A former Army drill instructor, Clark sees education as a mission. He thwarts those who believe that the learning process is disrupted by tough discipline. Instead of offering sympathy, Clark held high expectations for his students, challenging them to develop habits for success and confronting them when they failed to reform. On a single day during his first week at Eastside High School, Clark expelled 300 students for fighting, vandalism, drug possession, profanity or abusing teachers. Without discipline, there is anarchy.
Good citizenship demands attention to responsibilities as well as rights.
After two years of his leadership, the formerly raucous institution was declared a model school by New Jersey's governor. Clark earned his bachelor's degree from William Paterson College and went on to be a master's candidate at Seton Hall University. After seven years as principal of Eastside High School, he resigned in 1990 and began sharing his message as a speaker on the country's lecture circuit. Clark's latest crusade began in 1995, when he was appointed director of the Essex County Youth House, a juvenile detention center in Newark, New Jersey. He says he accepted this challenging position because he wants to affect change and because he is committed to Newark, where he grew up.