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Education keynote speakers

Ron Clark

America's Educator and Founder of the Ron Clark Academy

Speaking feeFee on requestConfirmed for your date on request
  • Keynote · Workshop · Virtual
  • English
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Headliner can arrange a booking with Ron Clark or their representative. This profile is compiled from public sources; availability and fees are confirmed on request. A listing here does not imply endorsement, affiliation, partnership, or exclusivity.

Signature keynotes

What your audience walks away with

  • Outcome

    Be 1% Better

    Built on his 2024 book, this is his most current keynote. Big change feels impossible when a team is already exhausted, so Clark does the opposite: he shares dozens of small, achievable "one percenter" improvements that cost almost nothing and compound into major impact. If everyone commits to just ten of them, a school or a company transforms. Practical, funny, and exactly what a stretched-thin audience needs to hear.

  • Move Your Bus: Building a High-Performance Team

    His corporate and leadership signature. Using the framework from his best-seller, Clark sorts any organization into drivers, runners, joggers, walkers, and riders, then shows leaders how to recognize who is really moving the bus, how to develop the rest, and how to build a culture where more people choose to run. A fresh, memorable lens on teamwork and performance for business audiences.

  • Improve Your School's Climate and Culture

    More than one hundred techniques for infusing joy, energy, and belonging into a building so that students and staff actually want to be there. Drawn straight from what makes the Ron Clark Academy work, this is the how-to session districts request again and again.

  • House Systems 101

    The Ron Clark Academy's most famous engine of culture. Clark walks audiences through how to launch or level up a house system that motivates students, builds teamwork across grade levels, and turns a school into a community. A complete, practical playbook.

  • Creativity, Passion and Resilience

    A high-energy motivational keynote for educators and leaders who feel worn down. Part strategy, part inspiration, Clark reignites the reason people got into their work in the first place and sends them back re-energized and ready.

  • The Ron Clark Story: Teaching Through Adversity

    His personal journey, live. From a small town in North Carolina to a struggling Harlem classroom to founding a school in an old Atlanta warehouse, Clark models the innovative, vibrant techniques that made his name, and shows any audience what refusing to give up on people actually looks like.

The story

Who Ron actually is

Ron Clark is one of the most recognized and celebrated educators in America, known to millions simply as "America's Educator." He is a New York Times best-selling author, Disney's American Teacher of the Year, and the founder of the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, one of the most acclaimed schools in the country.

Born in 1972 in Chocowinity, North Carolina, Clark earned his degree from East Carolina University through the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program and began his career at an elementary school in rural Aurora, North Carolina. He then moved to a struggling school in Harlem, New York, where his class of so-called low achievers finished the year outperforming the district's gifted classes. That success earned him Disney's American Teacher of the Year in 2000 and a national platform, including two appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where Oprah named him her first "Phenomenal Man." His first year in Harlem was later dramatized in the TNT film The Ron Clark Story, with Matthew Perry in the title role, a performance that earned Perry Golden Globe, SAG, and Emmy nominations.

In 2003, Clark published The Essential 55, a set of 55 expectations for students and for life. Championed on Oprah, it became a runaway best-seller, selling more than one million copies in the United States and appearing in 25 languages. More books followed, including The Excellent 11, The End of Molasses Classes, the leadership parable Move Your Bus, and, in 2024, Be 1% Better.

In the fall of 2007, Clark and co-founder Kim Bearden opened the Ron Clark Academy in a renovated warehouse in southeast Atlanta. The nonprofit middle school serves students from a wide range of economic backgrounds and doubles as a national training site for teachers. Its famous house system, high-energy instruction, and joyful culture have made it internationally known, and its videos routinely go viral. Since 2007, more than 165,000 superintendents, administrators, and teachers from around the world have trained through the RCA Experience, learning to bring the same energy and results back to their own schools.

Today Clark keynotes for education systems and Fortune 500 companies alike, turning his hard-won lessons on high expectations, culture, and relentless energy into strategies any audience can use. On stage, as in the classroom, his goal is the same: to make people believe in what they are capable of, and to give them the tools to get there.

