacher of the Year in Cobb County, swear there was no criteria that students had to meet — academic, financial or otherwise. They say they picked students who disliked school and had had little success as well as standout kids who already were in gifted classes.

Ultimately, they felt that each one that they picked had potential.

As far as the cost is concerned: Tuition is based on a sliding scale. While some families pay the full pricetag, others pay just $30 a month. But all families do have to give 40 hours of volunteer service.

By rho_0407aa

September 4, 2007 2:25 PM | Link to this

How much do the parents pay for?

I wrote a story about Ron a year ago for the AJC when TNT’s “The Ron Clark Story” came out. I vaguely recall him saying he was going to charge the parents a relatively modest amount of tuition, but it’s supposed to be based on how much they make, right? Or is my memory just fuzzy?

And I recall the point of this school is to be a laboratory for his ideas, for outside educators to come and glean methods and concepts from him in a real live setting.

By Old Physics Teacher

September 4, 2007 2:26 PM | Link to this

I was beginning to believe I was the only person in the world who understood that a caring-parent-that-set-high-standerds-for-their-children-and-then-held-them-accountable was the cause of the successful education effect we see in schools. Everything else “educators” have “discovered” is a correlation, e.g., SES, two-parent families,degree-status of parents, etc. Too bad most of us here are teachers. I hope and pray that some “educational researcher” does an “experiment” on the Ron Clark school roster and tracks these students through age 24 and shows this to the world. The best classroom in the world is a log: with a teacher on one end and a willing student on the other!

By SET

September 4, 2007 2:29 PM | Link to this

Janine: Thanks for the comment.

For some of the other readers: I’m not trying to attack people personally but I often deliberately try to be provocative when blogging to get the party going. I did the sitting around singing Kumbayah at Catholic grade school at the point of a ruler a lifetime ago. Maybe those schools did make us think critically, but we sure watched the ruler. Transitioning to a hyper competitive public school from there helped create my attitude. After that, UC undergrad and Law School, Bar Exam and practice. I give a lot of bad news to people and I’m not even one of the Drs in the family.

Too many people are too happy to take these stories at face value and not think critically. So I try to point out the emperor’s lack of dress most of the time. If people disagree, hopefully they will say so and defend their position - if there is one!

I think there are reasons the USA is experiencing the times we are in and those reasons are not usually obvious.

By Corey

September 4, 2007 2:33 PM | Link to this

SET, my apologies; I accidentally responded to the wrong post. I meant to respond to the indivdual’s post that was directly below yours. Having said that. I am appalled that some posters here are too cynical to keep an open mind. Mr. Clark has established a great school in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood to provide children in that neighborhood with an education that rivals what the children of parents with means and connections receive and take for granted. Only a bigot/idiot would find it necessary to chime in with all the negative comments posted here. Some of you are just plain jealous and can’t stand to see inner city, poor kids receive an opportunity to experience something positive and great in their otherwise bleak lives. Shame. Shame.

By Jeff

September 4, 2007 2:37 PM | Link to this

Mom of Two:

It is even more obvious that you know not who you are talking to.

In fact, it was the movie presentation of Clark’s story - along with other movies such as Remember the Titans, Lean on Me, Dangerous Minds, Dead Poets’ Society, and Stand and Deliver- that intially gave me so much hope about Randolph.

And THEN I encountered Randolph.

You can’t help those who are unwilling to help themselves. And by and large, the black community is unwilling to help itself, and has condemned ITSELF to live in the conditions it currently does.

By Janine

September 4, 2007 2:38 PM | Link to this

Bridget…Got any idea the actual composition…percentage paying much less than the $14000, percentage of “standout/average to bright kids as compared to those who had not been successful in the past. [ I didn’t say those who dislike school, because many students who dislike school actually do well academically.] Most private schools have a nominal number of scholarship/financial aid students, but they are still screened academically and those who are behaviorally challenged or just not up to the academics do not stay long.

By Bridget Gutierrez

September 4, 2007 3:04 PM | Link to this

No, Janine. Unfortunately, he didn’t give me a breakdown. But, of course, he doesn’t have to.

