Commissioner Bettman Visits Atlanta's Ron Clark Academy
Photo Gallery of Commissioner's Visit NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman paid a visit to Atlanta's Ron Clark Academy on Friday afternoon as part of his visit to Atlanta prior to the Thrashers' 2007-08 home opener. Bettman was accompanied by NHL Director of Youth Development and Diversity Programming Willie O’Ree, the league’s first black player, as well as other representatives from the NHL and Atlanta Spirit including Atlanta Spirit President and CEO Bernie Mullin and Vice President of Community Development LaVerne Henderson.
Founded by famed teacher and author, Ron Clark, the recently-opened, Atlanta-based Academy is located at 228 Margaret St. in southwest Atlanta. The academy is designed to provide students with a greater range of educational opportunities than traditional classroom settings. Clark's story was made into a TV movie in 2006 in which he was played by actor Matthew Perry who is a member of the Ron Clark Academy board. During the visit Commissioner Bettman and the other visitors sat in on a fifth grade algebra lesson that demonstrated Clark's revolutionary teaching techniques that rely heavily on participation and interaction. Following the lesson the students were given the opportunity to ask their guests questions. Willie O'Ree spoke about the hardship and challenges he overcame when he broke the NHL's color barrier on January 18, 1958. Gary Bettman answered questions about is duties as the commissioner of the NHL while Bernie Mullin fielded queries about what it was like to move from England to America. The guests were also given the opportunity to question the students who revealed their career goals and talked about how much they enjoyed attending the Ron Clark Academy. Following the question and answer period the class and their dynamic teacher performed a song, complete with actions, that explained the steps to solving algebraic equations.
The visitors came away amazed at the enthusiasm of the students and the effort and innovation put into Ron Clark's teaching. Commissioner Bettman referred to the experience as "absolutely out of this world" while Willie O'Ree referred to it as inspirational. In August Thrashers Steve McCarthy and Johan Hedberg joined Atlanta Spirit volunteers as they helped prepare the Ron Clark Academy for its opening day on September 4. Atlanta Spirit's relationship with the revolutionary school will continue throughout the season.
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