ATLANTA (NEXSTAR) —
Can you imagine being in middle school and shooting a professional music video about this place, the city you love — at the stunning stadium behind me with one of the world’s biggest rappers? Pretty cool, right? But that’s far from the most amazing part of this story.
From Luda to Keisha, the biggest names in the ATL wanted to help these kids showcase the city they love.
“Which was ah-mazing,” said Jordan Barber, a student at Ron Clark Academy. “At first I had to keep my cool, but I was so excited.”
If you need a Big Game Super Bowl visitors’ guide to Atlanta, they’ve got it: from the sites to the eats. But, get this: they did this as part of their school.
“I don’t think I’d find this kind of love anywhere else,” Jordan said. “It’s a family, from my teachers to my peers.”
So what kind of school has all that? Ron Clark Academy.. It has an arctic blast, trap doors, a slide, and…
“There’s a big red mystery button when we get a challenge,” Richard Washington said. “I can’t tell you what it does, but it’s amazing!”
So, of course, we had to find out.
What it does? Cues an epic dance party where the kids dance on their desks to a disco ball.
“It all makes more sense when you meet the school’s founder, Ron Clark.
“Our school is so hard, it’s rigorous,” Clark said. “It’s probably the most rigorous middle school in the country, it’s rough. But then what we do is bring it to life through hands on lessons, it’s fun, we rap our lessons. Now let’s get down to some presidential learnin’,” he said then rapped.
If you recognize that beat it’s because it’s from the school’s viral hit in 2008, “You Can Vote However You Like.”
A different generation of Ron Clark kids, but the same concept and it is still working. The school has a 100 percent high school graduation rate for its alumni, a 95 percent college graduation rate, and has won national accolades for robotics, Model UN, and step. More than 50,000 educators from all 50 states and 26 countries have trained at Ron Clark Academy.
The students are remarkable poised and talented whether rapping, talking, or debating. So, how?
“Well ,they tell you you are amazing and can do great things, and eventually you believe it,” Jordan said.
THAT, to use Jordan’s favorite word, is the most amazing part. Well, Richard has one more thing about the ATL he thinks might be almost as good.
“The Varsity,” Richard said.
Clark said he’s just trying to help his kids learn and isn’t trying go viral, that they just do: As of Super Bowl Saturday, the video had more than 87,000 views on its original post alone. You can watch it here.
