Oprah donates $1.5 million to inner city school in Atlanta

Oprah donates $1.5 million to inner city school in Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) -- A private middle school in inner-city Atlanta has received $1.5 million from "Oprah Winfrey":http://www.oprah.com/. The "Ron Clark Academy":http://www.ronclarkacademy.com announced the donation Thursday. The innovative school has struggled to raise money this year amid the sagging economy to pay for its $2.8 million operating budget, which is bankrolled almost entirely by donors. The school in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods is hoping to expand its campus by building a cafeteria, gymnasium and theater. Winfrey, who has had school founder Ron Clark on her show twice, donated $365,000 to the school last December. Clark wrote the best-selling teaching book "The Essential 55":http://books.google.com/books?id=_-il4NR6iBEC&dq=the+essential+55&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=ufHBH0YIob&sig=oKIXa33TA0n85ZRDI5Scy-yfV6A&hl=en&ei=WJwrS530KMyutge74ayGCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=&f=false. _Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed._