Suffern Central School District

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Suffern Central School District
Cherry Lane School.JPG
Cherry Lane Elementary, in Airmont, NY, was awarded the National Blue Ribbon of Excellence award in 2013.
45 Mountain Avenue
Hillburn, NY 10931
District information
Grades PreK to 12
SuperintendentDr. P. Erik Gundersen
Schools6
Students and staff
Enrollment4,518 (as of 2014–15) [1]
Faculty371.3 FTEs [1]
Student–teacher ratio12.2:1 [1]
Other information
Website www.sufferncentral.org

Suffern Central School District, formerly the Ramapo Central School District, is a school district headquartered in Hillburn, a village in the Town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Suffern; east of Orange County, New York; south of Viola and west of Montebello.

Contents

As of the 2014–15 school year, the district and its seven schools had an enrollment of 4,518 students and 371.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.2:1. [1]

The Suffern Central School District serves the villages of Airmont, Hillburn, Montebello, Sloatsburg, Suffern (including Viola), and a portion of Monsey. [2] Its middle school and high school are named for Suffern.

The six villages together have a combined population of 46,926, according to the 2000 census, and takes up 20.9 square miles (54 km2) which makes the population density for the area the district serves about 2,245.26 people per square mile.

Several of the schools within the district have the privilege of being designated High Performing Reward Schools by the New York State Education Department in August 2014. These schools include Cherry Lane Elementary, Montebello Elementary, Sloatsburg Elementary, and Suffern High School. Suffern High School was once again named a High Performing Reward School for the 2016–2017 academic year. In addition to being named a Reward School, Cherry Lane Elementary also received the title of being a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education in 2013. [3]

History

Until the 1940s, some of the schools in the district were racially segregated, until the desegregation of the previously all-black Brooks School in 1943. [4] Thurgood Marshall who served as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, litigated this case as head of the NAACP legal team. Marshall later litigated and won Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (Kansas). [5]

In late 2016, the Ramapo Central School District began to explore the possibility of officially changing its name in order to avoid continuing confusion with the nearby East Ramapo Central School District. It was announced in June 2017 that the New York State Legislature approved of the name change and the bill was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo', changing the name to "Suffern Central School District." [6]

In October 2023, the district announced that it was considering closing Viola Elementary School in Montebello, due to declining public-school enrollment driven by demographic shifts, as more families opt for Orthodox Jewish yeshivas in the area. [7] At the same time, the four remaining elementary schools would be realigned; while currently they are all K–5, the plan under consideration would make two K–2 only and the other two 3–5 only. [7]

Schools

Elementary schools All of the districts elementary schools are K-5

Middle school

High school

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airmont, New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Airmont is a village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of the state of New Jersey, east of Suffern, south of Montebello, and west of Chestnut Ridge. The population was 10,166 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillburn, New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Hillburn, originally called "Woodburn" and incorporated in 1893, is a village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Suffern, east of Orange County, south of Viola, and west of Montebello. It is considered to be one of the more rural communities in Rockland County. The population was 930 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monsey, New York</span> CDP in New York, United States

Monsey is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The village of Kaser is surrounded by the hamlet of Monsey. The 2020 census listed the population at 26,954, a 46% increase since the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montebello, New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Montebello is an incorporated village in Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Suffern, east of Hillburn, south of Wesley Hills, and west of Airmont. The population was 4,507 at the 2020 census.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sloatsburg, New York</span> Village in Ramapo, New York, US

Sloatsburg is a village in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York, United States. Located east of Orange County, it is at the southern entrance to Harriman State Park. The population was 3,036 at the 2020 census. The village is named after Stephen Sloat, an early European landowner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffern, New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Sitting adjacent to the town of Mahwah, New Jersey, Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, Suffern's population was 11,402.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viola, New York</span> Census-designated place in New York, United States

Viola is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Airmont, east of Montebello, south of Wesley Hills, and west of Hillcrest. The population was 6,868 at the 2010 census.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffern High School</span> Public school in New York state

Suffern High School is a public high school in the Suffern Central School District located in Suffern, New York. The school's mascot is a mountain lion (Mountie). Its yearbook is the Panorama. In 2015, Newsweek magazine ranked Suffern High in the top 500 high schools in the United States at number 439.

East Ramapo Central School District is a school district in Ramapo, New York, United States. It is headquartered in the Senator Eugene Levy Dr. Jack R. Anderson Education Center.

Tallman is a hamlet in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of the state of New Jersey; east of Suffern; south of Montebello and west of Airmont. It is located north-northwest of New York City.

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Brook School was a grammar school located in Hillburn, New York, in the Ramapo Central School District.. The school was an all-black school, which parents fought to desegregate in the early 1930s and again in 1943.,. Thurgood Marshall was hired by the NAACP to desegregate the school. Thurgood Marshall won a disparity case regarding integration of the schools of Hillburn, 11 years before his landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education, on behalf of the village's African-American parents. Leonard M. Alexander and Peter C. Alexander, "It Takes a Village: The Integration of the Hillburn School System. Page Publishing, 2014 (ISBN 978-1-63417-331-5).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugene Levy (politician)</span> American politician (1926–1990)

Eugene Levy was a member of the New York State Senate for the 38th District covering all of Rockland County and parts of Orange County, New York. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1984, where he remained for three terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main School (Hillburn, New York)</span> United States historic place

Main School, also known as the Suffern Central School District Administration Building, is a historic school building located at Hillburn, Rockland County, New York. It was built in 1912, and is a two-story hollow tile and concrete building covered in stucco and set on a raised basement. The building features Colonial Revival style design elements and originally housed eight classrooms. In 1943, it was the focus of a prominent school desegregation battle, following the overturning of New York State's segregation law in 1938.

Central United Talmudical Academy of Monsey or Central UTA of Monsey (CUTAM) is a private Hasidic Jewish school, with separate boys' and girls' campuses, in Airmont, New York.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 District information for Ramapo Central School District (Suffern), National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 7, 2016.
  2. SCSD At A Glance, Suffern Central School District. Accessed September 3, 2017. "The District serves students residing in the Rockland County communities of Airmont, Hillburn, Montebello, Sloatsburg, Suffern, Tallman, and part of Monsey."
  3. National Blue Ribbon Schools Program Schools Recognized 1982 Through 2016, United States Department of Education. Accessed September 3, 2017.
  4. Thomas J. Sugrue "Gof have Pity on Such a City", in his Sweet Land of Liberty: The Forgotten Struggle for Civil Rights in the North Random House, 2009 ISBN   978-0-8129-7038-8 chapter in G Books
  5. "Thurgood Marshall's Hillburn desegregation battle recalled". USA Today .
  6. Kuhn, Joe. 'Ramapo Rebrand: Say Hello to the Suffern Central School District", Rockland County Times, August 31, 2017. Accessed September 3, 2017. "Just in time for the new school year, the Ramapo Central School District on Wednesday officially changed its name to the Suffern Central School District.... According to Deputy Superintendent Walker, the main goal of the rebranding is 'to establish [their] identity as a premiere school district' and to “ensure that people inside and outside the area see the district as the best place to receive an education.” The renaming was also an effort to end the long-standing confusion between the former Ramapo Central School District and the East Ramapo Central School District."
  7. 1 2 Cutler, Nancy (2023-10-04). "Suffern school district eyes shutting Viola Elementary as more opt for yeshivas". The Journal News . Archived from the original on 5 Oct 2023.