Bridging cultures – Ron Clark Academy meets Soweto Basketball Academy
During a visit to South Africa last week, the Ron Clark Academy spent time with the Soweto Basketball Academy, one of the nation’s most successful development basketball clubs.
The Ron Clark Academy was co-founded by Ron Clark and Kim Bearden in the autumn of 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Clark is a renowned educator, speaker, television personality, and a New York Times bestselling author for his book, “The Essential 55“. He is celebrated for his innovative teaching strategies and dynamic approach.
Bearden is also an educator and author, who frequently shares her passion for teaching. Her teaching career has spanned four decades and she continues to serve as both a teacher and the executive director of the academy.
The Ron Clark Academy has a mission of revolutionising classrooms globally by showcasing transformative methods and techniques that can be adopted and replicated.
It visits South Africa annually and, on this occasion, the academy made time to pay a visit to the Soweto Basketball Academy, which has enjoyed an excellent season, with its girls’ team winning both the AISJ Basketball Tournament and the u18 girls’ Old Petrians Basketball Tournament, at the end of February.
Those achievements underlined the Soweto Basketball Academy’s remarkable successes in girls’ basketball, which included ending 2024 as the most successful basketball club in the country after winning nearly every available title, including the Jr. NBA title in Johannesburg.
The founder of the Soweto Basketball Academy, Monwabisi Dlamini said it was an exceptional experience to exchange ideas with the Ron Clark Academy, which he regards as one of the top schools in the United States. He said the day spent with the American visitors not only benefitted the Soweto Basketball Academy, but it also benefitted the community of Soweto.
He characterised the day as a cultural exchange among the children, who engaged in basketball and various other activities.
“It was an enjoyable day for the youth, providing a valuable opportunity for mutual learning while participating in a range of exciting events both on and off the basketball court,” he said.
The Ron Clark Academy also visited the Lesedi Cultural Village, where they explored the local culture and participated in various cultural activities. The heritage-themed eco-lodge is situated in the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage site nestled within the Magaliesberg hills, approximately 45 minutes from the central business district of Johannesburg, near Hartbeespoort Dam.
