July 13, 2007

Too Cool for School

Give to The Ron Clark Academy

What’s that they say about those who can? Careful now. Last time you tried to teach a lesson, somebody wound up with a black eye.

Admit you can’t and leave the teaching to The Ron Clark Academy, the fifth- through eighth-grade community school opening this fall in South Atlanta.

Clark designed the school around his nontraditional teaching techniques, which have turned around underserved classrooms from Harlem (where he started) to Beijing (his breakout book is a hit with educators the world over).

Flat-screens in the restrooms (an antifighting distraction), a rooftop garden, and a school chef (to promote healthy eating) will no doubt deter lunch line and loo shenanigans. The 10,000-volume library with a Scooby Doo-esque revolving door might make kids actually want to read. Commissioned hallway artwork by top graffiti artists should keep amateur “I heart ____” (or worse) scrawlers at bay.

Sure, Clark’s got some big doers behind him already (Oprah’s a fan and Matt Perry played him on TV), but he’s a firm believer in true, community-based education. And that’s where you come in.

Cough up a calculator, give a globe, or — even better — sponsor and mentor a student.

And let that be a lesson to you.

The Ron Clark Academy, 228 Margaret Street, Lakewood (678-651-2100 or ronclarkacademy.com).