8th Grade Science Teacher Moonlights As Pro-Dunker

ByTim Sarquis Localish logo
Thursday, February 13, 2020
8th Grade Science Teacher & Pro-Dunker
Can your science teacher dunk a basketball over your head? Didn't think so.Jonathan Clark has always loved basketball, but being on the small side, he shifted to track and received a scholarship to play at UCLA, where he became a two time All American triple jumper. Known as "J Clark The Jumper" with over 200,000 followers and millions of views, Clark has combined his love for basketball, his high jump, and his love of teaching. Now, Clark is an 8th-grade science teacher at Granite Ridge Intermediate School in Fresno, CA and uses his passion for dunking as a way to instill passion and confidence in his students!

Since he was young, Jonathan Clark, loved basketball. It was in his blood. His mother played division one basketball at Pepperdine, but being on the small side, he didn't have the height. He shifted to track and field where he received a scholarship to play at UCLA, becoming a two time All American triple jumper.

With some time going by, and few growth spurts later, Clark found his love for basketball again and he was good. Really good. After games, he would have his friends take videos of him dunking and then post to Instagram. He soon found a following as "J Clark The Jumper" with over 300,000 followers and millions of views. But when he tore his ACL, he knew he needed to make a career change to be able to take care of his family.

Clark went back to college to get his Masters in Kinesiology and while working as a substitute teacher, he found his calling. He knew he wanted to be a teacher. Now Clark is an 8th grade science teacher at Granite Ridge Intermediate School in Fresno, CA and uses his passion for dunking as a way to instill passion and confidence in his students. He lives by the phrase "Just Using My Passion to Elevate Realities" or JUMPER. He hopes by sharing his passion, it will help his students find the career path they are meant to do and know nothing is impossible.

You can follow Clark's journey on Instagram here.