The Magic of RCA

I have been thinking to myself for the past day that there is no way that my simple words are going to give justice to the experience that I had at RCA on Friday. My drive home from Atlanta included a phone call to both my principal and superintendent petitioning for them to not only experience RCA on their own, but to send as many teachers as possible. My superintendent said that he had heard him speak. I assured him that while that is still an extraordinary experience, there is nothing like stepping foot in to the spirited welcome that you get when you walk in to RCA for the first time. There is nothing short of magic happening at that Academy. Every person {teacher or not} should experience the electricity of these dynamic students and teachers. There is no way to put in to words how moved I was. I do feel like it would be a great injustice to not at least try.

On Thursday night, Cheryl {my sweet friend from Primary Graffiti} and I had the chance to watch the RCA musical that they perform every year. The most incredible part of this performance is that the students wrote, directed, acted, choreographed and performed the entire thing. Even more impressive is that they did it in less than four days. You do not need to go back and reread that sentence.

Four days.

They started gathering ideas on Sunday and had the entire thing completed on Thursday. Not only do these students have talent beyond my wildest imagination, but they have passion and determination. I have not met many tweens {really adults} that show such qualities.

Thursday night, we had the opportunity to have dinner with Kim Bearden and a couple other teachers from RCA. Their passion and excitement for their kids travels with them. The, the girls {Cheryl, Hope and I} stayed up a bit past our bedtime catching up and talking about RCA. I feel so fortunate to have a friend that works at this school and wanted to share it with me.

Travel with me to Friday morning. I just told you we stayed up late and we had to wake up early to get to ready for school. Imagine three girls trying to get ready in the morning before school sharing a bathroom. I have a hard enough time getting ready on my own! We made it though and headed out to get to RCA. I will admit I was feeling a little sluggish. I was trying to get as much concealer under my eyes as possible to not look like I was in a boxing ring the night before.

All of that tiredness vanished when I stepped foot in to the library that morning. Music was blaring and students were dancing for us as we walked in. Teachers were flying in the air on the trampoline and students were going out of their way to greet us with a handshake and a friendly conversation. Part of the curriculum at RCA is how to greet people and make them feel welcome. If you know me, you know that I like to have a good time. Hope told me to get on the trampoline and try to touch the ceiling.

I got close.

After the party in the library, we walked over to the school and had a party over there. We were greeted by more dancing and more hugs. Then Ron got up and started talking about the history of the school and the workings behind the scenes. If you know nothing about the Ron Clark Academy, here is short snippet of what it is all about.  The students were dismissed to their classes and we were soon to follow.

The best part of the day was watching Mr. Clark teach his 5^th grade math class. There were drums, dancing and jumping on tables, and chants. More than that, there were high expectations and rigor happening in sync. Like I said before, words cannot describe the experience. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. It was an experience that I will never forget. The energy and power behind his teaching will be a goal that I will strive for every single day for the rest of my career.

The remainder of the day was spent in other classrooms and workshops. They were all incredible in themselves. If I sat here and described every session I went to, we would be here all day. I would also love for you to go see it and experience for yourself without ruining the surprises 🙂

The end of the day was emotionally charged. I got slide certified and slid to the bottom to find more dancing and singing. When that ended, we were asked to sit to watch the students perform for their houses {think Hogwarts here}. Students were fighting for points for their houses {again, you have to go to know what I am talking about} and they had 45 minutes to come up with a performance to earn more points. It is the end of the year and all of the students were fighting for those points with every fiber of their being. You could feel their drive and energy to earn those points.

Earlier in the day, we met a student that had a speech impediment. When he came out with his group to perform, he rounded the corner and had a solo. Nobody laughed and nobody booed. Every student in the crowd got to their feet and started chanting his name and dancing with him. They were lifting him up. He was different and they were celebrating him.

They did not tell me to come prepared with tissues.

This is the school environment that they have created. There is no bullying. The words, “I can’t”, are not allowed. The only choice in that school is to be wonderful. The only option is to do more than you think you can every second of every day. It does not matter if you came in reading on level, below level or above level. You are expected to rise to the occasion and better yourself.

Mr. Clark asked us if we had anything to say to the students at the end of the day. I have a whole list of thoughts that I would like to say to these students. The thing that comes to the front of my mind is that I am a better teacher and a better person for having been in your presence for one day. I am honored to have met you. I am inspired by every smile and every hug that I received on Friday. You are changing the world inside your classrooms. Thank you for letting me be a part of your magical lives.

To my friends reading this post, if you have a bucket list, a visit to RCA should find a place on your list.

You’re booking your ticket now…right?