The receipts

Books & publications

  • The Essential 55

    2003

    his 2003 breakout best-seller. 55 expectations for students, and for anyone, on manners, respect, and discipline. Sold more than a million copies in the United States and published in 25 languages.

  • The Excellent 11

    2004

    a 2004 guide to eleven qualities, from adventure and ingenuity to humor and love, that great teachers and parents bring to learning.

  • The End of Molasses Classes

    2011

    a 2011 collection of 101 extraordinary solutions that challenge educators and parents to embrace bold, joyful classroom innovation.

  • Move Your Bus

    2015

    a 2015 leadership parable that sorts any team into runners, joggers, walkers, and riders, and shows how to build a high-performance culture. Foreword by Sean Covey.

  • Be 1% Better

    2024

    his 2024 book on dozens of small, low-cost improvements that compound into major impact for a school or a team.

Gravity

Career highlights & recognition

  • Milestone2000

    Disney's American Teacher of the Year (2000)

    earned through his work with students in low-wealth areas of North Carolina and New York City

  • Credential

    Founder and co-founder of the Ron Clark Academy

    Atlanta, a nationally and internationally acclaimed middle school and educator training site

  • Milestone2007

    More than 165,000 educators trained

    through the RCA Experience since 2007

  • Milestone

    New York Times best-selling author

    of The Essential 55, which sold 1 million-plus copies in the United States and was published in 25 languages

  • Award

    Subject of The Ron Clark Story

    starring Matthew Perry, nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Made for Television Movie

  • Milestone

    Oprah Winfrey's first "Phenomenal Man,"

    with national features on Today, CNN, and Oprah

  • Credential2024

    Author of six books

    across education and leadership, including the 2024 release Be 1% Better

  • Milestone

    A viral force in education

    with roughly 415,000 personal Instagram followers and 236,000 for the Ron Clark Academy

Booking with confidence

What to expect when you book Ron

  • 01

    Compiled from public sources

    This profile is built from public, verifiable material and stamped with the date it was last reviewed. Nothing here is a claim we cannot trace to a source.

  • 02

    Availability and fees, confirmed

    Tell us your date and brief, and we confirm Ron's availability and current fee on request. We never publish a fabricated figure or imply an exclusivity we do not hold.

  • 03

    Managed end to end

    From first inquiry to the day itself, Headliner handles briefing, contracting, and logistics, so your team can focus on the event.

Answers

Booking questions, answered

What is Ron Clark's speaking fee?

Ron's fee is provided on request. It varies by date, location, format, and whether the engagement is in person or virtual. Share your brief and we'll come back with current pricing and availability.

Is Ron Clark available for my event date?

Availability changes with Ron's schedule and the season. Tell us your date and we'll confirm whether Ron is open, and hold the slot while you decide.

How do I book Ron Clark for my event?

Ron Clark is booked through Headliner. Tell us your event date, audience, and goals, and we'll confirm availability and the next steps — typically within four business hours.

How much does Ron Clark charge to speak?

Ron's fee depends on date, location, format, and whether the session is in person or virtual. It is provided on request, so share your brief and we'll confirm a precise figure and availability.

Can I hire Ron Clark for a corporate event?

Yes. Ron is represented for speaking engagements through Headliner on a non-exclusive basis and regularly takes corporate keynotes, conferences, and leadership events. Share your brief to check availability.

Can I book Ron Clark for a virtual keynote?

Yes. Ron presents virtual keynotes as well as in-person sessions. Virtual fees are typically quoted below a live keynote, so tell us your format for a precise quote.

What formats does Ron offer?

Ron is available for Keynote, Workshop, Virtual and Moderation engagements. We'll match the format to your audience and run-of-show.

What does Ron speak about?

Ron's keynote themes include Classroom Culture, Student Engagement, Teaching Excellence and Team & Culture. Each talk is tailored to your audience and outcomes.

What languages does Ron present in?

Ron presents in English.

Where does Ron travel from?

Ron is based in Atlanta, GA and travels internationally for engagements; virtual sessions are also available.

Profile updated . Compiled from public sources — confirm current fees and availability with Headliner.

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