School district surveying parents, students, alumni
OCEAN CITY – After some alumni and students asked the Ocean City School District to reconsider plans to change the graduation gowns for students, the new superintendent of schools had a survey sent out to the community seeking their input on the proposed change.
The traditional gowns for graduation have been red for boys and white for girls during commencement exercises. A letter sent out earlier in July by acting Ocean City High School Principal Dr. Wendy O’Neal, informing students about senior photos to be taken starting in August, included a line about a change. “As approved last year, all students will be wearing red gowns with white stoles this year. These will be provided by the photographers at each photo session,” O’Neal wrote.
That is when alumni and students took their case to board of education members, who said they would see to it a survey was conducted to get input on the change.
In a letter dated July 22, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matthew Friedman wrote to students, parents, guardians, community members and alumni, asking them to take part in a survey.
“Over the course of the past year, there have been numerous discussions regarding the color scheme of the caps and gowns worn by our graduates during the Ocean City High School Commencement Ceremony. As we continue to weigh the various options, we would appreciate valuable input from multiplestakeholder groups,” he wrote.
He sent a link to get input and told parents that students would get a link to the survey via their Naviance account in the district.
“All feedback will be heavily considered as we finalize our decision as a district. Thank you for taking the time out of your summer schedule to assist us and be part of the decision-making process,” he wrote. Dr. O’Neal also signed the letter.
The survey asks people to identify their “stakeholder group,” be it student, parent, community member or alumni.
The first question has a picture of the new ensemble and asks them to “Rate on a scale of 1-10 your preference in all graduates wearing red gowns/mortarboards with white stoles.”
Another question asks, “Rate on a scale of 1-10 your preference in graduates wearing a mixture of red and white gowns with matching mortarboards.”
The survey also asks the student to choose between wearing the red gown with white stole versus having students able to pick either a red gown or white gown with matching mortarboard.
When the change was proposed earlier this year, concerned seniors and parents asked the Ocean City Board of Education to maintain the tradition of having the boys in red and girls in white. That was the same refrain offered in July when they found out the district was planning to change the gowns.
Although graduation is 11 months away, time is a factor for the survey as senior class photos are set to begin on Aug. 1.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff