Ericas Ed-Ventures

Primary Education Ideas

My Visit to RCA

On Thursday night, I flew to Atlanta to visit The Ron Clark Academy.  Friday was by far the best day of staff development I have ever attended.  It was just beyond amazing.

We were greeted at the gates of the academy by The Ron Clark himself.  He leads you into the school’s library where there is this massive trampoline.   Kim Bearden was there helping people get into the trampoline gear.  My brave friends, Cara and Elizabeth tried it out.  Here is the video of Elizabeth on it.  You can hear the excitement in the room.

The students at RCA are all so polite.  They walked around introducing themselves and asked us questions.   From there we were off to sessions.  We were split into groups and guided by parent volunteers.  Our sessions alternated between observing some of the teachers teach and sessions about engaging students.  I was thoroughly impressed with the staff, the volunteers, and the students.  The energy at the school was just contagious.

Two of those fabulous teachers just so happen to be our friends, Hope and Wade King.  They are both AMAZING.  I am so proud to know them.

Many people on Instagram were asking me, “Is it appropriate for a first grade teacher?”  The answer: “YES!”  I took away so many tips and ideas that I want to implement in my classroom.

I strongly recommend reading Ron and Kim’s books.  Even though I already owned them, I bought more copies at the academy and had them signed.  They are treasured possessions.

It probably came out to the most expensive professional development I have ever attended because I had to fly on a plane to get there.  My advice if you are wanting to visit: make it a trip with your friends, like we did.  It was not only amazing professional development, but it was a fun girls’ weekend as well.  
Here are some more photos from the trip and from RCA’s photographer:

 We also attended their girls’ and boys’ basketball games….amazing!!

Hope’s Room!

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share about my fabulous RCA experience. 

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  5. I am DYING to go there! I am currently in charge of choosing one of Ron's books for my school to do a book study. Which one would you recommend? I teach in a k-2 school, so preferably one that can help us with strategies to engage primary students!

    Thanks!
    Gina
    Miss Peluso's Kindergarten