2 Ocean City Principals Capture Awards

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Two principals in the Ocean City Public School District are the latest school officials to be recognized for their accomplishments.

Ocean City High School Principal Dr. Matthew Jamison has been named one of the 2017-18 Visionary Leaders of the Year by the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA) and the New Jersey Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the district announced on Wednesday.

Ocean City Intermediate School Principal Geoffrey Haines has been selected as the winner of the 2018 AtlantiCare Healthy Educator Award.

Jamison will receive his NJPSA Visionary Award at the organization’s Fall Conference in October. The award comes with a $7,000 grant for Ocean City High School, which the school will use to support the technology infrastructure in its newly developed Holocaust/Genocide Studies course.

Ocean City High School will begin offering this dual-credit program with Stockton University in the fall. All resources, including the college resources, will be online, making technology a fundamental part of the course.

Haines will receive his Healthy Educator Award at a ceremony on April 18. His recognition comes with $600 to support a healthy initiative at his school. He plans to use the stipend to support the school’s edible garden to produce fruits and vegetables for use in the Family and Consumer Science classes and the school’s cafeteria.

Jamison was recognized for bringing the Professional Learning Communities to Ocean City High School years before it was included in the AchieveNJ teacher evaluation. The program has allowed the high school’s faculty to revise standards, establish common sense assessments and develop assessment guides through curriculum. As a result, Ocean City High School has become the model for creating Student Growth Objectives. Rutgers University is studying the high school for its work in this area.

Jamison also co-developed the school’s NJ School Choice Programs. He also led the expansion of dual credit opportunities for students, the expansion of the Freshman Transition Program to include mentoring and career paths, open enrollment in Advanced Placement courses with additional faculty and student support, and a transformed Master Schedule to better afford teachers and students time for more rigorous and immersive learning experiences.

Haines was recognized for his efforts to instill healthy behaviors and attitudes in the Intermediate School’s student and staff populations. He helped initiate Mindful Mondays at the school, during which the entire student body takes time to breathe and meditate at the start of the school day. For both students and staff, he has led the introduction of yoga, which is supported by a Sustainable Jersey for Schools Health and Wellness Grant.

The "Promoting Mind and Body Health Through Yoga" program offers one to two after-school yoga lessons per month to students in fourth through eighth grades. The program's goal is to teach yoga and help students relieve stress, relax and mentally focus, and also provide an appreciation for healthy activity.

Teachers and staff are also able to use the yoga equipment purchased with the grant money during yoga sessions on in-service days.

The school’s yoga program, in addition to its outdoor garden, have helped it secure a Sustainable Jersey for Schools Bronze Certification. This program recognizes schools and school districts for their positive efforts to improve environmental sustainability and overall health and wellness within the school community.

“Both Dr. Jamison and Mr. Haines have a transformational leadership style that inspires students, parents, faculty and other stakeholders to participate in finding innovative ways to make our schools even better,” Ocean City School District Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Taylor said. “Both are truly deserving of recognition. As a district, we celebrate these principals and the fact that these awards highlight the highly effective educators and schools right here in Ocean City.”

Earlier this year, Taylor was named 2018 Superintendent of the Year by the New Jersey Association of School Administrators. American Sign Language teacher Amy Andersen is the 2017-18 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year and one of four finalists for the 2018 National Teacher of the Year.

Ocean City High School junior Nora Faverzani was elected as a New Jersey Association of Student Councils state officer and will serve as the single State School Board of Education Student Representative for the 2018-2019 school year.

The attached image was provided: Pictured in the back, far left, is Dr. Matthew Jamison, OCHS principal. Pictured in the back, center in light blue, is Geoff Haines, OCIS principal.