Mr. Barton Clark, a man in love with cars (especially hot rods), was working at Arcadia High School for about a year when he realized that he needed a new start after a “life-changing moment.” He and Casa Grande thought he would be a good fit for his “vastly superior knowledge” on physics, biology, and science in general.

Before teaching, Clark was a Pre-Med major. He switched his major to Physics and Astronomy and then switched again to Mechanical Engineering. Clark has 25 years of experience of teaching at other schools: he spent 20 years at Sir Francis Drake High School, 4 years at Berkeley High School, and 1 year at Arcadia High School.

Clark had two role models while growing up and going through school. Those two people were his stepfather and his professor Lester Clen Denning. His stepfather, a physicist at Stanford University, is the reason he fell in love with physics. His professor Denning was a “boring” teacher but was “great in office hours.” Denning was the one who actually advised Clark that he should switch his major from Pre-Med to Physics and Astronomy. You can thank Professor Lester Clen Denning for helping to bring Clark to our school.

Clark teaches in a way that is entertaining and a way to learn. For one lesson, he brought his class outside to show an example of what sunlight and mirror can combine to do. Clark put a tissue on the end of a meter stick and watched the science unfold . . . smoke . . . maybe a little bit of fire. Not much, but very interesting. “He’s a fun and energetic teacher,” says student Tyler Weeks. Clark also “makes a fun way of learning and teaching science,” according to student Max Williams.

Clark loves being here at the “Big House” and can’t wait to build more connections and teach more students to expand their knowledge of the world around them. Clark explains what he likes about Casa Grande: “Fantastic, I really love the school, the administration, and all of the neat classes like auto shop and gardening.”