Oprah does it again

In all the rush and bustle of news about this celebrity doing something stupid, or the media failing in it's mission to the public there are stories that we all miss or fail to recognize. For me that means that there is an item that I intended to write about that I completely about.

In this case it is Oprah Winfrey and what she did at the end of the year. It was a Christmas gift, the likes of which provides more than just money or an material item it provides the chance at a better life. And it's something I think deserves more attention.

In Atlanta, the one of the poorest neighborhoods is a private school run by Ron Clark. This is the teacher who wrote the New York Times best selling book The Essential 55, and opened the Ron Clark Academy. That Academy provides students with in-class computers, a dark rook, a 2-story library, a recording studio, a dance studio and digital recorders. In effect it stimulates the students minds and imaginations with the technology of today and the opportunity to use it. But that isn't cheap.

The school, which was created in part from the proceeds of Ron Clark's book sales, requires a tuition from the parents of those children accepted. The portion of tuition parents pay is miniscule compared to the actual cost, and from the 350 applications for the 50 seats available in the school low and middle income families find it worth the money. That means there is a huge deficit.

Clark makes up that difference in raising donations for the school. It's a daily job that goes on every night after the school day has finished. And the commitment he has shown has helped to bring in funds. And Oprah stepped up as well. She provided the school with a donation that will allow 26 children to attend the school for 1 year. That's $365,000. More importantly that is a child learning.

There is no question that Oprah is dedicated to many causes, chief among them is education. Besides the money for the Ron Clark Academy, she has donated $4 million on education alone last year. That alone equals or exceeds tons of entertainers, celebrities, politicians, and businesses. And as such I think it deserves to be mentioned. Even if I am getting to it after the fact, by my own fault.

I wish more celebrities could be like this. I certainly wish there were more teachers like Ron Clark. Because if we don't invest in our children then we fail to invest in our future.