A popular Elmont educator has been placed on administrative leave and students are demanding to know why.

Former Elmont Memorial High School students say they are planning two protests Wednesday and Thursday to support Kevin Dougherty, the principal of the high school.

"He loves this school. I see him come in hours and hours," says Marc-Antony Tuo, of Elmont. "After hours, like after work hours or before school, weekends, like he commits himself to this school and it kind of hurts to see that they're not trying to have him anymore."

The former students and members of the group Men of Elmont say they are upset after learning Dougherty will not be at the school this year. Dougherty has been principal since 2015.

"We are thankful for Mr. Dougherty, and we just truly want him to continue to be here and we demand him as our principal because without Mr. Dougherty a lot of these changes would not have been made," says Fenol Larock, who graduated in 2020.

The former graduates say Dougherty worked with students and the community to improve relationships with police as part of his effort with the mentoring program Men of Elmont.

In a statement to News 12, the superintendent says Dougherty is taking sabbatical leave of absence for the 2022-2023 school year.

The former students say they hope to hear directly from district officials at the protests.