Lower School Dedication Marks the Dawning of a New Future

More than one thousand Ranney School students, parents and teachers gathered outside on the campus main lawn Tuesday, waving blue and white pom-poms and cheering loudly, as school administration and benefactors cut the ribbon on Ranney School’s brand new $14 million dollar Lower School Academic Complex and Panther Hall.

“Today, September 9, 2008, will long be remembered not as an ending, but as the dawning of the future,” announced Dr. Lawrence S. Sykoff, Head of Ranney School.
“In this new facility, the Ranney torch will shine brightly, inspiring teachers to stir the great minds of Ranney children, arousing all the infinite potential of knowledge, vision and honor.”

Dr. Sykoff joined past and present Ranney School leaders, including Lower School Head Patricia Marshall and former Head of School Margaret Mahon, in dedicating the building on behalf of the Charles LaFitte Foundation, a charitable organization founded and run by Ranney parents, Jeffrey and Suzanne Citron. The Citrons helped chair the school’s highly successful Foundations for Learning Phase Two capital campaign, which funded the construction of the Lower School facility, as well as recent enhancements to the school’s athletic facilities.

“Jeffrey and Suzanne’s pledge of support at the inception of this campaign served as a catalyst, prompting others to share in the vision,” Dr. Sykoff said. “Because of them, Ranney School is poised to enter its next half-century of learning, bigger, bolder and better prepared to handle the challenges of a changing world.”

The new Lower School Academic Complex, which took a mere 15 months to complete, is now home to nearly 300 students in grades one through five. Twenty new classrooms are clustered throughout the building in their own grade-level neighborhoods, each with their own locker bays and work stations. SMARTboards™ and computers are standard in every classroom. In addition, the facility includes dedicated computer and science labs, administrative office space, and a 450 seat performing arts hall, Panther Hall, which will be used by the entire Ranney student body.

An eleventh grader and member of the Ranney Thespian Society, said the new performance hall, with its large stage and venue, opens up a whole world of possibilities. “I know that we will share so many great times here: coffeehouses, dramas, musicals. I also know that just as Panther Hall will inspire us, it will also inspire the Ranney Community.” Two members of Ranney Upper School’s Forensics team also expressed similar enthusiasm for the new facility.

Dr. Sykoff pointed out to students that, although the building looks gray in color, it is also “green”, referring to its sustainable design elements. The position of the school maximizes its southern exposure, allowing natural light to cascade through the building’s interior, reducing energy use and costs. In addition, many of the materials used in the construction of the facility were made from recycled materials. The sheer number of materials used was amazing.

“It took 236 thousand feet of steel beams to hold the building together, which, if you placed end to end, would line the highway for 45 miles,” Dr. Sykoff said. “And it took 376 workers 297 days to connect all those beams together… plus the 96 doors, 370 windows, and almost 20,000 bricks.”

With the completion of the new Lower School, Ranney School reached a record enrollment this year of 818 students, nearly doubling its enrollment from a decade ago. Ranney Board of Trustee member Josie Esquivel told the assemblage that much of the credit for the school’s success goes to Dr. Sykoff for his vision and leadership. “Your careful, strategic planning has brought Ranney a new level of recognition as one of the premier college preparatory day schools in the region. We thank you for the legacy you have created for our children, and for generations of children to come.”

When Lower School Head Patricia Marshall took the stage, she invited the students to give a big “Ranney Cheer” for the school that they helped build. “For years to come,” she told them, “This building will still stand tall, and future Ranney students will fill the hallways … and they will do so because you were here today, to fill these spaces with the respect, responsibility, integrity and leadership that will keep the walls strong for years to come.”

With that, the ribbon was cut, and the doors of the new Lower School Academic Complex were thrown open for Ranney’s young students to get down to the business of learning.

For additional information on all Ranney School news, please contact the Communications Department at communications@ranneyschool.org.