SPRING VALLEY - East Ramapo school district is reconstituting a "Saturday Academy" program to help high school seniors at risk of not graduating.
The much-anticipated relaunch of the program was announced during the district's Oct. 6 school board meeting.
"Currently 52% are not on track to graduate with their cohort," Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez said of the current senior class at Ramapo and Spring Valley high schools.
The new program, called the Senior Graduation Acceleration Academy, launches Oct. 24. It is designed to support students who are "off track" to graduation. It's an eight-hour weekly commitment, including four hours spent in class on Saturdays and four hours of virtual learning.
"Please note, we’re not lowering the graduation
bar," Torres-Rodriguez said. "We’re increasing the support."
Also at the Oct. 6 meeting, Torres-Rodriguez, who joined the district over the summer, provided detailed information on the schools' role in protecting students in case U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers try to access campuses. Amid the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration that has impacted East Ramapo students and families, students have sought clear guidance from the district.
Focus on 'intense support' and accountability
Some 346 of the 658 seniors enrolled in Spring Valley and Ramapo high schools are considered "off track" or at risk of not graduating on time, according to district data.
This comes after East Ramapo's graduation rate has lagged behind the state average. In 2025, there were 224 students who did not graduate from cohort and could have benefited from the newly announced program. New York State Education Department data for 2025 show a 20% dropout rate for the district; the statewide high school dropout rate for 2025 was 5%
The new program's inaugural class will be 120 and will be housed at Spring Valley High School. Busing and meals will be provided for the Saturday courses. The program, Torres-Rodriguez said, will offer "intense support" but also accountability.
Torres-Rodriguez said the district hopes to expand the program in the future.
"We’re really focusing on launching this and launching this well," she said. "We are very well aware this is not addressing the entire need that we have."
East Ramapo public-school children face challenges. More than half of its public-school students are English language learners. In the past decade-plus, rounds of budget cuts have weakened public-school academic and social infrastructure, public-school advocates have said. That includes cuts to Advanced Placement classes as well as remedial programs like the past Saturday Academy and night school.
East Ramapo board Vice President Sherry McGill had long sought for the graduation support program's reinstatement. "I am so happy that the Saturday Academy is back," she said. "I know we once had the Saturday Academy and it was working."
Clear message on ICE
The Trump administration's immigration crackdown has been front-and-center for many in the East Ramapo community.
School board members have discussed concerns that students are afraid to attend school. Students at both Spring Valley and Ramapo high schools walked out of classes Feb. 11 to rally outside their schools demanding protections from ICE. During a March 24 meeting, students advocated for the board to set a clear policy regarding ICE coming on school campuses.
There's a large Latino and Haitian immigrant community in the greater Spring Valley region that the district serves. "We have a variety of languages and cultures that make up our district," Torres-Rodriguez said during the Oct. 6 meeting.
"I know there’s been a lot of conversation even prior to my arrival," Torres-Rodriguez said. To parents, she said, "Your children first and foremost belong in our schools and are safe here."
The concerns are not theoretical. School board trustee Sabrina Charles-Pierre said she had personally been involved in aiding two East Ramapo students who had been taken into custody for deportation. "We were able to get them out."
Torres-Rodriguez outlined the state's policies for access to schools and made clear the district was committed to universal enforcement.
If ICE shows up at a school, she said, "they will not, they will not, get access to a student." If a judicial warrant is presented, it has to be respected, but Torres-Rodriguez outlined the steps school officials would take to contact her and the district's lawyers to ensure accurate enforcement.
"We do not here in East Ramapo ask about or request immigration status of a family, not at enrollment time and not at any point," she said. "We will not deny or delay enrollment, activities, from immigration status."
After outlining the legal steps and state regulations, Torres-Rodriguez added: "You are not alone."
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Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy for lohud.com and the USA Today Network New York. Reach her at ncutler@lohud.com; follow her on Twitter, Threads and Instagram at @nancyrockland.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Can East Ramapo boost on-time graduation rate? 52% falling behind
