In 1952, after years of discussion, seven small union free school districts in the Spring Valley area voted to centralize. On March 4 of that year, this consolidated group officially became known as Ramapo Central School District No. 2. That name was changed to the East Ramapo Central School District on August 22, 1973.

In the fall of its first year, Ramapo 2 had an enrollment of 2,198 students. They were housed in three elementary schools-South Main, built in 1897; North Main, erected in 1916; and Monsey, opened in 1927-plus Spring Valley Senior High School, which was located on South Main Street.

The high school, built in 1924, became Spring Valley Junior High when the present high school opened in 1956. Containing graceful columns in the Jeffersonian style of architecture, the older building was closed for general use at the end of the 1971-72 school year. However, a separate wing of the building was re-opened for the district's PreKindergarten program the following year, and served that program for the next decade. That building is now owned and operated by a local non-public school.

The South Main Street facility, which served as headquarters for central administration from 1971 to July 1987, originally consisted of eight rooms and an assembly hall for grades 1-12. It was constructed in 1897, with additions needed in 1902 and 1904 to house increasing enrollments. The building continued to house students until 1964. In 1987, after administrative offices moved to the South Madison School, the South Main Street facility was sold. In 1992, the South Madison School was renamed the Senator Eugene Levy Education Center. In 2001, Dr. Jack R. Anderson's name was added to honor the late Superintendent of Schools.

Between the years 1952 and 1971, when enrollment peaked at 16,687 and the number of schools rose from four to 20, students were also educated in such unlikely places as the Monsey Mattress Factory, Brewer Fire Company, Godwin's Store, Monsey Legion Hall, the basement of the Ladentown Methodist Church, and the Harriman Farm School, a small schoolhouse not much larger than those utilized in rural areas during the 19th century. These scattered classrooms have fortunately long since been retired!

Three other small outlying buildings which housed students at the time of centralization were still in use until 1971. They were the English Church School, Red Schoolhouse, and Camp Hill School, all of which housed preschool youngsters at the time of their closings.

Red Schoolhouse, commonly known as the Little Red Schoolhouse, was an original one-room building that was utilized until it closed its doors in 1971. In 1972, it was converted into a museum depicting more than 100 years of local education.

A fourth small school, Brick Church, was transferred back to the Dutch Reformed Church in 1968, after having been used for public education for more than a century!

The period of rapid growth in East Ramapo began in the early 1950s with the opening of the Tappan Zee Bridge and the Palisades Interstate Parkway. Coupled with new housing starts and the suburban baby boom of the early 1960s, these factors had the effect of swelling public school enrollment in East Ramapo at a phenomenal rate. Between 1966 and 1971, more than 1,300 five-year-olds were enrolled, each year, in the district's kindergarten program. That's equal to the total enrollments of three county districts combined!

In September, 1986, East Ramapo embarked on a major reorganization. That reorganization included the closing of two elementary schools, Bluefield and South Madison; the reopening of one, Summit Park; the clustering of five primary (K-3) and five intermediate (grades 4-6) schools; and the pairing of each primary school with an intermediate one.

This reorganization helped provide a more balanced distribution of students among the schools; increase the number of classes at each grade level throughout the schools, thus allowing for greater flexibility in meeting students' needs; and concentrate resources and services. As part of that reorganization, and beginning with the 1987-88 school year, the district's administrative offices were relocated to the South Madison school.

The secondary level was reorganized in September, 1999, with the creation of two grades 7-8 middle schools, two grade 9 freshman centers, and two grades 10-12 high schools. This has brought East Ramapo into alignment with more than 80% of all secondary-level configurations throughout the country, and has proven highly beneficial for the educational, social, and psychological needs of growing adolescents.

Beginning in September, 2000, and as part of a multi-year phased-in plan, the district embarked on a smaller communities learning project. In September, 2001, a 9th grade success academy was launched. This included interdisciplinary teaming, mentors, and a formal Freshman Seminar course. Components of this program are being phased in for grades 10-12. In September 2002, the district received a three-year, federally-funded $860,000 grant for implementation of a Smaller Learning Communities concept. For 2003-04, this concept is being implemented in the 11th grade.For 2004-05, it will be implemented schoolwide in both high schools.