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Alums Return to Campus for Legacy Family Event

Members of eight Ranney School families came to a special “Legacy Family” breakfast on January 28, 2014. A “legacy family” is one which has had more than one generation attend the school. Held in the Searle Library, the longest standing library on campus that features a stone fireplace, vaulted ceiling and warm lodge-like design, was the perfect setting for bringing these families together to talk about Ranney traditions and shared experiences. Also in attendance were Head of School Dr. John W. Griffith and several members of the Headmaster’s Cabinet.

“It is such a privilege for us to welcome our alumni back to campus, meet their spouses, and see them with their own children who are now Ranney students,” said Head of School Dr. John W. Griffith. “Our legacy families are some of our greatest ambassadors, and we are so appreciative of them and their commitment to the school.” Dr. Griffith added that the school has recognized the need to find more opportunities to connect with alumni and recently named Tom Moriau as its new Director of Alumni Relations to facilitate more lifelong active relationships. “Our alumni are essential to the success and growth of our school, and more importantly, are like family to us,” said Dr. Griffith. “We look forward to welcoming more of our alumni back ‘home’ to Ranney School.”

Elizabeth Roberts ’15, and her brother Alexander ’18, have both been attending Ranney since they were 3 years old in our Beginners’ program (watch a video about our Early Childhood program)and they represent one of the school’s first Legacy Families. Their father, Doug Roberts, graduated from Ranney in 1979 and today, is a Ranney School Board Member. “It’s interesting to hear from my dad the comparison of what the school used to be and what it is today,” said Elizabeth during the Legacy Family Breakfast. As vice president of the student council, Elizabeth has a keen insight into everyday student life and laughs, saying that her father has also shared several stories about his on-campus experiences. “A lot of his childhood, my childhood and my brother’s childhood, has been spent here at Ranney and we have many shared connections through that experience,” she added.

Fourth-grader Isabella (“Bella”) DeLisa has a similar take on what it means to be part of a Ranney Legacy Family. “It’s really cool,” she said. “I feel really lucky because the generation has passed down [this experience]. My father started it, I’m the second and my children will be the third. It’s like a rotation!”

For Bella’s father, Peter DeLisa, a member of the class of 1984, the term “legacy family” means “entrusting the care of my daughter and her education to an institution that I know and have seen evolve over the years—one that is constantly improving.” He says he chose to have Bella attend his alma mater because of the people here at Ranney—the students and the teachers. “The biggest asset the school provides is the people,” says Mr. DeLisa, who says he still keeps in touch with his friends who also attended. “Ranney provides a lifetime of good people.”

Looking ahead, Mr. DeLisa says he hopes to see continued growth in new programs such as robotics, technology and world languages—“the things that give people a leg up in life,” he adds. As for Bella, she’s hoping that Ranney will have a gymnastics program by the time she reaches the Upper School.

Mr. John Kiely, who attended Ranney’s Middle and Upper Schools,now has two daughters at Ranney, second-grader Kaitlyn and pre-kindergartner Tarin. “It was a team effort with my wife [Maryellen] in the decision to send our children here. We looked at a lot of schools, both public and private, and found that Ranney was the perfect choice. And of course, I had a great comfort level with it.”

Mr. Kiely and Mrs. Ellen (Scott) Presutti, who also attended Ranney,both said they want the best for their children, as all parents do, and expressed confidence in Ranney’s role. Mrs. Presutti and her husband Bill Presutti have two children at Ranney, fifth-grader William and second-grader Alexandra. When selecting a school, she said, “We felt that Ranney had the right balance—the education, the extra-curriculars, the sports and, for us, the transportation was also important.” A fan of athletics in schools, Mrs. Presutti added that she would like to see Ranney’s sports program grow in the coming years to encourage more student participation. “Expecting more of students and families in this area can also help to increase school spirit,” she noted.

Another family whose enthusiasm lies with athletics is Michael ’00 and Emily (Knopf) ’01 Kuskin, who met as students at Ranney. “I played tennis in Middle and Upper School at Ranney, and Michael played both tennis and golf,” explained Mrs. Kuskin.

“I had a very small class size of about 23 students, so it was hard to get enough people together to form sufficient teams,” recalls Mr. Kuskin. “Now, there seem to be more opportunities with the larger class sizes.” The couple also discussed the “amazing transformation” Ranney has gone through since they graduated. We had such a positive experience here and loved the school,” said Mrs. Kuskin.

“We had such a positive experience here and loved the school,” said Mrs. Kuskin. “We moved to New York City and then moved back knowing that it was always the plan to send our children here.”
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Events like the Legacy breakfast offer Ranney alumni community opportunities to connect with each other and to engage with the school while reminiscing with fellow legacy families. The special ties that bind our community are unique and the memories and traditions of our alumni families are ones that our school treasures. We look forward to annual gatherings like this and others, which bring our alumni family even closer to our mission and shared purpose.

Also in attendance at the January breakfast were Mrs. Joy (Vastola) Mangano ’78 and her seventh-grade daughter Arianna; Mr. Dan ’95 and Mrs. Irene (Bolante) Paulus ’96 and their three children, Woody, Sloane and first-grader Isabella; and Mrs. Renee Whiteman (her husband Dr. Andrew Whiteman graduated in 1985) and their children, seventh-grader Brandan and fourth-grader Melanie. You can watch a video interview with the Paulus family and other alums here.
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society.