The Ron Clark Academy Xtreme Room Makeover Winners

The Ron Clark Academy (RCA) partnered with corporate citizens in a room makeover competition that not only changed rooms, but transformed lives.  For the third year, the Academy worked with corporate sponsors to participate in RCA Xtreme Room Makeover Competition, which provides deserving students who attend the Academy an opportunity to have their bedrooms renovated. 

Students were identified through a school-wide contest.  The judges selected eight deserving students. 

The goal of the competition is to ensure that all RCA students have a quiet, adequate and inspiring space in their home that will increase academic performance, innovation and relaxation.  Additionally, participating teams were responsible for renovating the spaces and maintaining the goals of the competition.  Some of the country’s most successful corporations, schools and executive families participated:  The Home Depot, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Promethean, Verizon Wireless, R.J. Griffin and Company, the Beecham Family, Kings Ridge Christian School and the Mixson Family.  The InterContinental Hotel Group provided rooms to families during the renovations.

“We look forward to this year after year, it is amazing to see the creativity and innovation each design team creates in their space,” said Kim Bearden, co-founder and executive director at RCA.  “It is important for our students to have a room that allows them to study and to dream big about their futures.”   

This year’s competition was held from December 3^rd – 5^th, 2010.  During that period, makeover teams entered the home of their assigned student and worked on his/her bedroom for that weekend only.   Spaces were transformed into a magical area, which were expressed in many cases as room themes, such as Under the Sea, Asian Retreat, and College Suite. 

The bedrooms were judged and the top three winners were announced in a special awards ceremony on December 14, 2010. 

First place winner was the Beecham Family and Kings Ridge Christian School with their Under the Sea themed room.  Inside the space, designers used the color schemes of aquamarine, coral and green hues to transform the room into an underwater retreat, which also housed a painted image of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea.  

 The second place winner was the Mixson Family whose room was the subject of an Asian Retreat.  The design team remodeled not just one student’s room, but decided to also transform his younger brother’s room.  He also attends the Academy.  The Asian style retreat was created with a high resolution mural inspired by the student’s recent trip to Japan. 

 This year two teams won third place Promethean for their room theme Japanese Anime and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) for their College Suite inspired room. 

 “This is an annual event that has become such a wonderful tradition at RCA.  Our students are able to have beautiful spaces that are created with the love and commitment of our sponsors.  This is an experience that they will cherish for a life time,” said Bearden.