A bittersweet farewell for St. Raymond School in East Rockaway

We cared for those kids like they were our own, and the families treated us like we were part of their families.”

Kay Hamaty, teacher, St. Raymond School

The annual St. Raymond Parish carnival was a bittersweet event this year, as it marked the final day for the school before it permanently closed amid lowered enrollment accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Students, administration, alumni and parents celebrated the emotional final day for the school on June 18, the last day of classes.

After a 9:30 a.m. school-wide Mass, the students were led to the parking lot, where inflatable obstacle courses and games were set up. A DJ blared music, and students played and ate cotton candy and ice cream.

“St. Raymond has been my family for the past 34 years,” said Kay Hamaty, who taught sixth through eighth grades at the school. “We cared for those kids like they were our own, and the families treated us like we were part of their families. It was a very spiritual, loving place to be a part of.”

First-grade teacher Joanne Fischer said she felt an incredible bond with the community as well. “It was my second home,” she said. “It’s hard to watch the doors close, but we know that they’re going to be OK.”

Sister Ruthanne Gypalo, the principal, penned a letter on the school website reflecting on St. Raymond’s closing. “There is an uncertainty that looms above us all —where we are going, what we are doing, will we be welcomed and cared for in our new place?” it read. “But our faith should also let us realize that we will be OK because God is in charge and he loves us very much.”

She closed by focusing on celebrating the school community’s accomplishments and future, noting, “We are not going to dwell on sadness, but want to celebrate our successes.”

On March 16, the Diocese of Rockville Centre released a letter announcing the planned closures of St. Raymond and St. Thomas the Apostle School, in West Hempstead, citing financial issues and declining enrollment. The letter noted that enrollment was decreasing before the coronavirus pandemic, but the health crisis exacerbated the problem.

“We are deeply saddened by the closing of these two elementary schools,” said Sean Dolan, the diocese’s communications director. “The Diocese of Rockville Centre thanks the dedicated and committed principals and teachers . . . who have taught in these schools.”

Students from both schools will be welcomed into any Catholic elementary school in the diocese, but many parents said they were not prepared to have their children switch schools. According to the letter, school leaders and the team at the State Department of Education will assist parents and students in selecting and transferring to new schools.

St. Raymond was founded in 1927 and became a fixture in East Rockaway for decades, but the school experienced a 49 percent decline in enrollment. The parish provided more than $1 million to sustain operations and keep the school running, but the parish could no longer support the school, which had 130 students enrolled in 2020-21.

Anne Petraro, whose son Joseph finished second grade at the school, graduated from St. Raymond in 1992. Petraro spoke about how the school’s leadership through principal Sr. Ruthanne has led it to become a second home for the many Petraros who have walked its halls over the past three decades.

“She (Sr. Ruthanne) instilled values and strong faith into my life, and I wanted the same for my son,” Petraro said of Gypalo. “It’s bittersweet, but I know that with our faith, he will take it with him, but it’s still so devastating for me.”

Petraro and fellow parent Jean Warner said they hoped that St. Raymond’s closing would not end Catholic education in East Rockaway. The two are working to establish a new school for the students of the recently closed St. Raymond, St. Thomas the Apostle and St. Christopher’s schools. The All Saints Coalition, which both Petraro and Warner are a part of, is hoping to continue the schools’ legacies in the St. Raymond building.

“The people in this neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods, with the radical agenda in the schools right now, need a Catholic school to turn to,” Warner said. “We just want to continue Catholic education with the same goal of bringing children up in the faith. Your faith sustains you through everything.”

The All Saints Coalition’s goal, members said, is to work with St. Raymond’s Church to create a new school in the St. Raymond building that they have cherished for decades.