Darryle Clott earned a bachelor's degree in 1966 and a master's degree in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She retired from La Crescent (Minn.) High School in 2004 where she taught a comprehensive unit on the Holocaust for several years in her English classes. The classes inspired her to attend the Teachers' Summer Institute on Holocaust and Jewish Studies and Jewish Resistance in Poland and Israel in 2001, and she is on their alumni advisory board. As her interest in the Holocaust grew, Clott became a member of the American Friends of the Jewish Fighters Museum Consortium of Holocaust Educators and is the founder of the Midwest Holocaust Education Consortium. She is a Teacher Fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Clott leads Holocaust educator workshops and is an associate of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University. She is a member of the Chancellor's Community Council at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She is instrumental in bringing Holocaust survivors to the La Crosse community at Viterbo University including Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, Presidential Medal of Honor winner Gerda Weissmann Klein, and Otto Frank's stepdaughter Eva Schloss.
Clott was a participant in the 2006 Educators' Seminar of the Educational Program on Yiddish Culture at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York City. She is on the editorial board of Yeshiva University's PRISM: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Holocaust Educators. Clott was honored with the Gregory R Wegner Holocaust Education Award at the Congregation Sons of Abraham Synagogue in 2008 and 2014 and is the Graff Distinguished Alumnus Award winner for 2008 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. In 2009, Clott was chosen to be part of a League of Women Voters project, "The Road She Traveled," for local women who have had a significant impact on their community.
Clott is the 2009 La Crosse Toastmasters' Communication and Leadership award winner. In 2010, she was one of 10 American Holocaust educators chosen to travel to Poland to study Holocaust pedagogy with Polish Holocaust educators in a program sponsored by the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C. The La Crosse area YWCA Tribute to Outstanding Women Trailblazer Award was presented to Clott in 2010. In 2011, Clott was given the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. The medals are presented on Ellis Island to American citizens of diverse origins for their outstanding contributions to their communities, their nation and the world.
In 2014, Clott was honored by Fort McCoy with the Patriotic Civilian Service Award in appreciation for exceptional support to the Fort McCoy community of soldiers and civilians.
She received the Pope John XXIII Award for Distinguished Service from Viterbo University in 2017. The award, the highest non-academic award conferred by Viterbo, is given to those who have distinguished themselves through outstanding leadership and through service to higher education, to community and to humankind. In 2018, Clott received the Iverson Freking Ecumenical Recognition Award, which recognizes the dedication of people to ecumenical endeavors and who reflect a positive commitment to Coulee Region communities. Clott is the 2019-2020 Mrs. Oktoberfest.
Most recently in November 2023, Darryle was recognized and honored by the La Crescent Education Foundation by being inducted into the Wall of Excellence.