The Ron Clark Academy Experience!

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a training at RCA- also known as the Ron Clark Academy.   It was PURE MAGIC!  Listen friends, I have attended a TON of professional development over the years, and I always usually walk away with new ideas and a little more pep in my step.  This PD takes the cake though... for so many reasons that I am not even sure I can articulate or adequately cover in this measly little blog post.  I am going to give it the ole' college try, but believe me when I say reading this blog post and/or reading books by Ron Clark and Kim Bearden (the co-founder of RCA) just gives you a little taste of what the experience is like.  The only way to truly "get it"... to fully grasp the way RCA breaks the mold... is to travel to Atlanta and experience it for yourself.   That said, here's a recap of the day.

The RCA Experience begins in some ways exactly like I would imagine it in one of my wildest dreams, and in other ways, it goes so far beyond that.  Straight talk. Your tickets are checked, and you are ushered into this amazing two story library with a giant trampoline.  Even if you are not a morning person (like yours truly) or are battling crazy never-ending morning sickness (like me), it is STILL IMPOSSIBLE not to immediately come to life...and not the kind of "life" where you are merely existing in that moment...but the kind of life where you are living it to the fullest.  Music is pulsating and, well, blaring.  Kids are smiling, clapping, and dancing.  The room is PACKED with eager educators... some gazing around the vast room to take it all in... some taking photos... some bobbing their heads... others dancing... and of course... some jumping on the giant trampoline.  It's like the coolest birthday party you could ever dream up as a child... minus the birthday cake... but so much better at the same time.  Students immediately come over to converse with you, and it's akin to having a very articulate discussion with a well-spoken, well-traveled, well-read adult.  They warmly welcome you to their school.  They look you straight in the eyes.  They shake your hand firmly.  They ask questions about what brought you to RCA and what you are hoping to take away from the day, and they listen intently.  They share a little about themselves, and you think, "Wow.  What great interpersonal skills!  How old are these kids again?!"  Let me tell you they are fifth through eighth graders, but they are wise beyond their years, and it's so fun to interact with them.  Before long, you are greeted by Ron and Kim, and they energetically welcome you to RCA before walking the whole lot of teachers into the concourse of the main facility. 

To hear Ron explain his vision for RCA and how it came to fruition in person is seriously enough to induce a steady stream of tears.  It's moving, it's empowering, and it's no bologna.  It's the real deal.  He is the real deal.  He is also Willy Wonka incarnate, and I dig it.  I love that he "gets" what education should be.  We, as teachers, know that we are teaching our students because we want them to grow up to be happy and productive people in our society.  We want them to be leaders, and movers, and shakers!  No standardized test will ever be able to do that for us... or truly measure that.  So, we have to remember why we really teach, and do what's best for kids.  This means facilitating rigorous instruction, building strong relationships, and fostering student engagement.  I wanted to scream out, "Amen!" when Ron was talking about those three pillars of their school belief system.  It's like he was speaking right to my teacher heart, because when you really break it down, that's what matters.  That's what every school and every classroom should invest in.  I also wholeheartedly agreed when he said, "It's easier to raise strong children than to repair broken adults".  Preach.

From the concourse, the immense herd of teachers was broken into several different groups for classroom observations and workshops.  Oh my word.  Seriously, this is what cemented everything for me.  It's one thing to say all of the right things and rattle off an educational philosophy, and it's a whole other thing to actively and passionately LIVE IT OUT.  When it was time to switch sessions, I kept thinking, "No!  Not yet!  Please let me stay just a little longer!  I'm not ready!"  Then I would be ushered into another classroom to be blown away again.  I don't want to give too much away about the sessions because it really is something I feel like you have to experience.  I mean, someone could explain to me what climbing Mount Everest is like, but until I did it myself, I am certain that so much of that experience would be lost on me.  I think the RCA Experience is kind of like that.

I will say, you may be tempted to think that the sessions are rehearsed.  Everything is beautiful, the teachers are charismatic and polished, and the kids are exceptional little scholars, but while participating in a lesson in Kim's classroom, I saw how REAL the lessons really are.  Her kiddos were engaged in a punctuation police activity, and I was issued a "ticket" from a student during the active part of the lesson.  She pulled a slip of paper from a basket I was holding, and she informed me that I was guilty of a pronoun error.  She read the sentence aloud, and she struggled to make an instructional suggestion for a moment before trying to put the slip back into the basket and pull out another.  Of course, this would not surprise any of my own students if they were to read this post, I did not let her off of the hook, and we worked through it together until she finally came up with an excellent revision!  That little moment showed me that these are, in fact, real kids who are really working on refining these skills.  That made me have even more respect for what they are accomplishing at RCA.  I love authenticity!

