Ray Bandlow

Ray Bandlow, Superintendent of the Fort Lee Public Schools in Fort Lee, New Jersey, has a long and exceptional record in the field of education. During his time in that position, Bandlow has reduced the budget while improving the quality of education, restored stability to the management of the district, and increased the number of students reaching advanced levels of academic proficiency. Under Ray Bandlow’s administration, the school district also earned the U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School designation for the first time. Ray Bandlow’s higher education began at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. There he studied and completed a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and Sciences with a secondary in Teaching, as well as a Master of Arts in History. Bandlow’s education continued in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, where he obtained his Doctor of Educational Leadership. Ray Bandlow also completed two postdoctorate study programs, one in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the Harvard University Center for Law and Education, the other at Columbia University Teachers College in New York. The programs were in equity, equal opportunity, and cultural diversity. Beginning in 1990, Ray Bandlow has amassed a wealth of experience in school leadership. He acted as Superintendent of Schools for six years at the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District in Princeton Junction, New Jersey. While there, he raised student achievement levels until the district led the state in National Merit Scholars. From 2001 to 2007, Ray Bandlow managed the Hillside Public Schools in Hillside, New Jersey, as Superintendent of Schools. He doubled math proficiency percentages, restored the damaged reputation of the district and its Board of Education, and increased Advanced Placement class enrollment by 55 percent. Ray Bandlow’s efforts have earned him national recognition several times. He won the 2008 National Administrator of the Year Award, and he received the Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Contribution as an Educational Leader from the Rider University School of Education. In addition, the National Conference of Christians and Jews (now the National Conference For Community & Justice) selected Ray Bandlow as the Keynote Speaker for their Annual Recognition Dinner.