However, the school is a non-profit. So, when tax forms are filed, that may be information he discloses.

By Janine

September 4, 2007 3:27 PM | Link to this

Thanks, Bridget…I read Badie’s article mentioned in your update. Very interesting…especially that first poster who decided not to make a donation. After reading several articles about Clark and the school, I think the key is that the school selects students with “Potential”. Don’t know how they determine that, but, to me, it parallels the message of the Best Blackberry jam story. YOu still need an adequate supply of good blackberries! As SET has alluded to in past posts…we all want/hope that all students will reach their potential..it’s just that some students have the potential to reach higher academic levels than others. For the kids chosen for Clark’s educational experience, no doubt it will be a valuable one. However,replicating it… with its international travels, expensive environment, and corporate donors who foot the bill.. is probably not going to happen too often no matter how wildly successful it is.

By jim d

September 4, 2007 4:02 PM | Link to this

Will it fly? I’m sure it will! As would any school that isn’t forced to admit any student and as any student that isn’t forced to attend.

While tuition may be prorated based on income there is one non-variable amongst these students that guarantee’s success—their parents are truly involved in their childrens life as would be evidenced by their persistance, determination and willingness to jump through any hoops necessary to assure their child a space in the school.

By OldSchool

September 4, 2007 4:10 PM | Link to this

Have any of the posters here taken a look at the school’s website? I think in the FAQ section, many if not all of your questions would be answered.

I personally hope the school succeeds and in fact out-performs its goals.

By Janine

September 4, 2007 4:14 PM | Link to this

Good point, jimd…That and potential pretty much say it all….just add a little motivation and there is success!

By Lisa

September 4, 2007 4:19 PM | Link to this

I read Ron Clark’s book and saw the movie. I applaud his efforts and wish him well. I’d love for my children’s schools to implement his “Essential 55 rules”, most of them are common sense and manners. However, if a traditional public school tried to do this, you have a group of parents whinning and pitching fits. Our middle school principal runs a pretty tight ship and every year there are a handful of parents who complain about how strict she is. And the teacher that wrote in is very correct….a few bad kids ruin it for everyone.

By hereintheAtl

September 4, 2007 4:24 PM | Link to this

It’s so unfortunate that some people have school choice (i.e., those who can choose to live in certain school districts or those who send their kids to private school) while others have no choice at all (have to take whatever they get whereever they live cause they can’t afford to live in the districts with the better schools).

It’s such a shame.

By Hype always fades...

September 4, 2007 4:43 PM | Link to this

Bridget,

Most of us don’t watch Oprah. You do??!! Geez.

Now, I did see the movie: And… Please don’t think I’m rude, but how many white females are doing what he does day after day .. and have been for year after year? In a manner even more creative than Ron’s??? With stories much BIGGER and HEARTBREAKING to tell? He got attention for being a lone “white male” — “white females” just don’t get this attention b/c they don’t stand out in a SUIT AND TIE!!

There are a million more of him out there - both male and female - even more creative than he.

But oh well…he gets on Oprah!

Now, of course it’s going to be a success…how can it NOT be w/ all the money? Yes, get on Oprah, and all of a sudden rich people wanting their faces on a website (Laura Turner Seydel, anyone?) will beg to be your best friend! Would Laura Turner Seydel be on the Board if the show weren’t on Oprah?? (Oh, that would be awful - how could they get by w/o her enormous understanding of early childhood cognitive processes??)

Even Matthew Perry is on the Board….is that for PR and fame, or does he also have sudden understanding of a child’s brain?? I’m sure he’s there conducting research once a week.

There is a lot of money behind this school - it’s run purely as a business.

So, did Ron Clark teach us anything about education (no, the 1000s of teachers inside of Atlanta who surpass him exceedingly did)? Or did he teach us:

1) Get on Oprah. 2) Get low-IQ people with TONS of money (Laura, again) who are dying to have their faces smeared on a website to join your Board. 3) Stick 1 or 2 people w/ educational backgrounds into your school and on your Board, so it’s not 100% just a corporation. 4) Get a million business partners to commit before Oprah wears off. 5) Cherry pick your kids so there can be no failures.

With cherry-picked kids, and tons of money…..is this a boring story or what? No challenges.

Bridget, can we do a story on teachers facing challenges, please? The lack of challenges make this story boring.

Oh, and I have to say that Ron is WAY too obsessed w/ test scores. It is clear - from the movie and book - test scores are all he cares about in the end.

So, he turns into a business man and not a teacher - boring.

By decaturparent

September 4, 2007 5:16 PM | Link to this

I’m with Hype. Yep, boring blog. Duh - of course he will succeed, just like Westminster and Lovett do. His school is just as selective and equally expensive. Ron Clarks are a dime a dozen. I see teachers like him all the time. There are LOTS of creative teachers out there - they just don’t all have the business acumen that he has.

I will not be the slightest bit impressed until he takes over a struggling school AS IS and does miracles working under all of the garbage and restrictions (NCLB) that our public schools operate under today.

By catlady

September 4, 2007 5:42 PM | Link to this

One thing I think is interesting is the small size he proposes for his school. That is one thing we are missing in most public education settings: a size small enought to keep everyone in view. We “save” money by warehousing students in these large impersonal settings where there is little accountability and then we are puzzled about the poor results. Think about the schools you know of that work with very very poor student material: low SES, drug infested parents, absentees, low parental education. Those that are most successful are overwhelmingly smaller than the usual schools. We really pay for our “saving” money in the long run by putting kids who have already got the message they don’t amount to much into school settings where they are just a piece of inconvenient furniture. Size does count! Mr. Clark’s school is advantaged because he is taking that into consideration as he designs it.

By JW

September 4, 2007 6:04 PM | Link to this

I just watched the documentary “The Education of Ms. Groves” last night on Sundance. Much better than the Ron Clark story. It is an incredibly realistic “year in the life” of a first year teacher in a public middle school in Atlanta. Check it out if it is ever repeated.

By SET

September 4, 2007 6:05 PM | Link to this

hereintheAtl:

People are not objects of pity unless they are struck by cancer and didn’t smoke, etc.

My Vietnamese immigrant in laws, and my Eithiopian immigrant in laws came to the US with the clothes on their backs (Eithopians didn’t even get handed green cards - they married them). These immigrants weren’t showered with Aid, and they went to public schools in downscale places, and every one of them now have Houses and Hondas. Same for my East Indian friends and the local Pakistanis. Their children are being sent to better schools than their parents went to and they are expected to do better (or they get beat to within an inch of their lives??).

To many immigrants in CA go to the same ghetto public schools that the underclass drop out of and wind up making $100K a year somehow. I have met too many $100k+/yr 2nd generation Mexican-American CA prison guards. And that’s the siblings that didn’t qualify for a City Police Dept. CA has a lot of legal immigrants and they aren’t starving. Our worst performers are home grown.

So my sympathy meter (for losers generally) is on zero. There is still simply too much upward mobility in the USA for those who reach for it.

It would still help if the public schools would kick people up the ladder of success like the schools used to, but even without that, some people climb it themselves.

By SET

September 4, 2007 6:19 PM | Link to this

Catlady: My primary school had children from blue collar families, 31 to a class. We all wore uniforms so you couldn’t tell who was the child of a construction worker, grocery store butcher or the child of a physician. We all were taught together for 8 years. There was no class aide, just 99+ lb, 5 ft+ Irish or Italian Nuns with a ruler and a drill instructor attitude. If one of the other Nuns called in sick they’d divvy up the students to the remaining teachers. The dumbest kid in the class could behave, read, write and speak when called on. He might not have understood everything but he could say something intelligent with one eye on the ruler.

I just don’t buy the small class thing. If discipline is in order I know you can handle 30 kids especially with aides included. And I was once a sub in a suburban school district 8 to 12th grade (a very long time ago I admit).

By JustMe

September 4, 2007 6:55 PM | Link to this

Again, I want to point out that the only real CHOICE here is for the school to chose the student!!!!

