VIDEO: Oprah Gives $365K to Ron Clark Academy
Students, teachers and administrators at the Ron Clark Academy received an unexpected Christmas present this year. A few days before Christmas, Ron Clark, the founder of the innovative school in inner-city Atlanta, received a note from Oprah Winfrey. Included in the note was a check for $365,000.
Many of the school’s students come from low-income homes, and the school finds private donors to pay for most of students’ $14,000 annual tuition. Winfrey’s donation is the equivalent of a full year’s tuition for 26 of the school’s 80 students.
Clark, who was named the Disney American Teacher of the Year in 2000 and has appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” twice, surprised teachers, students and parents with the news on New Years Eve. Many cried upon hearing the news.
In her note to Clark, Winfrey praised the school’s leader for the “profound difference you're making with your passion for teaching.”
Both Clark and school co-founder Kim Bearden speak regularly with educators about the future of education, teacher and students motivation, and other education issues. For information on how to book them, visit www.premierespeakers.com/ron_clark or www.premierespeakers.com/kim_bearden.