Spring Valley Students Are Struggling: Is Anyone Really Listening?

Opinion By: Sean Paul-Bonometre

It is a beautiful afternoon in sunny Spring Valley, around 2:10 PM, and students are starting to make their way out of their high schools. The sun shines on the town as clusters of students spill onto the sidewalks, laughing, joking, and planning the rest of their day. Some head to the local park to soak in nature; others stop by the corner store for snacks and conversation with friends. Many of them head to prepare for sports and after-school programs. The students seem carefree. 

And indeed, the Rockland County Youth Bureau supports this idealistic picture. The Rockland County Youth Bureau engages over 5000 teens in their programs—from T.E.E.N. WORKS to youth employment and service programs. Recognized at the state and national levels, the programs have exemplified youth support within the town. According to the Bureau’s marketing packet, “Our work in 2023 fostered many opportunities for growth, both internal and external.” If we take this at face value, it would seem as though Spring Valley’s youth are thriving.

However, it is not this simple. As we pull back the curtains, we reveal a quiet truth that many members of the community know. As longtime resident and parent, Fedner Dezil puts it: “I couldn’t wait for my kid to graduate, so they could get out of the community.” Dezil’s sentiment reflects the concerns of the larger community within Spring Valley, and raises a critical question: If our youth seemingly are set up to succeed, why does it feel as though so many of them are left behind? 

To start, our academic system is, in fact, struggling. The East Ramapo Central School District is 95.3% dominated by minorities, with many students coming from immigrant families. The students face systemic barriers that are worsened by underfunding and mismanagement of educational resources. A former Ramapo High School Teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, points to finances as the central issue. The district was recently found to be sitting on $30 million in unrestricted funds (meaning that there were excess funds discovered through an audit that were not getting allocated to public schooling), while teachers continued to struggle. For example, the same teacher recalls not having access to basic supplies such as glue sticks in the classroom. In other words, “You are cutting money from a population that really needs the funding.” At Spring Valley High School, the results only agree: test scores and college readiness at a 1/10, while the graduation rate sits below the state average at 66%, with 61% of students chronically absent, and AP course participation under 10%. Ramapo High School only shows slight improvement. These indicators of academic struggle are not limited to the high school population: a special education teacher at a local elementary school described being responsible for 36 students due to staff shortages. “We feel exhausted and overwhelmed,” she shared. The district lacks support, and the community feels the same way.

The academic struggles in Spring Valley seem to affect the students’ mental health, as many are losing hope. Youth are under significant pressure. Dr. Clovis Raymond, a chief psychologist at Rockland Psychiatric Center, states that students commonly struggle with anxiety, depression, and identity issues. Household instability is a major factor: many parents work long hours with low wages and little time to support their children. They are simply trying to make sure their families survive. As a result, many children grow up without the foundational lessons they need from their parents. There is a disconnect between parents and students when it comes to students’ experience in school—parents often don’t know what resources or programs exist for their children. As current student Elizabeth Bruna explains: “The only way of [her mom] getting the information [about programs] is through me.” Some students do not speak English, and without resources that are translated, key information is lost to the populations that need it the most. This lack of access to critical resources, combined with peer pressure and bullying, can have dangerous consequences. On April 29th, 2022, a fight after school left two students with knife wounds and a third injured. “Violence was a daily thing,” said former student Mikey Michel, who recalls just one officer being available to handle such incidents, and a lack of consequences afterward. Dr. Raymond also notes that, compared to other districts, East Ramapo Central waits until it is too late to act. Student Elizabeth Bruna shares this perspective, adding that “people see Spring Valley as the hood of Rockland.” Despite her dreams beyond high school, she feels blocked by the struggles surrounding her. She still, unlike many, hopes to return one day to rebuild the community she calls home. 

At the core of these issues (academic and mental health struggles, in conjunction with youth violence), we see disparities in race. Spring Valley is largely made up of minority residents, and many feel that their needs are being ignored. Haitian immigrant and Spring Valley alumnus, Fritz Bosquet, recalled the late 1980s as a better time when there were programs to help immigrant students adapt. ESL classes were small, at most 16, well-resourced, with both a teacher and an assistant teacher in every class, and were very supportive. Since then, that program has faded, amongst many others. Bosquet then points to zoning as a divider between minority-dominated Spring Valley and its surrounding towns: “We lived in Nanuet, but my kids had to attend East Ramapo schools. They couldn’t even use the Nanuet library.” Even access to parks outside of the town requires proof of residency. This leaves the youth boxed into a community that has already been proven to be an afterthought.

Can we then blame our youth’s struggles on a lack of development programs? No. Spring Valley offers several programs that are aimed at helping its children thrive. For example, the Youth Police Initiative, which is led by Detective Sergeant Charles, encourages the youth to perform well in school by building healthy habits and rewarding positive behavior, and seeks to bridge the gap between the police force and the youth. The NAACP Young Adult Group also hosted a Health and Wellness Day in 2021, which offered activities and mental health support for the youth. The programs in Spring Valley show promise but face the same challenge: limited resources. “Kids are dying to be a part of these programs,” says Sergeant Charles. From another perspective, a local mental health professional, who prefers to be anonymous, adds that “a lot of these programs need funding…communities black and brown aren’t getting the political or economic support to keep them going.” Bosquet also echoes this sentiment: “There’s only so much [programs] can do with limited resources.” Spring Valley offers these programs, but without sustained investment, they can not make a lasting impact on the youth. 

So, where do we go from here? The path forward for our community starts with better minority representation in positions of leadership. Currently, “Our voices are heard but not listened to,” as Bosquet asserts. Of the 8 members on the East Ramapo School Board, only two are minorities and from Spring Valley. On the town’s Board of Trustees, there are no minority representatives at all. When I asked the local mental health professional why, despite our previous mayor being black, change didn’t come, she explained: “It is like having a president whose party doesn’t control the house. If the board doesn’t pass what the leader proposes, there is no movement.” We must then unify and organize to demand for our community’s needs.

Eudson François Tyson, a public servant and current mayoral candidate, emphasizes the need to invest time in our youth, attending PTA meetings, board meetings, and voting in local elections. Small actions build the foundation for large change: “In 5 years,” he says, “we can beautify the community. Children will grow to embrace their aspirations and love the community. Young kids will want to come back and contribute even more.” In order to realize this vision, it is imperative that we elect members both to the school board and the town’s board of trustees who represent our community, and are therefore able to listen to us. 

Minorities have the power to influence the system to ensure our voices are not just heard, but acted upon. The change begins when we, the community of Spring Valley, claim our seat at the table, vote with intention, and invest our time in the next generation. We must stop seeing ourselves as powerless minorities and recognize that we are the powerful majority. The future of Spring Valley is ours to shape.