Regardless of what is claimed about admissions, I highly doubt that Clark, et. al. will allow some of the characters that roam many public schools today into their little world. Why would they want to set themselves up to fail?

IMHO, they would select the students that yes, have potential to show a tremendous turn around. That way, Clark et. al. can proclaim that there way works best.

Again, let any general public school hand pick their own students and I will show you a general public school that is superb!

As long as our society insists upon attempting to educate the masses (and in GA that means trying to prepare them for college), then we will have problems. These problems have always existed and will always exist unless we decide to either: 1) bring back vocational education and/or 2) have an entrance exam where the student must pass before attending the next level (otherwise that ‘student’ will just have to go get a job).

By Grace

September 4, 2007 7:14 PM | Link to this

I have been to a function at the Ron Clark school. It was amazing! The students are smart, mannerly and they love to come to school. How in the world could any of you critize this? Are you crazy? God bless Ron and his staff. I hope we have more Ron Clarks who care about our young people. Stop being so negative and support people who are making a difference.

By April

September 4, 2007 7:25 PM | Link to this

When have any of you made a difference in a young person’s life? Those students are taught to achieve, participate in public speaking, to interact with adults, to introduce themselves, to sing solos, to be creative thinkers, to learn two foreign languages, and to honor others and have self respect. They are grateful. They are not from wealthy familes. Go to the school and see for yourselves before you comment on what you do not know. And for Laura Turner…I salute her. She could be doing a lot of other things other than caring for children.

By catlady

September 4, 2007 7:34 PM | Link to this

Actually, SET, I didn’t come out in favor or against small classes. Just in favor of small, personal schools. What could be more personal than getting an education—it isn’t something someone GIVES you—you gotta GET it.

Since you mention it, however, I am in favor of small classes as well, but I think small schools are the over looked component. When I started 34 years ago, teachers (and especially Nuns) were granted authority by parents and students. Now, sadly, they are not (see earlier blog respondents for examples “you won’t tell me what to do with MY child” etc.)

I used to teach 30 or more RESPECTFUL students in a class. They were not well off, their parents had little education, but they knew why they were at school. Now, a class of 25 is a huge number, and pity if you have the usual complement of BD, MID, and other children with baggage bringing it to your room each day.

Fortunately for me, I work with the ESOL kids now. In our county, they are poor and have poorly or non-educated parents who VALUE what they are getting and who had better NOT get a call from the maestra about their behavior or work ethic! It may happen yet, but to date I have NEVER had a parent tell me I didn’t see little Jose hit Olga, or that little Juan did turn in his homework and I lost it. It is teaching like it used to be, and most of the teachers at our school WANT the Latino kids because of their behavior and work ethic. I don’t doubt that it is different in CA or other places where I hear horror stories, but I want to tell you there are places where the Latino immigrant children outshine in every way most of our “native” kids.

I have taught in a very small school and in middle sized schools, and the small school boasted achievement 50% higher than the large school. Same community, same kids (well, fewer wealthy ones in the small school) but parents who are invested in the school and teachers who know each child and can hold everyone accountable make a difference, in my opinion.

My research for my doctorate in part looked at factors that increase student aspiration and achievement. For poor students, small school size (controling statistically for other variables like SEs and parental ed) was very positively associated with achievement. But, we continue to cram as many and more into buildings as possible (see earlier AJC articles over the last couple of weeks).

By jim d

September 5, 2007 8:26 AM | Link to this

SET,

I’m afraid a bit of profiling towards minority students may be showing here,(“I believe that with better public schools - as we had in 1955”), so here are a couple of of facts about your “Brave New World”

A recent study conducted by the Minority Student Achievement Network looked at 40,000 students in grades seven through 11 found little if any evidence that blacks placed lesser value on education than their white peers. Instead, they found that black males are more likely than white, Hispanic or Asian males to say that it is “very important” to study hard and get good grades; white males are the least likely to make this claim. The researchers also found that blacks were just as likely to study and work on homework as their white counterparts.