After a morning full of sessions, we were able to have lunch with the kids in a room straight out of Hogwarts.  Simply amazing!  The whole school is so kid-friendly and imaginative!  Imagine being a kid going to school in this environment for a moment.  Isn't this such an amazing, nonverbal reminder that anything is possible?! 

Of course the whole school is incredibly magical, not just the cafeteria.  This is the porthole to my sweet friend Hope King's Wonderland themed classroom.

Hope and I became IRL (in real life) friends through blogging a few years ago, and I am so thankful for her friendship.  Let me tell you, she is such an incredible educator too!  I was able to attend one of her workshops and observe one of her lessons, and she is simply amazing.  I felt like such a proud mama bear watching Hope in action.  I already knew she was inspiring and talented, but again, when you see someone practicing what they preach, your respect for them multiples ten-fold.  Ya know?!  She works at the academy with her husband, Wade, and they were seriously MADE for this!  If you visit RCA, you will see what I mean! 

Isn't her room incredible?!  I mean, seriously.  I love how whimsical and fun it is!  #winning

At the end of the day, everyone in attendance has the opportunity to get "slide certified".  Since I was 26 weeks pregnant at the time, I decided that it probably wasn't the wisest decision to get shot out of a lightning fast slide, but nonetheless, watching teacher after teacher shoot out of the giant blue slide was a powerful image.  We, as teachers, have a choice.  We can take the stairs, follow tradition, and do things the way they have always been done, or we can dare to be change agents.  Even though I had to take the stairs that day, philosophically, I am all about the slide. 

Of course I would be remiss if I didn't mention how special it was to be able to attend the RCA training with several of my dear friends.  I have said it countless times before, so forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but these ladies are my tribe.  It's incredible that something like blogging has brought such a supportive, talented, and authentic group of women into my life.  We LOVE to get together when we can, and we usually meet up once a year to spend time together.  This year, it was great to combine our trip with RCA because it enabled us to experience professional growth together.  We were able to have wonderful conversations about what we were taking away from each session, and we had lots of conversations about the current climate of education in our country.  We also had a lot of fun!

After the best professional development day I've ever attended, we had the opportunity to attend the first basketball game in the new gym.  We donned our matching Dragon tees and snapped a photo in Hope's reading loft before cheering on the boys and girls from RCA.

The gym was AMAZING, friends!  Are you seeing this?!  The flames looked so cool in person, and I am pretty sure I have never attended a game in my entire life with so much pomp and circumstance.  Beyond that though, the "Dragon Pit" was so high energy, and the kids' energy did not waver one bit as the games raged on.  Ron informed us that we would have to cheer if we sat in the pit, and he was not kidding.  At one point, he caught someone sitting, turned around, and said, "I thought you said you were gonna cheer!" That solved that.  We were on our feet alllll night long. One does not simply sit down at the Ron Clark Academy.  One must participate fully!

We wrapped up the trip with lots of quality time, and even though our group steadily dwindled by the last night there (as evidenced below), we made the most of a whirlwind weekend. 

 In closing, again, I certainly do not feel like this blog post is in any way comprehensive.  Although it takes a lot to render me speechless, I truly do not know how to put the experience into words to fully convey what I experienced at RCA.  I think that's probably what I want you to take away from this though.  Just like our own school and work experiences, sometimes you have to EXPERIENCE something to glean everything you can from it.  Student teaching comes to mind.  It prepares you for your classroom, but there's still SO MUCH TO LEARN that can ONLY be learned through EXPERIENCE.  You have to live it.  You have to see it, do it, and experience it to make it stick.  So, I will say this:  If you can find a way to get to Atlanta and secure the funds (and a sub), seriously DO IT.  I promise you, you will not regret it.  Read the books.  Certainly read the books because they elaborate on everything and give you a context for what RCA is all about and how to transfer it to your own classroom, but then GO TO RCA to see it and live it.  It will change your teaching life.

As I wrap up this post, I am reminded of "The Dead Poet Society".  In many ways,  as much as Ron Clark reminds me of  Willy Wonka, he also reminds me of Mr. Keating.  Why?!  Well, the obvious answer would be that they both stand on desks, and they aren't afraid to go against the status quo to do what is ultimately best for kids.  I don't think we should be afraid either.  Let's bravely approach each day in the classroom, let's stand on desks (literally or metaphorically), and let's change the world one class at a time.