Last night, I watched the movie about Ron Clark’s beginning life as an educator. It is amazing to see his roots and where he is today-including the thousands of lives he has changed and touched.

This world-class institute, adorned by two-story dragon, grand hall, video screen walls and one-of-a-kind environment, will train more than 4,000 educators a year in new revolutionary teaching styles-be sure to watch more here: http://www.11alive.com/story/news/education/2015/01/14/ron-clark-academy-education-training/21775733/

Since opening the doors at the Ron Clark Academy in 2007, more than 23,000 educators from 42 states and 22 countries around the world have visited the institution to learn how to replicate the school’s style, philosophy and success in their own classrooms.  Now, thousands more will be able to do so each year in a state-of-the-art training facility like no other on earth. The Ron Clark Academy Educator Training Facility opens its doors this week after a capital campaign that helped the institution raise $4.9 million for a multi-purpose facility that will allow more than 40,000 educators in the next decade to take part in observing classes, interactive lessons and discovering their own new methods that will bring revitalized education approaches to classrooms around the world.

“Educators should be prepared to be in awe of a new facility that captures both the imaginative spirit of our team’s teaching approach and the lofty goals of academic rigor and results that we want to impart for educators everywhere,” said Ron Clark, founder of the Ron Clark Academy. “The results our Academy has garnered with students in our first years of operation have set the stage that taking an innovative, exciting and hands-on approach to teaching works. We want to bring even more educators behind the curtain to learn our techniques and apply them to their own schools.”

The new Ron Clark Academy Educator Training Facility allows the institution to reach many more educators who are eager to learn the Academy’s classroom techniques, while providing greater flexibility to conduct workshops of varying sizes and topics.  The new facility’s iconic fixtures include a two-story dragon skeleton; a gymnasium ablaze with fire on the floor, a great hall with handcrafted 32-foot-long oak tables; a massive Panasonic wall of 40 electronic screens; state-of-the art technology, cameras, and Promethean boards in every classroom space; a theatrical system of lights, smoke and sounds used to make the great hall shake with energy; and many more magical surprises.

In the Academy’s educator training program called “The RCA Experience,” participants observe best practices in action before attending hands-on workshops.  The Ron Clark Academy’s physical building and state-of-the-art technology have been carefully designed to comfortably accommodate up to 4,000 visiting teachers from around the world each year. These educators will observe Clark, co-founder Kim Bearden and other master teachers as they demonstrate groundbreaking teaching methods, incorporating Clark’s “Essential 55”—rules emphasizing character development, manners, life skills and respect.

More About The Ron Clark Academy

The Ron Clark Academy (ronclarkacademy.com) is a private, nonprofit middle school in Southeast Atlanta that promotes innovation and inspires its students through energetic teaching balanced by a strict code of discipline. The Academy has received both national and international recognition for its success in educating students with academic rigor, passion, and creativity balanced by a strict code of discipline. Its fifth – eighth grade students represent various socio-economic and academic backgrounds and communities from across the metro region. Each year, 3,000 educators from around the world visit the Academy to learn how to replicate the school’s style, philosophy and success in their own classrooms. The Academy currently relies on outside funding to provide scholarships to students from varying academic backgrounds. Oprah Winfrey has called the Ron Clark Academy “the best school in America.”