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Brianna Thomas said she spent more than two months collecting testimonials from current and former students of Ocean City High School about some of the worst encounters they have had at school.
There were allegations of bullying, sexual assault, high school suicide attempt, as well as sexual comments from teachers, guidance counselors and administrators ignoring or making fun of students asking for help. ‘help.
She and other organizers put all of the more than 50 accounts in total, going back decades, in a petition they posted on Change.org in April calling for an investigation into the Ocean City High School administration. for unsafe and unfair practices. Since then, the petition has received more than 3,300 signatures.
Thomas, who said she dropped out of high school just before she was 16, said she was bullied after being exposed as a lesbian and administrators didn’t do much. – something to help him. She suspected that she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t find help at school.
I had a situation where I went to the guidance counselor and I said I’m really depressed I think I want to kill myself and they said go back to class. There seems to be a recurring problem where students who really have a hard time asking for help, but they don’t get it. They are sent back to class and ignored, Thomas, 24, told NJ Advance Media.
School officials said they sent the petition allegations to local law enforcement authorities.
Thomas is among a group of current and former students and community members who say they plan to hold a protest Friday at an event in honor of the outgoing district superintendent to further attract the pay attention to their complaints.
They plan to protest outside the Flanders Hotel, the site of the health, wellness and happiness dinner in honor of Ocean City Superintendent of Schools, Kathleen Taylor, who is retiring after 15 years at the head of the district.
Courageous students who have told stories of sexual assault / misconduct, bullying, failed IEPs, etc. have consistently confirmed and maintained that Dr. Taylor’s leadership has led to the current decline in morale, student safety and mental health, Thomas said in a Facebook post.
The superintendent’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokeswoman for the Ocean City School District declined to comment except to say that the event in honor of the outgoing general manager is not sponsored by the district.
The Ocean City Education Foundation, the private group that hosts the $ 75-plate retirement dinner for Taylor, said money raised at the event was being used to create outdoor wellness spaces in each of the district schools by the end of 2021.
Taylor is one of the founding members of the foundation and deserves to be celebrated, said Jennifer Shirk, chair of the foundation’s board of directors. The outgoing superintendent has helped the school district improve its health and wellness supports for students throughout the district and has helped fund scholarships for students and grants for teachers, she said. declared.
His tireless efforts to support the students of the district and his continued promotion of our vision for the district are just two of the many reasons we have decided to participate in honoring him with this retirement dinner after 15 years of service, said Shirk.
But, Thomas, the former student who organized the petition, alleges that administrators and guidance counselors have often ignored or made fun of student requests for help. The list of allegations she compiled from other former students also includes accounts of teachers having inappropriate relationships with students.
Thomas, who went on to get her GED, said she was encouraged by school officials to drop out of Ocean City High School just before she turned 16 after teachers joined her classmates to intimidate her after she was exposed. She also said counselors had failed to resolve issues with her IEP, or individualized education program, a plan for students with special education needs or support.
She spoke at a school board meeting in April about her experiences and those she included in the petition.
School board president Joseph Clark said in April that school board members had seen the petition and contacted law enforcement authorities. He also praised Thomas at a school board meeting for exercising his right to free speech and starting the petition. He also said the school district has many plans and programs in place to tackle bullying and help students with other issues.
The Cape May County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the petition or the allegations. A spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office said he could neither confirm nor deny whether they were investigating.
The petition regarding alleged abuse at Ocean City High School was posted around the same time as an Instagram account @ocbp_predators alleging sexual harassment and misconduct among Ocean City Beach Patrol rescuers.
The city sent the allegations to the Cape May County District Attorney’s Office in April, the city spokesperson said. Ocean City has also hired a labor attorney to independently investigate the anonymous allegations on the Instagram account, which include allegations of older male rescuers making sexual remarks or sexually assaulting underage rescuers over several decades.
Thomas declined to say whether his petition regarding the abuse at Ocean City High School was related to allegations of abuse by the Ocean City Beach Patrol. Most of the beach patrol lifeguards are current and former students of the school.
One of the former high school teachers was also recently arrested. Ricardo Valle, a former Ocean City High School choir teacher, was arrested in February and charged with sexually assaulting one of his students at school in June 2016, on the last day of school. He also allegedly touched the girl inappropriately during an overnight excursion to Washington, DC, nearly three months earlier, prosecutors said.
Thomas said she hopes the outgoing school principal, who is retiring Aug. 1, will be replaced with someone who responds to allegations of abuse and bullying at the high school.
We absolutely want to make it known that the new superintendent who replaces Dr Taylor will not continue that (type of) leadership, said Thomas, who now lives in Ventnor.
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Kelly Heyboer can be reached at [email protected].
Steven Rodas can be contacted at [email protected].
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