By Donald Wittkowski
Ocean City’s Board of Education honored nearly 20 of the school district’s outstanding students, including some who achieved perfect scores on standardized state tests for English, mathematics and science.
During the school board meeting Wednesday night, all of the students were given certificates recognizing their academic excellence. The board members shook hands with each student while offering their congratulations.
Among the students was Avi Rabia, a senior at Ocean City High School who was called “magnificent” by Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Taylor.
Rabia finished with a perfect score on the New Jersey PARCC English language arts test and has been named as one of 16,000 semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship competition.
Semifinalists are the highest-scoring students in each state. Rabia and other semifinalists across the country will have an opportunity to compete in the spring for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more $32 million.
“If ever I could find a word to describe Avi, it’s magnificent,” Taylor said.
Rabia told the school board he has not yet decided on which college he will attend next year, but noted he likes the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University “the best.”
Rabia was not the only Ocean City High School student to ace the New Jersey PARCC test. Tanis McDonnell, a junior, also had a perfect score on the English language arts portion of the exam.
“Tanis is an extremely conscientious 11th grade student,” Taylor said. “She constantly looks at the big picture, and how that picture will lead her to future success.”
Formally known as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the standardized test includes exams in both English and mathematics. Taylor and other Ocean City school administrators pointed out that it is highly unusual for students to have a perfect PARCC score for English or math.
“To achieve a perfect score on PARCC English language arts, the students mastered literary text, vocabulary, writing expression and use and knowledge of the English language,” Taylor said. “To achieve a perfect score on PARCC mathematics, the students have mastered critical thinking, problem solving and can apply this to real-world scenarios.”
Christian Ganter, a seventh-grader at the Ocean City Intermediate School, was also honored by the Board of Education for his perfect math score on the PARCC test when he was in sixth grade.
“His favorite class is mathematics, and it shows, Taylor said of Ganter.
Other students were recognized Wednesday by the Board of Education for their academic achievements at the high school and middle school level.
Christa Michel and Sara Ruth, both seniors at Ocean City High School, were honored for receiving letters of commendation during the National Merit Scholarship competition. Although commended students do not continue on to compete for National Merit Scholarships, they do become candidates for scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.
Daphne Brozyna and Isabella Kenny, both fifth-graders at the Ocean City Intermediate School, were honored for winning the New Jersey STEAM Tank Challenge. Brozyna and Kenny developed a mobile app for recycling to become state champions. They beat out nearly 200 other competitors in the STEAM Tank contest, which promotes science, technology, engineering, art and math.
“Bella and Daphne are two extremely talented students,” Taylor said.
Ocean City students also did well in another state standardized test known as New Jersey ASK, short for Assessment of Skills and Knowledge in science. In all, 13 students had perfect scores in the ASK test. The school board recognized them all.
They include fifth-graders Madelyn Adamson, Nathan Amey, Joseph Berardis, Daphne Brozyna, who is also the STEAM Tank Challenge winner, Clifford Dirkes, Abigale Dolinsky, James Erney, Wesley Morton, Wynne Nussey, Vander Reeves, Aiden Schlembach and Rachel Stauffer. Jacob Patella, a freshman at Ocean City High School, also achieved a perfect score in the ASK test.
In other business at the meeting, Taylor told the school board that Ocean City’s innovative mental-health and wellness program for students is featured in the cover story of the current edition of The School Leader magazine. The program was prompted by the suicides of two Ocean City High School students in 2014 and 2015.
The magazine story is headlined “Tackling Teen Suicide.” It details how Ocean City is fighting the suicide crisis through a multifaceted approach that focuses on helping students cope with stress and anxiety.
“No school is suicide proof, and we know that,” Taylor said.
Joseph Clark, Board of Education president, noted that Ocean City has confronted the teen suicide crisis head-on. He lamented that some other school districts have chosen to “sweep it under the carpet, like it doesn’t exist.”
“It’s a sad thing. It’s a national dilemma,” Clark said of teen suicides.
Ocean City’s student wellness program is a collaborative effort between mental-health experts, school officials and city leaders, among others. Taylor called it an “action plan.”
This year, the program was expanded to add a “wellness room” at the high school, a type of refuge that allows students to cool off while dealing with stress or anxiety.
