Township of Ocean School District | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Address | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
163 Monmouth Road , Ocean County , New Jersey , 07755United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 40°15′49″N74°00′46″W / 40.263626°N 74.012729°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
District information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grades | PreK-12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Superintendent | James Stefankiewicz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Business administrator | Tina Trueba | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schools | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Students and staff | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Enrollment | 3,458 (as of 2018–19) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Faculty | 356.2 FTEs [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Student–teacher ratio | 9.7:1 [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
District Factor Group | FG | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | www | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Ocean Township School District (formally known as the Township of Ocean School District) is a comprehensive community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Ocean Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. [3]
As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 3,458 students and 356.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.7:1. [1]
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "FG", the fourth-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J. [4]
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, since demolished, 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 Oakhurst School.
The first Wayside School was located on the Tinton Falls side of Hope Road it was used until 1911, when 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 1975, 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.W. Rasp, Donald Vineburg, and Glen Morgan. Since 1975, the building has been used as the school district's administrative offices.
The Wanamassa School, opened in 1930 to serve all students in Wanamassa. Before that, students walked to the Bradley School in Asbury Park. The school is still 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, Justine Salvo, and current Victor Milano.
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, Cavino retired and Mrs. Villapiano, assistant principal, took over. At her retirement in 2002, William Galatro took over and served until 2007. Doreen O. Ryan served as principal until the 2020s. From there, Melissa Lopusznick took over and still is principal. The school currently houses Grades PK-4 and Special Education Disabilities Classes.
The Wayside Elementary School opened on January 5, 1970. It houses grades PK-4. John D.W. Rasp was the first principal until 1988. Other principals have included Douglas Deicke, Thomas Pagano, David Enderly, and currently Denise Palaia.
Before the Ocean Township High School opened in 1965, students from the district were bused to Long Branch High School or Asbury Park High School. The principals were Charles Scott, Douglas Fredricks, Robert Mahon, Gardner Atlee, John Crews, John Connelly, John Tighe, Margaret Morgan, John Lysko, William Cohee, Julia Davidow, and currently Kelly E. Weldon.
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.
In April 2017, more than 95% of Loch Arbour voters participating in a referendum chose to leave the Ocean Township district and to begin sending students for elementary school to the West Long Branch Public Schools and then move on to attend Shore Regional High School, under the terms of sending/receiving relationships with the two districts by which Loch Arbour would be charged on a per-pupil basis. The average cost to Loch Arbour taxpayers of educating students in the sending districts would be $16,000 per student, a significant drop from the $126,000 was paying in property taxes per student under its relationship as part of the Ocean Township School District. [5]
In August, 2007 the high school received international attention when its principal, Julia Davidow, backed by superintendent of schools Thomas Pagano decided to prohibit West Park Players, the school's drama club, from staging the play The Laramie Project . The play, an account of the 1998 murder of gay Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, had a pro-LGBT and pro-tolerance message that the two administrators felt would offend conservative community values, Davidow stating "I do not want to draw a line between those who think homosexuality is right and those who think it is wrong. I have a school community to run here and I must protect everyone involved." [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] In the wake of widespread outrage at Pagano's and Davidow's act and calls for their disciplining, the play was reinstated. [11]
Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics [12] ) are: [13] [14] [15] [16]
The district provides a Free Appropriate Public Education for all students with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 in the least restrictive environment. All children 3 through 21, who reside in the Township of Ocean School District are provided with access to some kind of special education.
Core members of the district's administration are: [22] [23]
The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district. [25] [26] [27]
Allenhurst is a borough located at the Jersey Shore, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The settlement was named after resident Abner Allen and was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 26, 1897, from portions of Ocean Township. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 472, a decrease of 24 (−4.8%) from the 2010 census count of 496, which in turn reflected a decline of 222 (−30.9%) from the 718 counted in the 2000 census.
Interlaken is a borough situated in the Jersey Shore region, within Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 828, an increase of 8 (+1.0%) from the 2010 census count of 820, which in turn had reflected a decline of 80 (−8.9%) from the 900 counted in the 2000 census.
Loch Arbour is a village situated on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the village's population was 224, an increase of 30 (+15.5%) from the 2010 census count of 194, which had in turn reflected a decline of 86 (−30.7%) from the 280 recorded at the 2000 census.
Neptune Township is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 28,061, an increase of 126 (+0.5%) from the 2010 census count of 27,935, which in turn reflected an increase of 245 (+0.9%) from the 27,690 counted in the 2000 census.
Ocean Township is a township situated on the Jersey Shore in east central Monmouth County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is a bedroom suburb of New York City. Ocean Township has no central downtown and consists of three main unincorporated communities: Oakhurst, Wanamassa, and Wayside. The township is divided into two ZIP codes, 07755 (Oakhurst) and 07712. Small portions have Allenhurst (07711), Deal (07723) and Long Branch (07740) ZIP codes.
Monmouth Regional High School is a regional, four-year public high school and public school district based in Tinton Falls, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Eatontown, Shrewsbury Township and Tinton Falls, along with students from the military installation of Naval Weapons Station Earle. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1967. The school is the district's only high school facility.
Joseph A. "Joe" Palaia Sr. was an American politician. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1981 to 1989 and in the State Senate from 1989 to 2008, representing the 11th Legislative District.
The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District is a regional public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from the suburban communities of Englishtown and Manalapan Township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Shore Regional High School is a regional public high school and school district serving students from four communities in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The high school serves students from the constituent municipalities of Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Sea Bright and West Long Branch, where the school is located. The school is the only facility of the Shore Regional High School District.
The Marlboro Township School District is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Marlboro Township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Ocean Township High School (OTHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school in the Ocean Township School District. OTHS serves residents of all neighborhoods within Ocean Township, including Oakhurst, Wanamassa, Wayside and West Allenhurst.
The Middletown Township Public School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Middletown Township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Asbury Park Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district headquartered in Asbury Park, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving children in pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.
The Coaster is a weekly newspaper based in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The Coaster covers a number of Jersey Shore area communities in central Monmouth County, including: Asbury Park, Allenhurst, Avon, Bradley Beach, Deal, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, Neptune, Neptune City, Oakhurst, Ocean Grove, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls, Wanamassa, and Wayside. The paper is published every Thursday and is sold at local businesses and newsstands, as well as through subscriptions. Its layout is a tabloid format.
The West Long Branch Public Schools is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from West Long Branch, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Students from Interlaken attend the district as part of a sending/receiving relationship in which students attend on a tuition basis, as do students from Loch Arbour, New Jersey, who began attending schools in West Long Branch starting in the 2017–18 school year, after leaving the Ocean Township School District and those from Allenhurst, after a 2017 decision that terminated a relationship with the Asbury Park Public Schools.
The Wall Township Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Wall Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Asbury Park High School is a comprehensive, community public high school serving students in seventh through twelfth grades. It is in a landmark building in Asbury Park, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that was constructed during the New Deal as a model high school campus. It is part of the Asbury Park Public Schools, an Abbott District serving children in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The current school building opened to students in September 1926.
Deal Lake is a man-made lake in Monmouth County, New Jersey. It is the largest lake in the county and one of the largest lakes in New Jersey, occupying 158 acres and drains into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Seaside Heights School District is a community public school district for students in kindergarten through sixth grade from Seaside Heights, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The district's board of education is made up of five members, each elected to three-year terms.
The Deal School District is a community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade from Deal, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school was established in September 1953.