Parents, Students Lobbying to Preserve Exclusive University Programs

Parents and former students are mobilizing support for three University Programs at the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District that are in danger of being eliminated as exclusive courses of study.

Opponents to the proposal to open the Information Technology, Theater Arts and Communications programs to any student as an elective, starting with the Class of 2015, are writing letters to the school board and administration, utilizing social media and urging similar-minded parents to attend the board's next meeting.

"We'll speak as one voice" at the board's Sept. 13 session, said Terri Alhmeyer of Wyckoff, whose son graduated Ramapo's Communications program.

The University Programs are honors-level courses of study that parents say compete well with the Bergen County Academies, offering committed students a concentration in an area of interest. Students with at least a "B" average in seventh and eighth grade can apply, submitting an essay and teacher recommendations that are vetted by an admissions committee. If accepted to one of the six University Programs, students must make a four-year commitment to take specific courses.

However, the decade-old program could be altered within the Information Technology, Theater Arts and Communications concentrations, per a recommendation from the school board's Education Committee, comprised of members Ira Belsky, Jane Castor and Sadie Quinlan. They propose to keep the programs intact for incoming freshman starting school next week but would change them to electives for rising eighth-graders attending Ramapo or Indian Hills high schools in fall 2011. The remaining University Programs—International Studies and Business, Science Medicine and Research, Engineering and Design—would remain as exclusive courses of study.

Students currently on track to finish a University Program would not be affected, and the board members have said that students taking courses as electives in the future would not be in the same classes as those completing the four-year commitment.

The proposal drew the ire of parents in attendance at the board's last meeting and has sparked an effort to campaign on behalf of Theater, Communications and Information Technology, complete with a Facebook page, Save the Ramapo UP Theater Arts & Communications Programs.

Electives?

"I feel that it is important to have the University Programs stay intact," said Kathy Jager, president of UPTAC, the parent group that supports theater and communications students. Jager said the rigorous courses cannot be compared to other electives. Students taking them as electives "are probably going to be dropping out."

Stefanie Burns, a 2007 Ramapo graduate who was a Theater Arts student, agrees. "I don't think opening the program up would be beneficial to other students. If the other students are serious enough about the programs, they should definitely commit and apply to be in one of them. I think the result of that action would lead to students being involved in the classes without sincere dedication to what they are studying, and overall ruin the positive energy and the uniqueness of the program.

"Part of the reason the program was so beneficial to me was because of the close knit group of students that were involved. Having every class with the same group of students allowed us to build relationships that were non-existent in normal high school classes. It also allowed us to develop trust that is needed to feel comfortable performing in front of each other," said Burns, an Ithaca College student.

Kevin Barry, a 2009 Ramapo grad who completed the Communications program, also said it would be a "bad idea" to open the courses to any student. However, Barry, a Syracuse University student, is concerned with the specialized equipment utilized by such students: "The equipment that all three programs work with is extremely expensive (especially in a TV studio) and having those areas open to all the students would result in simply too much wear and tear, resulting in costs that are too high to replace as often as would be necessary."

However, other former University Program students said opening up the coursework to all could be accomplished.

"I think that it would be fair to open a limited amount of theater, communications and IT courses to all students, but the more specific and career-oriented courses should still be restricted specifically for those selected into the programs," said Francesca Toscano, a 2010 Ramapo graduate from the Theater Arts program and current Ithaca student. "The caliber of certain courses would be greatly diminished without a prior screening of admitted students, and the intensive and difficult required coursework could not be accomplished."

Chris D'Amico, a 2009 Ramapo Communications graduate and William Paterson University student, said "many students will take advantage of having the privilege of an entire period of using multi-million dollar equipment" if the programs were opened to all. However, D'Amico cautioned that students should then only have the option of taking freshman-level courses to start, even if they're dabbling in a former University Program course as an upperclassman.

Rationale

The Education Committee has said that declining enrollment and the exclusionary nature of the University Programs guided their decision to recommend a change.

"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," the committee's report to the board states. "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 had told the board and parents that enrollment has been on the wane for the past five years in Theater Arts, Communications and Information Technology. Data supplied by the administration shows that International Studies and Business, Science Medicine and Research and Engineering and Design have been more popular with students over the past six years, although Theater Arts and Communications saw an uptick in interest among the incoming freshman.

For example, the Class of 2014 has 14 students enrolled in Communications; 15 in Theater Arts; and 13 in Information Technology. Fewer students were interested in the liberal arts offerings among the Class of 2013, with eight in Communications and 11 in Theater Arts, although 16 sophomores are enrolled in Information Technology. Overall, 63 students have enrolled in Communications within the past six classes; 70 in Theater Arts; and 94 in Information Technology. The programs have annually averaged 11, 12 and 16 students, respectively, within the past six years.

In contrast, the Class of 2014 has 21 students enrolled in Engineering and Design; 19 in Science; and 15 in Business. Enrollment has gone up and down over the past six years in those programs, although they've fairly consistently outdrawn the liberal arts offerings. Overall, 97 students have enrolled in Engineering within the past six classes; 100 in Science; and 139 in Business. The programs have annually averaged 16, 17 and 23 students, respectively, within the past six years.

"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 Education Committee report states.

Some parents said that the board itself should answer for the lower enrollments. "There could be more students if they did a better job with the open houses (for eighth-graders)," said Jager, the UPTAC president. Alhmeyer agreed, saying a marketing effort would be beneficial.

The parents don't quite understand the Education Committee's argument about the relative fairness of an exclusionary program, saying the University Programs were designed to target only the "cerebral kids, the academic kids," said Liz Cooley, a member of UPTAC and mother of a Ramapo University Program student.

Cooley wonders why all the University Programs aren't slated to be opened to all if the board is concerned about fairness.  

Jager agrees. "It's why they developed them in the first place... The argument doesn't really make any sense," she said.

Board members had defended the proposal by saying it would expand opportunities among the student body.

Former students' perspectives

Parents have argued that the specific focus of the University Programs has offered committed students preparation for college that is relatively unique among high school students. Some former students agreed, saying their course work at Ramapo left them well-prepared for their college studies.

Burns said she has "never spoken to anyone else who was able to be a part of a program like that (Theater Arts) in their high school."

D'Amico said he would not have attended Ramapo had he not been accepted into the Communications program. "If I was not involved in the UP in high school, I don't know what else I would have done," he said. 

Barry, a student at the prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse, said the University Program helped lead him to select his major, broadcast journalism. 

"Since I had experience with editing software and with production equipment so early, there is no doubt that I entered college with an advantage over my classmates," Barry said.

Toscano said, "The experience, education and confidence gained through the (Theater Arts) program is unparalleled by all surrounding organizations... I feel immeasurably grateful for the opportunities it provided me."

UPTAC parents and students plan to speak at the Sept. 13 board meeting, whose public session is planned for 8 p.m. and has been moved from the district conference room to the Indian Hills High School auditorium, board President Wayne Peterson said Thursday.

Peterson said the discussion is expected "to include a detailed review of numerical data." It's likely the board will continue the discussion at its Sept. 27 meeting in the Ramapo High School cafeteria, when it may make a decision on the programs.

The board plans to take action before eighth-grade open houses in October.