Renowned Educator Ron Clark Coming to Simpsonville

Students in Greenville County Schools will enjoy two days off this week, but their teachers will be hard at work. Educators use these teacher in-service days for training, meetings and and other work. 

But rather than the typical in-service day, Thursday shapes up as something special with the arrival of educator Ron Clark.

Clark, often called “America’s Educator” and recognized by Oprah, Disney, and the White House as an exemplary educator with a unique style, will be in Simpsonville on Thursday, Oct. 18 to share his methods and philosophy with Upstate educators. 

He'll speak to teachers from 9-11 a.m. and meet with principals afterwards.

Clark has worked with disadvantaged students in rural North Carolina and Harlem, New York. He is known for his books on teaching children in middle schools.

Clark was educated at East Carolina University through the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program and accepted a job in Aurora, N.C. upon graduation in 1994. Four years later he departed for Harlem to take a job teaching elementary school in an inner-city setting. 

Clark's latest project is the Ron Clark Academy, a private non-profit school in Atlanta, Ga., where students follow a unique curriculum. The school also gives students opportunities for international travel and offers training workshops for teachers to learn more about Clark's teaching methods.

Clark was invited by A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School of Engineering in Greenville and Principal Margaret Thomason, who immediately opened the event to other principals across the Upstate. The demand was overwhelming, with almost 1,000 educators registered to attend. 

First Baptist Church of Simpsonville donated its Worship Center to hold the crowd. In addition to teachers and administrators from across the Upstate, student teachers from Clemson University and USC Upstate will also attend.