Professional Development: Ron Clark Academy Staff Trip

Mansfield ISD sent a representative from each school on a professional development road trip to the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia on March 23-26, 2011. The trip was designed to let teachers from across the District experience and learn from educators at this innovative learning environment in the hopes that much of the same passion, lessons, and ideas would be brought back and shared with others. Ron Clark was the keynote speaker at the MISD Staff Convocation in August that kicked-off the 2010-11 school year.

The following are the reflections on the trip from Caty Skinner, 3rd grade teacher from Perry Elementary, who went on the trip:
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One of my favorite memories of my childhood involves a family vacation to Disney World taken the summer before my senior year of high school. Feeling somewhat old for Disney, I attempted to put on a smile in order to ensure that my five younger siblings not only had a good time, but were able to truly believe in the magic. As we approached the gates of the Magic Kingdom, I prepared myself for a day of babysitting. However, upon entering the park, something stopped me in my tracks.

It was Ariel, my favorite Disney princess.

It was as if time had reversed and I was five again. My heart skipped a beat, and sure enough, I found myself not only walking, but skipping toward the line to get the autograph of my childhood idol.

Why am I mentioning this completely unrelated snapshot of my life in this blog entry? Because the magic that I felt upon entering Disney World pales in comparison to the complete and total culture shock that occurs within the walls of the Ron Clark Academy.

Cover via AmazonI read The Essential 55 in college and have always had the utmost respect and admiration for Ron Clark. He is my educational “celebrity crush,” so to speak. After hearing him speak with the passion and commitment he demonstrated at the MISD convocation, I felt inspired to carry the torch into my classroom, teaching my students to not only be intelligent people, but to be kind and generous individuals. The opportunity to not only meet Ron Clark, but to be a guest at RCA, observe classes of various grade levels, interact with many members of the staff, and basically be embraced as part of the RCA family has not only made me a better educator, but I truly believe it has given me motivation to become a better human being.

As our charter bus full of excited MISD employees pulled up to the school, we received an unexpected surprise. There was a receiving line leading into the library of the school. A student greeted us by smiling, shaking our hands, and welcoming us into the school. A few teachers, including Ron Clark, were outside as well, shaking hands and giving hugs to each teacher as he or she entered the building. As I entered the door into the library, I felt that same stirring in my heart that I had several years ago. Students lined both sides of the doorway, hugging me and telling me how glad they were to see me, and what an honor it was to have our district visit their school.

Did I mention that there was a trampoline in the middle of the library floor with a bungee harness attached to the walls?

Immediately, we felt permission to truly embrace the opportunity given to us. Many teachers, including myself, took a turn on the trampoline, trying to project ourselves high enough to touch the ceiling as we waited for the school day to begin. Students filled the room, singing songs and dancing with both teachers and each other. The RCA staff interacted with the students constantly, evenly dispersed throughout the room; nowhere in the library did anyone see a group of teachers secluding themselves from the students. We were welcomed with open arms and given an extremely flexible itinerary, which, let’s face it; we are teachers. We are used to this!

Our two day visit to the Ron Clark Academy included a variety of workshops as well as several observations of not only Mr. Clark, but also several other teachers. We had the opportunity to see how the teachers embrace and balance the two extremes of fun and structure. On one hand, every lesson I observed was engaging and rigorous. Students were excited about learning, and would have opportunities to play games, use advanced educational technology, and even stand on their desks and sing songs or chant. Each classroom had a drum, and boy, did they use it! However, the craziness and excitement were matched heavily with extremely high standards and discipline. Just as Ron Clark demonstrates in his book The Essential 55, it is a mission of the school to help students improve their character. Each boy and girl maintained eye contact with his or her teacher at all times, encouraged each other to act accordingly and to perform the work correctly, and demonstrated an understanding of social excellence that I rarely see in adults, let alone 11 year old children.

One of my favorite portions of the visit was the 20 minutes I spent eating lunch with one of the 5th grade girls. She invited me to her lunch table, and I was more than happy to oblige. It became obvious throughout our conversation that she considered the students and faculty of RCA to be her family. Articulating herself extremely well, she demonstrated an appreciation for her education with the maturity of someone who feels supported, loved, and confident in her own ability. The “family feel” is not a forced relationship; there is truly something special that fosters these kinds of connections, which many of us believe to be the culture of the school. My question, and mission of the trip, became very clear: “How do we, as teachers, create a culture in our schools that both excite and motivate students yet hold them accountable to truly achieving their best, both academically and morally?”

On the bus ride back (which was, consequently, far less eventful than the bus ride TO Georgia), we had the opportunity to collaborate in attempt to pinpoint what the magic pill was, so to speak. However, each of us found that we had each been inspired by different aspects of the trip.

Stephanie Gow, an 8th grade Language Arts teacher at Wester Middle School, connected with the RCA philosophy of We have no time for fear!

“I heard that saying several times,” Gow says, “and it was evident. The school was filled with HOPE.”

As an educator, I will admit that this is something that I think we struggle with, whether it is a fear of being scrutinized for personal teaching style, fear of inadequacy, or just a lack of confidence.

Katie Anderson, a 3rd grade teacher at Tarver Rendon Elementary, shared that she was inspired to shuck the fear, so to speak, and BELIEVE:

“I BELIEVE in my students. I BELIEVE in their parents. I BELIEVE in the community around us. I BELIEVE in our district. I BELIEVE in our teachers and staff. I BELIEVE in my ability to reach every child. I BELIEVE that with a positive attitude, engaging lessons, high levels of energy, music, and parent/community support our students will be able to receive the very best education!”

On fire and ready to change the world, we spent the remaining hours of the bus ride singing songs, banging on pretend drums, and engineering ways in which we all can lead our students into greatness.

After returning to school on Monday, I can already see and feel a change taking place in our classrooms. My inbox has been flooded with emails from my colleagues sharing examples of creative lessons, songs, raps, and motivational ideas. The line “Slide Certified Teacher!” has been added to many email signatures. A wiki has been created in which teachers can post and share ideas and strategies learned from the trip….to me, this is equally inspiring.

The beautiful thing is that none of us will ever be Ron Clark, nor should we be. When my students come to school, they do not expect Mr. Clark to greet them at the door. It is Ms. Skinner who will give them a high five, who will talk to them about their weekend, who will laugh at her own corny jokes, and who will do anything in her power to create an environment where her kids feel safe, loved, and supported to achieve beyond their greatest expectations. This experience has been life changing for me; I have been provided with tools that, combined with my own unique personality and passions, will create in me an unstoppable force that can change the face of education, one 3rd grader at a time.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had and cannot wait to see how the excitement will continue to spread. Ron Clark Academy believes that there is absolutely no limit to what teachers and students can achieve together. As I continue my career in education, I am confident that this will become more and more true than it already is, forever bettering the culture of education in Mansfield ISD.

See the complete photo gallery from the trip.

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Did you go on this staff road trip? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks.