Ramapo High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in the affluent New York City suburb of Franklin Lakes, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The school is a part of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Franklin Lakes, Oakland and Wyckoff (FLOW). The other high school in the district is Indian Hills High School, located in Oakland. Students in eighth grade in the three sending districts have the opportunity to choose between Ramapo and Indian Hills by February in their graduating year.
As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,088 students and 101.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentâ€"teacher ratio of 10.8:1. There were 15 students (1.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and none eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 24th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 17th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 19th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 23rd in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 28th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state.
Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 53rd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 11 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (93.1%) and language arts literacy (96.5%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 46th in New Jersey and 1,479 nationwide.
University programs
The school, in tandem with Indian Hills High School, offers several special programs similar to college majors, wherein students are accepted into one of the programs and take a series of honors-level courses, in lieu of electives. Ramapo offers one University Program: Engineering.
Engineering â€" Introduces students to the world of Engineering which has courses designed to give students a taste of various engineering fields, as well as helping them become familiar with the tools of an engineer, such as AutoCAD. This program is also tied to an extracurricular club, Robotics club, in which members of the engineering program build a robot to compete in a competition with other schools.
Communications and Theatre Arts students take classes together. District superintendent Dr. C. Lauren Schoen announced that the Communications and Theater Arts programs are being discontinued from Ramapo. Parents and students believe the cuts are due to the school's overall lower enrollment than Indian Hills.
Athletics
The Ramapo High School Raiders compete in the Big North Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 817 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North I, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 786 to 1,074 students in that grade range. Prior to the realignment in 2010, Ramapo competed in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League.
The school was recognized as the Group III winner of the NJSIAA ShopRite Cup in 2005â€"06. The award recognized the school for achieving a tie for 3rd in girls soccer, 2nd in girls volleyball, a tie for 3rd in football, 1st in softball, 1st in boys golf, 1st in boys lacrosse and 2nd in boys tennis. The school repeated as the Group III winner of the NJSIAA ShopRite Cup in 2006â€"07. The award recognized the school for achieving 1st place in girls' soccer, 2nd in boys' soccer, 3rd in girls' tennis, 3rd in boys' fencing, 2nd in girls' indoor track and field relays, 1st in girls' indoor track and field, 2nd in softball, 2nd in boys' lacrosse and 1st in girls' track and field.
The boys' tennis team won the Group IV state championship in 1972 (vs. Cherry Hill High School East), 1973 and 1974 (vs. Westfield High School both years), won the Group III title in 1977 (vs. Moorestown High School), 1985 (vs. Parsippany Hills High School), 1988 (vs. West Morris Central High School), 1989 (vs. Eastern Regional High School), 1991 (vs. Montville High School), 1992 (vs. North Brunswick High School), 1993 (vs. Montville), 1994 (vs. Morris Knolls High School), 1996 (vs. North Bruncswick), 1992 (vs. Millburn High School). The team won the overall state championship in 1973 (vs. Mountain Lakes High School), 1974 (vs. West Essex High School) and 1985 (vs. Christian Brothers Academy). The program's 13 state championships are tied for the fourth most of any high school team in the state.
The football team won the NJSIAA North I Group III state sectional championships in 1974, 1983, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009 and 2012. The 2009 team won the North I Group III state championship beating archrival Wayne Hills High School 16â€"8 at Giants Stadium, for the team's first title since 2003.
The girls' soccer team won the Group III / IV combined title in 1982 (vs. East Brunswick High School) and 1983 (vs. Ewing High School), won the Group III state championships in 1985 (vs. Ewing), 1986 (as co-champion with Bridgewater-Raritan High School East), 1987 (vs. Ewing), 1990 (as co-champion with Camden Catholic High School), 1996 (vs. Brick Township High School), 1997 (vs. Lacey Township High School), 1998 (vs. Wall Township High School), 1999 (vs. Middletown High School South), 2006 (as co-champion with Freehold High School) and 2008 (vs. Freehold), giving the team 12 state titles, the most of any public school. The girls' soccer team tied Freehold High School 0â€"0 in the 2006 Group III championship game held at the College of New Jersey, with both teams sharing the co-championship. In 2007, the girls soccer team won the North I, Group III state sectional championship with a 2â€"0 win over Northern Highlands Regional High School in the tournament final, the team's 14th sectional title in the preceding 16 years.
The boys' soccer team won the Group III state championship in 1990 (vs. Raritan High School), 1999 (as co-champion with Ocean City High School), 2002 (in double overtime vs. Ridge High School), 2007 (vs. Ocean City), 2011 (vs. Timber Creek Regional High School) and 2012 (as co-champion with Princeton High School). The 2007 boys' soccer team won the North I, Group III state sectional championship with a 2â€"0 win over Morris Hills High School in the tournament final. The win was Ramapo's fifth sectional title since 2002. The team moved on to win the Group III state championship with a 1â€"0 win over Ocean City High School. The win was the team's fourth state championship, and their first since 2002.
The boys' baseball team won the Group III state championship in 2001, defeating Toms River South High School in the final game of the tournament.
The Ramapo boys' lacrosse team won the 2006 Group II state championship with a 12â€"10 over Montgomery High School and advanced to the Tournament of Champions where they lost to Ridgewood High School by a score of 10-6. The 2010 team advanced to the Group II final, in which they lost to Princeton High School.
The softball team won the 2007 North I, Group III state sectional championship with a 2â€"0 win over Paramus High School.
In 2009 Ramapo had the fencing state individual champion Adrian Bak, a member of the US national fencing team, who led Ramapo to a team sabre state title. In 2011, Charles Copti continued the trend and went on to win the state individual championship for the Sabre weapon.
In 2007, the girls tennis team won the North I, Group III state sectional championship with a 3â€"2 win over Northern Highlands Regional High School in the tournament finals. The win was the team's second consecutive title, and the 21st in team history.
The 2009â€"10 boys bowling team won the NBIL Division 1 championship over Paramus Catholic High School, while finishing the season ranked fifth in North Jersey. The team also finished tied with Don Bosco for 8th overall at the county tournament, and came in fourth in a tough group at the state sectionals. In the 2010â€"11 season, Ramapo continued upon the previous year's success, with a fifth-place finish in the county tournament, second place in the Big North division 5, and a North 1-A Group 3 sectional championship, defeating Pascack Valley High School, resulting in a season-ending ranking of third in North Jersey and 17th in the state.
The 2007 girls' track team won the State Group III indoor and outdoor titles, led by senior Kesley Ramsey, junior Amy Salek, sophomore Erin McKenna and sophomore Meagan Downey. The first three, along with junior Colleen Sullivan, finished second in the Penn Relays distance medley relay in a Bergen County time of 11 minutes, 56.59 seconds.
The 2007 boys' and girls' soccer teams went to the New Jersey Group III state championships, the girls losing and the boys winning with a 1â€"0 victory against Ocean City High School. In 2008, the boys soccer team won the county title over Don Bosco Preparatory High School but lost in the state semi finals to Millburn High School, while the girls team lost in the county championship to top-seeded Immaculate Heart Academy and won the state title by defeating Freehold High School by a score of 3â€"1 in the finals.
The 2009, the wrestling team won the first league title in program history by defeating Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan in a 28â€"28 tie. The tie was broken from the "Second Tie Breaking Criteria: Most Matches Won". Ramapo had 8 wins while Northern Valley-Old Tappan only had 6. The wrestling team won the title for its division in the league the following year. There are currently five wrestlers who are part of the "100 Win Club". They include 2005 graduate Jimmy Schulz, 2009 graduate Chris D'Amico, 2010 graduate Alex Scheinert, 2011 graduate Nick Madormo and 2016 graduate Wilfredo Gil.
The 2009â€"10 Spring Track Boys Sprint Medley Team placed first overall in the Bergen County Relays in Division A, posting the 19th fastest time ever run in the County with a 3:32.7 and a 1:53 800 anchor leg by junior Bradley Paternostro. At the East Coast Relays, the sprint medley team came in first with a time of 3:28 (Bradley anchored in a 1:52), posting the seventh-fastest time in county history. The SMR will compete in nationals in North Carolina as well as Bradley in the open 800m race. Bradley was awarded the Bernard Smith Award for the Best Male Track Athlete of the meet, also running the anchor leg of the 4x400 boys relay which placed 4th. Also, Ramapo earned 2nd place in the 4x100 and a 4th-place finish in both the 4x200 and 4x400. At the 2010 State Sectional Meet, Paternostro won both the mile and 800, and the team placed fourth overall. At the 2010 Bergen Meet of Champions, Bradley won the 800 and anchored a 5th overall 4 × 400 m relay.
The 2010 boys golf team won the state Group III championship.
The 2010 boys cross country team won the league championship, marking the first time in 12 years that the boys had accomplished this feat.
The 2011 boys soccer team was at one point ranked #16 in the country. They finished the season with a record of 22â€"1 and won the Group III state tournament over Timber Creek Regional High School by a score of 3â€"1.
After falling behind by a score of 26â€"7 at the half, the 2012 football team went on to win the North I Group III state championship by a score of 37â€"34 over Sparta High School after scoring 20 unanswered points in the third quarter and kicking a 48-yard field goal with seconds left in the game to break a tie.
In 2012 and 2013 the cheerleading squad won the Contest of Champions Nationals.
The 2014 gymnastics team scored a 111.3 at the North Jersey Gymnastics League A-Division, which was the highest score in the state in 2014.
In 2015, the girls soccer team won the NJSIAA Group II state championship by a score of 2-0 against Holmdel High School in the tournament final.
Also in 2015, the Ramapo Raiders beat River Dell Regional High School in the North I Group III state championship by a score of 45-15, earning the team's 10th state title in school history and the 5th state title under the direction of Coach Drew Gibbs. The 2015 football team finished the season with an 11-1 record.
In 2016, the Ramapo Raiders boys' soccer team was ranked 17th in the nation by USA Today / NSCAA. The team won the Group III state tournament with a win against Toms River South High School in the tournament final by a score of 3â€"0 and finished the season with a record of 22â€"0, the first team in the state without a loss since Ramapo did it in 2012.
Academic teams
The debate team won the 2007 state title in the JP Morgan Chase Lincoln Douglas Debate tournament. They also were victorious at the league and county level to take their first ever triple crown of debate.
The DECA team dominated the regional competition in 2008, only to be upset in the states. In February 2009, the team led Bergen County high schools and were awarded first place in the regional competition before earning fifth place in the state competition.
Members of the Academic Decathlon team reached the third round of News 12 New Jersey's The Challenge. The Academic Decathlon team was also awarded first place overall in the regional competition, and second place at the state level. A pair of 2009 graduates each won the gold medal for highest score in their grade divisions at both competitions. The 2011 Academic Decathlon team came in first place overall in the regional competition, and fourth place at the state competition. Team co-captain Madeline Feinstein won the gold medal for highest overall score in the region and the gold medal for highest overall score in the state at the varsity level. Team co-captain Mackenzie Mosera won the gold medal for highest overall score in the region at the scholastic level. Sean Foley won the silver medal for highest overall score in the region at the honors level.
Theatre arts
Ramapo's performing arts include the combination of the University Programs for Theatre Arts and Communications, and the Gold Masque Theatre Club. Performances such as Into the Woods and Les Misérables have received Papermill Playhouse recognition.
Administration
Core members of the school's administration are:
- Travis Smith â€" Principal
- Claudia Dargento - Assistant Principal
- L. Michael Mancino â€" Assistant Principal
Noted alumni
- Marco Benevento (born 1977; class of 1995), jazz musician.
- Connor Bruggemann (born 1997, class of 2015), pennystock trader and creator of Investors Corner.
- Blake Costanzo (born 1984, class of 2001), football player for Cleveland Browns.
- Kirk DeMicco, screenwriter, director and producer, best known for writing and directing Space Chimps and The Croods.
- Amy Grossberg (born 1978; class of 1996), served two and half years in jail for killing her baby while a student at the University of Delaware.
- Morgan Hoffmann (born 1989), professional golfer.
- Chris Hogan (born 1988), wide receiver for the New England Patriots.
- Ross Krautman (born 1991, class of 2010), football placekicker for the Syracuse University Orange football team.
- Martha MacCallum (born 1964; class of 1982), news anchor on Fox News Channel.
- Constantine Maroulis (born 1975; class of 1993), Tony Award nominee and finalist from the 2005 American Idol.
- Sunny Mehta (born 1978; class of 1996), Director of Hockey Analytics for New Jersey Devils, former professional poker player, author, and musician.
- Rob Milanese (born 1980; class of 1998), Arena Football League wide receiver/cornerback for the Philadelphia Soul.
- Tim Pernetti (class of 1989), former athletic director of Rutgers University and former Vice President of CBS College Sports Network.
- Brian Peterson (born 1978; class of 1996), served two years in jail for killing his baby with his girlfriend, Amy Grossberg.
- Greg Schiano (born 1966; class of 1984), former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach and former head football coach at Rutgers University.
- Chris Simms (born 1980; class of 1999), NFL former Quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos.
- Danny Tamberelli (born 1982; class of 2000) child actor, best known for the Nickelodeon television show The Adventures of Pete & Pete and Arnold in The Magic School Bus, as well as appearing in the films Igby Goes Down and The Mighty Ducks.
References
External links
- Ramapo High School website
- Alumni association
- Ramapo High School's 2015â€"16 School Performance Report from the New Jersey Department of Education
- Data for Ramapo High School, National Center for Education Statistics