Ronald L. Clark, Jr. (born October 24, 1972) is an American educator, author, and motivational speaker. He has taught in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and later founded the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author, known for his innovative approaches to education and teacher training.

Background

Clark attended school in his earlier years within the Beaufort County school systems in the town of

Chocowinity, North Carolina Chocowinity ( ) is a town in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 722 at the 2020 census. The town is a part of the Washington Area located in North Carolina's Coastal Plains region. History The meaning of the n ...

. Clark was an outgoing student who later graduated from Chocowinity High School with the Class of 1990. After graduation, Clark's goals were to become an educator at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

through the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program. Following his graduation, he traveled for a time and then began working in

Aurora, North Carolina Aurora is a town in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 455 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 9.60%, is water. ...

. Four years later he began teaching elementary school in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan ...

. In the fall of 2007 Clark and co-founder Kim Bearden began the Ron Clark Academy, a private non-profit school in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia, which follows a unique curriculum.

Pedagogical ideas

Clark has written four books on education: # ''The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child'' (2003) # ''The Excellent 11: Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire, and Educate Children'' (2005) #''The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck: 101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers'' (2011), listing solutions for parents and teachers # ''Move Your Bus: An Extraordinary New Approach to Accelerating Success in Work and Life'' (2015), philosophy on types of employees/educators and how to motivate them Clark proposed fifty-five essential rules for success in and out of the classroom, many of which focus on respect and school policies. These include "Make eye contact, respect others' ideas and opinions, always be honest, and do not bring

Doritos Doritos () is an American brand of flavored tortilla chips produced by Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. The concept for Doritos originated at Disneyland at a restaurant managed by Frito-Lay. In 1966, Doritos became the first ...

into the school building". He later proposed eleven traits of excellence: enthusiasm, adventure, creativity, reflection, balance, compassion, confidence, humor, common sense, appreciation and resilience.

Accolades

Clark has appeared on national TV shows, including two appearances on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'', where Winfrey named him as her first "Phenomenal Man." In 2000, Clark received the Disney Teacher of the Year award. Clark's first year in Harlem was the focus of a 2006

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

movie, ''

The Ron Clark Story ''The Ron Clark Story'' (also known as ''The Triumph'') is a 2006 American television film starring Matthew Perry. The film is based on the educator Ron Clark. It follows the tale of an idealistic teacher who leaves his small hometown to teach ...

'', starring

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was an American and Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He gained international fame for starring as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994– ...

as Clark.

''Survivor''

In 2019, Clark competed in '' Survivor: Edge of Extinction'' and became the thirteenth person voted out of the game. He made the jury and voted for Chris Underwood to win the game.

Personal life

Clark is married to his husband Lloyd Sage, who appeared in the Loved Ones Visit segment of ''Survivor: Edge of Extinction''.

References

External links

Ron Clark Academy Website

The Ron Clark Story on IMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ron 1972 births Living people Schoolteachers from North Carolina East Carolina University alumni People from Beaufort County, North Carolina Educators from New York City Survivor (franchise) contestants American gay men LGBTQ people from North Carolina 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people