High Schools' University Programs Could Open to All

A proposal to change the nature of half of the regional high school district's University Programs was met with opposition Monday night.

Residents in attendance at the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education's regular meeting objected to a recommendation to discontinue three of the programs as they're currently run by opening them up to any student as an elective course. Currently, students must make a four-year commitment and be accepted into the rigorous programs.

"You guys are going to dismantle a program when you should be looking at how to make it stronger," said Richard Cooley of Wyckoff, whose son is in the University Program.

Board members and the administration said declining enrollment was at the root of the recommendation to open Information Technology, Theater Arts and Communications to any student, starting with freshman coming into the district in September 2011.

"The idea is to expand electives to the entire student body in those with lower enrollment," said board member Ira Belsky, a member of the Education Committee that proposed the change. "We're expanding opportunities rather than reducing opportunities."

The board did not take action on the recommendation, which was discussed with an eye toward eighth-grade open houses in October. Should the proposal be adopted, students currently in the affected University Programs would not see their course work changed at all; rather, the Class of 2015 would be free to take Theater, Communications and/or Information Technology like any other elective course, starting next year.

"It's not going to impact anyone currently in the programs," board President Wayne Peterson said.

Additionally, the remaining three programs—International Studies and Business, Science Medicine and Research, Engineering and Design—would not be altered under the proposal.

At least two district students, Felicia Sparozic and Ian Cooley, worried about future students, even if their programs are unaffected.

Sparozic said freshmen and sophomore students would suffer without the help of seniors who had made a four-year commitment to one of the three programs and credited the exclusive program with helping her develop as a person.

"They have taken my very basic knowledge and built me up," said Sparozic, an incoming Ramapo junior in the Theater Arts University Program.

According to the report prepared by the Education Committee (Belsky, Jane Castor, Sadie Quinlan) for the full board, "a tension exists between the value of an educational program with a more enhanced focus on a particular subject matter and the exclusion of otherwise interested students who do not want to narrow their field of study.

"Excluding students from University Program courses is not advisable in those instances where a program lacks a critical mass of students sufficient to justify the dedicated resources necessary to maintain the program on a restricted basis," the report states.

Belsky told the board Monday that the three targeted programs have seen declining enrollment for at least the last five years, and Castor, the chair of the Education Committee, said the committee "was interested in another way" to boost involvement in theater, communications and IT.

"When they're run to capacity, it seems there's some justification for how the programs are set up," said Castor, who noted that international studies, science and engineering consistently attract many students.

However, some in attendance doubted whether enrollment is actually declining while suggesting the proposal is being made solely for budgetary reasons. Beth Sparozic of Wyckoff, Felicia's mother, suggested the board is "looking to get rid of the teachers."

Members said money and staffing is not at issue. Rather, the proposal is being made after consideration of the merits of an inclusionary program versus an exclusionary course of study, Belsky said.

"The committee determined that where the number of students enrolled in programs is consistently small relative to other programs, then denying other students the opportunity to take University Program courses could not be justified," the report states.

Additionally, funding was cut for three of the programs (theater, communications and international studies) as part of the reduced 2010-11 school budget, bringing them more in line with the funding for the remaining three programs.

"The intent of the board is not to pick on theater arts," Superintendent Dr. C. Lauren Schoen said.

Full enrollment data was not readily available Tuesday, although Peterson said the Class of 2014 has 13 students enrolled in the communications program and 18 signed up for the theater commitment.

Some parents argued that the exclusionary nature of the University Programs is what makes them special.

"They're learning life skills in these programs," said Terri Alhmeyer of Wyckoff. "How much more bang for your buck can you get with these programs?"

Alhmeyer, whose son George graduated Ramapo's Communications program, also said the four-year commitment is essential for developing the expertise necessary to be successful in the course of study.

"These kids are handling equipment worth thousands of dollars," she said. "You need to have the technical expertise" and shouldn't seek to open up the offerings "cafeteria style" to everyone.

"It's a huge disservice to them to dumb down the program," Alhmeyer said.

Peterson said students taking a program as an elective would not be mixed with those students in the existing four-year programs.

Jo Anne Zellers of Wyckoff said she would "hate to lose momentum" on a 10-year-old program that reflects well on the district's academic standards.

Further discussion is likely at the board's September meeting, and members and the administration said they would take the public's comments into consideration before making any decision on the future of the University Programs.