Ocean Township School District (Monmouth County, New Jersey)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Township of Ocean School District is a comprehensive consolidated public school district serving students from two communities in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The district serves nearly 4,500 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from Ocean Township and from the tiny village of Loch Arbour.

Contents

[edit] Schools

Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[1]) are:

Elementary Schools (K - 4)

Middle School (5 - 8)

High School (9 - 12)

  • Ocean Township High School Oakhurst 1,447 students
    • Mrs. Julia Davidow- Principal, Ocean Township High School
    • Miss Kelly Weldon- Assistant Principal/Grades 11-12
    • Mr. Fred West- Assistant Principal/Grades 9-10

[edit] Administration

  • Mr. Thomas M. Pagano - Superintendent
  • Mr. John Lysko- Assistant Superintendent/Curriculum & Instruction
  • Dr. Denise Riccardi - Assistant Superintendent/Special Services & Special Education
  • Mr. Kenneth Jannorone- School Business Administrator & Board Secretary
  • Mrs. Loretta Kachmar-Will- Director of Special Projects

[edit] Board of Education

The Ocean Township School District is led by a nine-member Board of Education.

[edit] History

  • In 1834, land was purchased by the trustees of the Deal School District and a two-room schoolhouse was built it served the students until 1885 when the school had 156 students and a larger building was needed. (This school is currently located on Monmouth Road, Oakhurst)
  • The Poplar Road School was located between Deal Road and West Park Avenue in the Poplar section of town, this school was used from 1864 until 1911 when the students were sent to the new Oahurst School. (This school has been knocked down)
  • The first Wayside School was located on the Tinton Falls side of Hope Road is was used until 1911, ehen pupils were sent to the new Oakhurst School, at this time however all high school students traveled to Long Branch High School by stagecoach.
  • The Oakhurst School was built in 1900. It accommodated all students from Wayside and Oakhurst in grades one to eight from 1900 until 1958. From 1959 to 1978, it was used as a K-4 and K-5 facility. Principals included Ralph Busch, Charles J. Strahan, Frank Parker, Jesse Love, Harry Patterson, Estelle Voorhees, Ernest Smith, Richard Randall, John D. Rasp, Donald Vineburg, and Glen Morgan. In 1978, the building was turned into the school district's administrative offices and still does to this day.
  • The Wanamassa School, opended in 1930 to serve all students in Wanamassa. Before that, students walked to the Bradley School in Asbury Park. The school is stilled used to this day for grades PK-4 and Special Education Disabilities Classes. Principals included Victoria Green, Edward German, J. Anthony Covino, Joseph Palaia, Douglas Deicke, Camille Tighe, Margaret Grilli, and current Justine Salvo.
  • The Ocean Township Elementary School on Dow Avenue opened in 1958 as a middle school, serving grades five to eight. Upper-grade teachers from Wanamassa and Oakhurst Schools moved to the new school with their principal J. Anthony Covino. In 1984, Mr. Cavino retired and Mrs. Villapiano, Assistant Principal, took over. At her retirement in 2002, Mr. William Galatro took over and served until 2007. Dr. Doreen O. Ryan is currently Principal. The school currently housed Grades PK-4 and Special Education Disabilities Classes.
  • The Wayside Elementary School opened in 1970. It houses grades PK-4. Mr. John Rasp was the first principal until 1988. Other principals have included Douglas Deicke, Thomas Pagano (current superintendent), and currently Mr. David Enderly as Principal and Ms. Denise Palaia as Vice Principal.
  • Before the Ocean Township High School opened in 1965, students from the district were bussed to Long Branch or Asbury Park for High School. The principals were Charles Scott, Douglas Fredricks, Robert Mahon (Immediate Past Superintendent), Gardner Atlee, John Crews, John Connelly, John Tighe, Margaret Morgan, Mr. John Lysko (Current Assistant Superintendent), Dr. William Cohee, and currently Mrs. Julia Davidow. Under Mrs. Davidow serve Mrs. Kathryn Miller (Assistant Principal, School Couseling) and Mr. H. Rusty Todd (Assistant Principal, Activities and Athlectics Director)
  • The Township of Ocean Intermediate School was opened in 1975 to house grades seven, eight, and nine. It now houses grades five, six, seven, and eight. Principals have included Mr. Donald Vineburg and current principal Mr. Larry Kostula. Under him serve Mrs. Candice Vasta and Mr. James Maliff, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Grade Principal and Mr. Victor Milano, Fifth Grade Principal.
  • School district cancels Laramie Project - August 3, 2007

The Asbury Park Press reports that the Ocean Township School District in New Jersey have canceled the Laramie Project, a play about the murder of Matthew Shepard. They consider the play too controversial. Concerns over whether "The Laramie Project" is too provocative for the community — with its true story about the murder of a homosexual college student — have led the school district to close the curtain on a planned student performance this November at the high school. Drama coach Bob Angelini — who works full-time in investigating Internet crimes for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and whose wife is Mary Pat Angelini, a Republican candidate for state Assembly — said homophobia and fear are at the root of Principal Julia Davidow's decision in May to reject the play. To be clear, Angelini is not accusing Davidow of being homophobic herself. But he said that in conversations and e-mails to him, Davidow expressed concerns over whether the play was too controversial for Ocean Township and was fearful over possible protests from religious groups and some parents.

The Laramie Project deals with the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a homosexual University of Wyoming student who was beaten to death and left tied to a fence overlooking Laramie, the town where the school is. The play was later adapted into an HBO movie of the same name in 2002. Both playwright Moises Kaufman and Shepard's mother, Judy Shepard, have now gotten personally involved in the debate. Judy Shepard has written to the Ocean Township Board of Education in support of the play, and Kaufman has given Angelini permission to remove the profanities from his work, which Angelini said was one of Davidow's original objections to the play.

"The Laramie Project" earned seven "Basie" award nominations for dramatic presentations in Monmouth County winning three categories. Lisa Henderson won for Best Supporting Actress, Bob Angelini won for best director of a drama and the play won for Best Performance of a dramatic presentation.

[edit] Special education

The district provides a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for all students with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). All children 3 through 21, who reside in the Ocean Township School District are provided with some kind of Special Education.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Data for the Ocean Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed June 6, 2008.

[edit] External links