Group’s change.org petition demands investigation into incidents, practices at OCHS
SEE THE ENTIRE PETITION HERE
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – A group of Ocean City High School alumni is demanding an investigation of “unsafe and unjust practices” at the school and plans to bring its concerns directly to the board of education at Wednesday evening’s meeting.
They announced the allegations in a change.org petition that was posted online last week. It had nearly 2,800 signatures as of Monday afternoon. It contains dozens of allegations from more than a decade ago until recently and calls for the New Jersey State Police, Office of the Attorney General, Prosecutor’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate.
Brianna Thomas, a former student who started in the district in kindergarten and left the high school in her sophomore year in the 2011-12 school year, said she and a half-dozen alumni started the petition. It is based first on their own experiences at OCHS and then expanded with allegations from other alumni they have received over the past two months. The allegations run nearly 6,000 words and span numerous incidents from physical and sexual assaults, bullying and harassment to hate crimes and grooming on school property.
They want an investigation into the school’s faculty, guidance and administration “for disorderly persons offenses, failure to act, reckless endangerment, child endangerment, wanton endangerment, reckless negligence, gross negligence, neglect of duty, failure to report, complicity/aiding and abetting, and wrongful death due to negligence, as well as any other criminal acts that are discovered within the scope of the investigation,” according to the petition.
The district responded in a statement issued Friday, April 23, saying officials became aware of the petition when it was posted the day before.
“The district immediately reached out to the Ocean City Police Department to request their review of the allegations and to offer our cooperation in any manner that was necessary. The Ocean City Police Department and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office are in the process of reviewing the allegations contained in that petition to determine their origin(s),” the unsigned statement read.
There’s a group of about six students who came up with this idea together. Some of those students have limited involvement, others are actively involved in the petition.
Thomas said the group got together “and established that we all individually have continued hearing stories since our own time at Ocean City High School that are quite similar to ours and are quite concerning.” She said their decision to publicize their concerns came after the Feb. 27 arrest of former OCHS teacher Ricardo Valley, 34, of Seabrook, Texas, who was charged with two counts of sexual assault, one count of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of criminal sexual contact. The charges stemmed from allegations of sexually assaulting a student in 2016.
“That kind of inspired us and gave us a reason to come out with this as quickly as we could,” Thomas said. “It was almost a two-month process of obtaining stories.”
Thomas said the small alumni group began reaching out for stories via their own Facebook and Instagram pages because they’re all still friends with a lot of people in the school district. “It started out that way asking people if they had an experience and feel that they were mistreated or neglected or if anything illegal had occurred within Ocean City High School to please reach out to us through social media.”
Thomas said although the posts in the online petition are anonymous, they know who who wrote them. They didn’t include them online for the individuals’ protection and not to compromise any current or future legal investigations. That is the same reason they didn’t post information identifying the school district personnel involved. She said some of those in the petition already have filed police reports and she said the alumni group has put together a list of those involved who are willing to speak to the police. “That’s obviously up to the current students and former students,” Thomas said.
The petition contains the original group’s allegations and those they solicited, and it is being edited and updated as more allegations are brought to their attention.
Thomas said they want to reach out to the investigative agencies, but first, “We were hoping to get enough momentum with the petition that the allegations would be taken seriously. As we move along with this, each organization will be contacted directly.”
To appear at school board
Over the weekend, Thomas said she emailed Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Taylor and Business Administrator Tim Kelley, letting them know they plan to appear before the Ocean City Board of Education at its April 28 meeting.
Members of the group who still want to protect their anonymity won’t be at the meeting, but others, including Thomas, plan to address the board.
“We informed them we would like to make a statement,” she said.
Kelley, she noted, said the district would provide details to them on how to speak at the meeting.
Thomas said in October 2015, after the suicides of students Maliha Chowdhury and John Delgrande, “I was part of the large group that addressed the school district.” At that time she had a Facebook group with hundreds of members concerned about issues at the high school. The response this time has been double that, she said.
“It’s inspiring to see that so many people are willing to get involved now,” she said.
Delgrande committed suicide in October 2015. Chowdhury took her own life in December 2014.
Thomas was featured in stories in the Sentinel in 2015 when she and others appeared before the Ocean City Board of Education to discuss bullying and mental illness struggles at the high school, imploring school board members to act.
The Ocean City Board of Education meeting begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday. It will be in person and available on Zoom.
District statement:
As part of its statement, the district wrote:
“The physical safety and mental well-being of our students have always been among the Ocean City School District’s foremost concerns. The District has consistently maintained and enforced all anti-harassment, intimidation and bullying policies required by the Department of Education, as well as all reporting obligations for any student who is suspected to have been abused, neglected and/or missing. Any alleged incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying are taken seriously and investigated consistent with the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act.
“Ocean City School District has also taken additional proactive steps and initiated innovative programs to help our students and staff feel included, secure and comfortable throughout the school day – in class and in extracurricular activities. For example, in 2015, the District formed an Ad-Hoc committee on Youth Mental Health to support student wellness in all our schools. The committee developed a layered plan to promote youth mental health awareness, with key action steps including the adoption of the Lifelines curriculum into OCHS health and PE classes and implementation of the STOPit app. This technology enables students to anonymously ask questions of professionals or report a friend in need of intervention.”
“Among the more recent proactive steps taken are the renovations and transformation of classrooms in the High School and Intermediate School into wellness centers, where students can seek respite or confidential advice and assistance from trained staff members.
“Ocean City School District takes seriously its responsibility to create a supportive school community. We are committed to fostering a culture that supports the whole student and ensures each student’s safety, security and mental and physical health.”
Meeting Wednesday live, on Zoom
The public may join the meeting from a computer, tablet, or smartphone using the following information:
Zoom Webinar ID: 980 9293 7068.
To attend the meeting via telephone, contact Kelley via telephone at (609) 399-4161.