Area public, private schools form Greater Ozarks Conference

Seven area public and private schools are the founding members for a new athletic, academic and activities conference.

Called the Greater Ozarks Conference, the initiative is designed as a consortium that would have a common goal of fostering student development, according to a news release.

The founding members are Billings, Crane, Greenwood Laboratory School, Marion C. Early, New Covenant Academy, Pleasant Hope and Spokane.

"Conference affiliation is essential to the recognition of students and collaboration of educators leading to progressive and needed changes," said Shaundra Ingram, superintendent of Pleasant Hope R-VI Schools, in the release. "The Greater Ozarks Conference provides member schools with the ability to provide sports, academics and activities aligned to their specific schools’ needs without the potential loss of conference affiliation.”

The Greater Ozarks Conference is slated to provide a unified structure for members to improve academic achievement, extracurricular activities and professional collaboration.