Grads Report Fond Feelings of Ramapo, Indian Hills

The vast majority of recent Ramapo and Indian Hills graduates have fond memories of their high school years, with most saying they were well prepared for college, according to a survey commissioned by the administration and Board of Education.

However, the results are not a representative sample of the Classes of 2008 and 2009, and board members and the superintendent cautioned against drawing conclusions from the data.

"I don't think any one result represents what Ramapo and Indian Hills are all about," said Superintendent Dr. C. Lauren Schoen at Monday's meeting of the school board. "It's food for thought."

One-thousand graduates of the aforementioned classes were asked over winter break to complete a post-graduate survey that questioned their overall experiences within the district and their impressions of college life thus far. Only approximately 75, or 7.5 percent of the mailed surveys were returned to the district.

Furthermore, the results were anonymous and "not really scientific," said board member Sadie Quinlan. She pointed out that the board had no way of knowing what type of child returned the survey; the answers could be the input of only overachievers, for example. 

However, those who did take the time to return the surveys, which were developed by Michael Marano, the district's director of guidance and student personnel services, with board member input, for the most part reported positive impressions of Ramapo and Indian Hills while saying their college transition had been relatively seamless.

Only 15 percent of graduates reported not being satisfied when asked about their overall feeling about their high school. More than half were satisfied with their undergraduate education, with 32.9 percent very satisfied. Of those students, more than 97 percent are currently at a four-year college, 90 percent of whom plan to return to that college next year. More than 76 percent were very satisfied with their college choice.

Almost 83 percent of respondents felt that they received the necessary support to be successful when attending either Ramapo or Indian Hills. More than 80 percent of graduates said they were well prepared in high school across most subject areas, with the exception of world languages, where 72.5 percent felt they achieved a solid background at RIH.

Similarly, more than 85 percent of respondents felt they were well prepared to handle the rigors of their college course work; the social scene; campus safety; and making new friends. 

Graduates were split on what the "biggest hurdle" was to adjusting to college life.  A bit more than 36 percent said academics; 31 percent said social; and the balance of students listed issues such as class size, distance from home and even the quality of food offered at school.

The vast majority of respondents felt that AP courses at Ramapo and Indian Hills were very important in terms of college preparation, while also listing club participation and alcohol and drug awareness programs as being crucial.

The graduates of 2008 and 2009 would tell this year's seniors to be active at school, take AP courses, visit several colleges, among other suggestions. 

While almost 83 percent of graduates said the high schools offered extracurricular activities for "all" students, the almost 18 percent who felt otherwise indicated that there was too much emphasis on sports and not enough attention paid to the many student organizations found at both schools.

Marano said he would share the data with school administrators and teachers, although board member James Hogan cautioned that the board wouldn't be making any decisions off this one survey. Rather, the board should regularly survey graduates and come to conclusions as trends start to develop off of responses, Hogan said.

Member Ira Belsky offered that it would be beneficial for each question on such surveys to have an open comment question in case graduates wanted to expand on their answers. 

A lack of e-mails prompted the district to send out the surveys by mail, but the district would look to make responding easier in the future.

"Maybe this was a bit too long," Marano said of the 24-question survey. "7.5 percent is certainly something we'd like to improve on."