Joseph Clark
"Crazy Joe"
His Story
Principal Joe Clark came into the national spotlight in the late 1980s for his controversial methods of management at Eastside High, an inner-city school in Paterson, New Jersey. Symbolized by his familiar bullhorn and Louisville Slugger baseball bat, which he toted as he patrolled the halls of Eastside, Clark maintained an environment of staunch authoritarian discipline at the school, regularly expelling what he called “parasites”: students who were disruptive, truant, or “hoodlums, thugs and pathological deviants.”
Professional
Lean on Me" is advertised as "the true story of a real hero," but that is only half right. Near-naked dancers notwithstanding, Joe Clark is a real hero to thousands of Eastside High students for bringing pride and order to the once chaotic, inner-city school. "Lean on Me," however, is not a totally true story.
TIME
The incident, which Clark dismisses as "an ethnic dance" and "no big deal," took place too late to be included in "Lean on Me," the film opening today about Clark's determined, though sometimes misguided, efforts to improve troubled Eastside High. Judging from the way the movie turned out, it's doubtful the Latin dancers would have made it into the film, anyway.
POWER
In 1979, Clark became principal of School No. 6, in reality a tough elementary school in one of Paterson's worst neighborhoods. Ninety percent of the school's 1,000 students--mostly poor blacks and Latinos--read below grade level when Clark arrived on the scene. By 1982, the school was so much better that Clark was quietly hailed as a miracle man. That year he was dispatched to work his magic at Eastside High.
Changing a Generation
Clark moved quickly to devise a new order for Eastside. He reorganized the administrative structure at the school, replaced officials whom he considered “loafers,” and set up a chain-of-command that clearly defined responsibilities and problem-solving channels. He drew up new student policies, including a rigorous suspension system, student photo identification tags, dress code guidelines, and corridor traffic-flow management. The summer before his first term as principal he coordinated a major renovation of the building itself in order to, as he stated inLaying Down the Law, “have it as a powerful and constant ally to my disciplined program for creating and maintaining an atmosphere conducive to learning.” Broken fences, windows, and door locks were repaired, while security patrols were beefed up to monitor school grounds and keep out drug pushers. Throughout, Clark kept the extent of his plans for transforming Eastside quiet; as he recounted in Laying Down the Law, “too often, an administrator kills or weakens a good plan by telegraphing in advance what he is going to do—instead of just doing it.”
Interview with Principal Joe Clark From the movie "Lean on Me" with Morgan Freeman