Biographical Sketch

RON CLAHAR, PhD Student, MEd, MA, BS, RN

Ron has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Hunter College, the City University of New York, an M.A. in Educational Administration from Teachers College/Columbia University, and an Ed.M. in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College/Columbia University.  He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Curriculum and Teaching.

Ron worked as a Registered Nurse for over 20 years, advancing to the level of Director of Nursing.  He founded Pat-Kam School and Early Childhood Center eighteen years ago and has expanded it gradually to its current enrollment capacity of 200 students.  It serves students from three years old to the fifth grade.  He has been the Founder/Principal since its inception.  

Ron is married and has two daughters, Patricia and Kamilah.  Patricia graduated from Harvard University in 1998 with a B.A. in Biochemistry and graduated from Columbia University in 2003 with an MBA.  Kamilah is a senior at St. John’s University majoring in government and politics.  His wife, Geraldine, is a Certified Public Accountant with a bachelor’s degree from Baruch College CUNY, and an MBA in taxation from St John’s University.

History

Ron Clahar and his wife, Geraldine, founded Pat-Kam School & Early Childhood Center in 1987, primarily because they were dissatisfied with the education their own young daughter, Patricia, was receiving.  Both of their daughters graduated from Pat-Kam and they are the inspiration for founding the school.  Pat-Kam's motto, "Because the end depends on the beginning," continues to shape the program, with parents expected to support the school's philosophy at home.