Even in high-poverty schools, disproportionately attended by inner-city students of color, attitudes towards schooling are far more positive than generally believed. Students in high-poverty schools are four-and-a-half times more likely to say they have a “very positive” attitude toward academic achievement than to say they have a “very negative” attitude, and 94% of all students in such schools report a generally positive attitude toward academics.

By jim d

September 5, 2007 8:39 AM | Link to this

Dear April, re: 7:25 PM post

When have any of you made a difference in a young person’s life?

Personally? Yesterday.

I gather from your question though that you assume everyone may be doing the same as you do. That, I assure you, is not the case.

Might I suggest that working with a youth group either through your church, one of the Scouting organizations or various other youth groups might give you an insight that there are many adults making a positive difference in the life of a child every day.

By JustMe

September 5, 2007 8:40 AM | Link to this

My posts were not to be considered as ‘negative’ about Clark’s schools. He has simply figured out a very smart way to succeed - more props to him.

I only pointed out that the reason for his success is because he can select the students that attend his schools, and the general public school cannot do that.

Yes, his students may be well behaved, motivated, and so on. And, he may have numerous students that have shown dramatic improvements. But, let a general public school follow his same rules of selecting students and ‘kicking out’ students and I betcha that general public school will have similar results!

By WFC

September 5, 2007 9:40 AM | Link to this

God bless Oprah and Ron Clark and the good work they do. Oprah’s school in South Africa and Clark’s in south Atlanta will do real good. And the world needs more “real good! The problem is, though, as one of my ed profs used to say: “is it replicable… can it be done elsewhere without the “one great man or woman?” Hmmmmmm

By Janine

September 5, 2007 9:49 AM | Link to this

JUSTME..Totally agree. I don’t think any of the posts here were meant to be negative toward Clark’s efforts. It’s just that the results of the plan are totally predictable .With the selection of students who participate in the hands of the educator…[all having adequate “potential”],the curriculum also in the hands of those in daily contact witht the students, plus small classes, high parental expectations, capable teachers, adequate funding….success is pretty much guaranteed. However, this is a very unique circumstance, and, even if Clark’s classroom techniques are put into practice by public school teachers, it is unlikely that they would enjoy the same results without all of the other aspects of the school being present.

By P-Low

September 5, 2007 10:07 AM | Link to this

SET, I hope you are not a part of the Brave New World - we don’t need or want you there. Now do you feel b**ized or Illegitimate? GOOD!

By Bridget Gutierrez

September 5, 2007 10:18 AM | Link to this

Hype: Who said I watched “Oprah”?

Clark was on the show in 2001, after he won the Disney award. A Hollywood producer was one of the millions of viewers who caught the appearance and turned Clark’s story into the 2006 cable TV movie — which, again, millions of viewers saw.

But I wasn’t one of them. I watched the movie on DVD last weekend as part of my reporting for Tuesday’s article.

By SET

September 5, 2007 10:23 AM | Link to this

P-LOW: Amusing post. You think you can pick and chose what other people think and know… and you think you are in such control that you will have things your way now or in the future.

Your post is a good example of the weakness our public schools send forth.

Enjoy your time sunning yourself in the lounge chair on the railroad tracks. The stereo headphones are a nice touch also.

The rich get richer and the poor get children…

By SET

September 5, 2007 10:29 AM | Link to this

Jim D: Now whi would anybody be interested in a publication of “Minority Student Achievement Network”?

Your statement of “fact” doesn’t hold any water here in CA. And I don’t think anything of the sort has been replicated in any other study.

I refer you to “Losing The Race” by McWhorter - and the host of related studies and publications that clearly state the opposite. I’d take the life studies and experiences of educators who have published and subjected themselves to national peer review over a propaganda organ.

Studies are interesting, but all of us have our own life experiences as well. There is simply no support for what you are claiming.

By dorrie

September 5, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this

Clark’s school will succeed for all the reasons that have been mentioned—hand picking the students, deep pockets, and parental involvement. There is little doubt that the kids will have an amazing experience (though they may have a shock when they enter high school and no one thinks they are special anymore).

