Life-sized murals depicting animals and fairy tale characters painted by a beloved custodian also delight youngsters and adults alike. Slogans of encouragement and school pride surround the many parent volunteers, who appear daily to assist in a variety of instructional and support programs, such as Art Expo, Lunchtime Reading Programs, and Mini-Courses. Learning is an active process with students, not merely as passive recipients of knowledge, but as shapers of their own growth. The voices and laughter of independent explorers and peer collaborators exude from classrooms as learners achieve both personal success and communal accomplishment. Our value of leadership and collaboration as professional responsibilities have caused teachers to open wide their classroom doors for demonstration lessons, peer coaching, and workshop demonstrations.
Collegial dialogues resound in all corners of the building.
Team meetings, common grade level planning time, and study groups reinforce the conversations initiated in the Media Center, at the copier, or in our Instructional Materials Center. Ridge Ranch is a 1996 New Jersey Star School. Built in 1954 and nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood, it is one of four elementary schools in a multicultural suburb of New York City. The many major highways and popular shopping malls add to the bustling vitality of the 20,000 residents. As there is no center of town, our school takes on a great social importance to the community.