Ranney School to Host State Conference for New Jersey Independent Schools

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TINTON FALLS, N.J., Oct. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ranney School, a 52-year-old college preparatory day school located in historic Tinton Falls, NJ, is honored to host the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS) Biennial Professional Development Conference on Monday, October 15, 2012, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A robust agenda of activities is planned, including lectures from renowned speakers, group discussions, networking opportunities, and carefully designed workshops led by New Jersey's top educators and administrators. It is a day that promises to inspire an estimated 1,200 school heads, CFOs, administrators and faculty representative of New Jersey's 75 NJAIS member schools.

NJAIS holds a conference with the leaders and members of independent schools across the state on a biennial basis. The goal of these conferences is to refresh and expand the perspectives of the members of the independent academic world through a full day of interaction with respected academia – locally, statewide, and nationally.

This year's conference will be themed "Mission: Possible."  The mission-driven members of NJAIS value their mission-statements and use them as a keystone for their schools, making this an appropriate theme for the conference.  The mission-statements of these independent schools all support student-centered purpose, standards of excellence, and core values within their institutions.  The highlighted speakers include:

• Tricia Tunstall, who is the keynote speaker of the Conference and will address the topic "Changing Lives: Creating Community, Forging Excellence."  She is the author of Changing Lives: Gustavo Dudamel, El Sistema, and the Transformative Power of Music. Tunstall is a long-time music educator as well as a fiction and freelance writer, having had some of her prose and nonfiction work published in a wide variety of publications.
• Dr. Michael J. Bell, an experienced school district and state-level administrator, as well as a past research editor for several education periodicals. Much of Dr. Bell's research focuses on critical and creative thinking in pre-primary and elementary grade students. Mr. Bell will speak on the topic "Playfully Promoting Critical Thinking, Imagination and Inquiry."
• Dr. Yong Zhao, author of Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization and World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students, will address the topic "World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students."
• Carole J. Everett, Executive Director of NJAIS and  Dr. Lawrence S. Sykoff, Head of Ranney School

Along with these speakers, the conference will also feature a full day of workshops presented by outstanding educators from NJ's top independent day schools. According to NJAIS, an event such as this serves to illuminate the high standards and goals for teaching New Jersey's youth in the realm of independent schools with special attention to 21^st century skills. Ranney School was selected amongst dozens of NJ schools for its state-of-the-art facilities, national reputation for providing more than 52 years of academic excellence to children across the state of NJ, and the leadership of Dr. Lawrence S. Sykoff who is now entering his 20th and final year as the transformational Head of Ranney School.

Registration is now available on the NJAIS website www.njais.org. Breakfast and lunch will be served and are included in the fee. Press passes are available  until 8:30 a.m. on Monday, October 15. Please contact Valerie Francois, Ranney School's Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter as we'll be live-tweeting the NJAIS Conference.

About NJAIS:
The New Jersey Association of Independent Schools is a non-profit, voluntary membership association whose mission is to foster the educational, ethical, and professional excellence of its member schools, while safeguarding their independence. For more information, please call NJAIS at 888-472-3491 or visit http://www.njais.org/.

About Ranney School:
Founded in 1960 and serving more than 800 boys and girls, Beginners (age 3) through grade 12, Ranney School is an independent, college preparatory day school located in historic Tinton Falls, New Jersey.  Under its motto "knowledge, vision, honor," Ranney School strives to provide an exceptional academic experience in which every child is known and valued. It emphasizes modern methods of instruction, small class sizes and traditional educational values. For more information, please call Ranney School at 732-542-4777 or visit www.ranneyschool.org.

SOURCE Ranney School