What annoys me most about this school is the illusion that is being presented. Pictures of the students accepted show a sea of black faces, as if this were truly an inner city school. But the columnist at the AJC who has a child at the school lives in Gwinnett County. That must be like a 25 mile commute each way!! How many of these students are from the burbs? I’m sure that info is not being released from Clark.

By T Dub

September 5, 2007 12:24 PM | Link to this

I find it interesting that the Ron Clark school is getting all of this attention and I have not seen one article in the AJC about the new schools at Carver that are still public, APS schools. For those of you that do not know, the 100 Black Men of Atl and The Links, Inc. came into a typical, urban school setting and divided the schools in two - The Coretta Scott King Girls academy and the Benjamin S Carter Boys academy.

No fancy Oprah appearances, no huge corporate donations or ‘cherry-picked’ application process. Just educated, Black professionals who care about our future and believe that poor, urban youths can still make it in a public school environment with a little additional attention, emphasis on self-esteem, temporary gender separation and great ROLE MODELS their to assist.

Bridget, where is the full page write up on this important endeavor? I guess 1 white man in a suit and tie takes precedence over 100 of Black men dressed similarily.

By T Dub

September 5, 2007 12:38 PM | Link to this

I find it interesting that the Ron Clark school is getting all of this attention and I have not seen one article in the AJC about the new schools at Carver that are still public, APS schools. For those of you that do not know, the 100 Black Men of Atl and The Links, Inc. came into a typical, urban school setting and divided the schools in two - The Coretta Scott King Girls academy and the Benjamin S Carter Boys academy.

No fancy Oprah appearances, no huge corporate donations or ‘cherry-picked’ application process. Just educated, Black professionals who care about our future and believe that poor, urban youths can still make it in a public school environment with a little additional attention, emphasis on self-esteem, temporary gender separation and great ROLE MODELS their to assist.

Bridget, where is the full page write up on this important endeavor? I guess 1 white man in a suit and tie takes precedence over 100 of Black men dressed similarily.

By Bridget Gutierrez

September 5, 2007 1:48 PM | Link to this

T Dub: I take it you’re not a regular AJC or Get Schooled reader. I mentioned in my blog last week that I was working on the Carson story. Like the Ron Clark article, my story on single-gender education — including the efforts in APS — ran on the front page.

That article appeared in Saturday’s newspaper.

This past spring, I also wrote a couple articles about the changes at Carver High School, just down the street from the Ron Clark Academy. One of those stories also ran on the front page; the other ran on our Metro cover.

By Ignorance is Bliss

September 5, 2007 3:40 PM | Link to this

What annoys me most about this school is the illusion that is being presented. Pictures of the students accepted show a sea of black faces, as if this were truly an inner city school. But the columnist at the AJC who has a child at the school lives in Gwinnett County. That must be like a 25 mile commute each way!! How many of these students are from the burbs? I’m sure that info is not being released from Clark.

What??? Do you think that there are only white faces in the “burbs”???

There are low-wealth, inner city students in communities such as Forest Park, East Point, Hampton, Stockbridge, Fairburn, Decatur, and Marietta to name a few. I would know that since I am a family member of one of the students at the Ron Clark Academy who commutes all the way from Clayton County.

I really resent all the educated idiots on here who are criticizing Mr. Clark’s efforts - why in the world would you do that? He is making a difference in the lives of 60 children. Why does that rankle you so badly?

If you would take some time from all your erudite research and opinionating and get the facts on Mr. Clark’s background, you would know that his successes began in a public school where he had no choice for the students in his classroom.

So what if the AJC columnist has a student at the Ron Clark Academy? My family member is a student there and I can assure you that she is not gifted or privileged. She is, in fact, an illegitimate child whose tuition is paid on a sliding fee scale based on earned income and number of dependents in the family.

What a bunch of small-minded idiots to begrudge children the opportunity of a life time, not to mention wishing failure on someone who only wants to help.

And just so you’ll know, the students won’t be shocked when they enter high school and find out they’re not special anymore. They have years of experience with being ordinary from public schools and furthermore, by the time they leave RCA, they won’t need for anyone to think they are special - they will know that for themselves.