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Ocean Township High showcases 'Spartan Legacy' campaign, new schedule and expanded student supports
Summary
Ocean Township High School staff and student leaders presented a "Spartan Legacy" outreach campaign and a new bell schedule they say has boosted engagement and AP access; presenters also outlined dual-credit courses, student-mentoring pilots and athletics clinics.
Ocean Township High School staff and student leaders presented the district's new "Spartan Legacy" outreach campaign and a revised bell schedule during a Board of Education workshop, saying the changes have increased classroom focus and opportunities for students.
Dawn Kozuba, who led the presentation for Ocean Township High School, said the new schedule and a unit-lunch structure have "recaptured" instructional time and improved "student engagement, attention, and focus." She acknowledged challenges: "It's double the work for many of our students because they have eight classes now instead of four," Kozuba said, and staff have had to recalibrate lesson plans during professional-development time.
Student presenters described a suite of outreach and curricular changes. Isabella Rook, class of 2026, said the school is expanding AP and dual-credit access and reported that "73 percent of our students earned a 3, 4, or 5" on AP exams. Staff highlighted a new Spanish for Heritage Speakers course intended to help multilingual learners improve academic writing and access higher-level language classes.
John Turleski and James Young, the district's newly hired Spartan legacy coordinators, outlined promotional videos, club spotlights and early plans for clinics and mentoring. Turleski said short video promos and targeted clinics aim to introduce students in grades 5'8 to high-school programs and athletics, while Young described tentative baseball and basketball clinics and peer-mentoring pilots.
Administrators told the board they surveyed stakeholders early in the school year, will run another survey in the second semester and used November professional development to adjust classroom practice. Kozuba said more details about expanded AP access and an "AP access and honor award" will be shared at the January meeting.
The board praised the student productions and outreach approach. The workshop presentation concluded with an invitation for public questions and a pledge to return with more data on equity and outcomes in future meetings.
