John Ritter of Search Associates

John Ritter has enjoyed a long and illustrious career in international education that he is pleased to continue as a Search Associate.

P.O. Box 3321 Vientiane, Lao PDR Tel: 856-21-315445 Tel: 1-570-696-4600 E-mail: rittervis@hotmail.com

His undergraduate work was completed at Claremont College (CA) and he received advanced degrees from Michigan State (Curriculum and Instruction) and Washington State (Administration) Universities. John taught English and Social Studies in California, El Salvador and Nepal before becoming Director of the Lincoln School in Kathmandu in 1977. He went on in 1981 to be the first overseas-hired Director of the International School of Beijing for four years before entering the Visiting Practitioner program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and consulting with schools in Asia.

Following a stint as Middle School Principal at Robert College (Istanbul, Turkey), he became Director of the International School of Amsterdam from 1988-90 and then led the American International School of Lusaka, Zambia for the next nine years, completing construction of the new campus. In 1999. John became Director of the Vientiane International School (Laos), overseeing the expansion and growth of VIS through high school and accreditation.

John has served on several visiting teams for accreditation, the Board of Directors of the Association of International Schools in Africa and has been a frequent presenter at professional conferences, perhaps being best noted for helping schools integrate host country environments into a school's curriculum. In 1997, he was named "National Distinguished Principal" by the US Department of Education and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

John and his wife, Susan, will remain in Laos following his departure from VIS in June, 2006. This will provide an ideally located base for administering the Search Fairs in Bangkok (Jan.) and Kuala Lumpur (April), as well as his consulting activities in governance and curriculum.

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