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June 29, 2005

Dr. Dearborn has completed his task

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


On Thursday afternoon, at the end of the day, Dr. Donald Dearborn will walk out of his office at Ocean City High School for the last time. It was nearly 13 years ago that he joined the school district as its superintendent.

“It was October 19, 1992,” he remembers, “and my impression that day and still today is that the kids here continue to amaze me.”

Dearborn came to Ocean City from Galloway Township, where he still lives, and he was taking over a school district that needed help.

As he leaves, there is a new high school that has brought excitement to the community and dramatically changed the way of life for students and athletes.

“This is such a great community,” he said. “Just the other day, at lunch, Dave Beyel and Phil Schaffer and John Richardson all came in. There are so many great people in Ocean City and Upper Township that make up this school.”

Years before coming to New Jersey, Dearborn was on the superintendent’s staff in Alexandria, VA. “We integrated the high school in 1971 and the elementary schools in 1973,” he remembers. “That was a great experience, opening up equal education for all.”

While he was there, the experiences portrayed in the hit film “Remember the Titans” took place. “(Football coach) Herman Boone (played by Denzell Washington in the film) was a great guy to be around,” said Dearborn. “He was a real gentleman and we have that type of person here in Ocean City – both male and female. I look at a guy like Wayne Colman and see what a strong philosophy he brought to our school, mentoring many of the young coaches. We are very fortunate in Ocean City, just as we were in Alexandria.”

While he supervised the school system here, he saw OCHS teams win 14 of the 19 “ultimate” championships that have been won in school history. “Five state titles in field hockey,” he said, “plus four in boys soccer, three in football and two in girls track. The crew program has made a dynamic debut. People like Trish LeFever, Mike Pellegrino, Gary Degenhardt and Mike Naples have been tremendous leaders. And others – John Bruno, Bill Moreland, Bill Nickles – there are so many reasons for the school’s success and coaches like those play a major role. All, of course, under the dedicated supervision of Paul LeFever.”

“But you know what impresses me the most,” he added. “Not necessarily all the championships but things like Renee Tomlin a few weeks ago. First, she runs her race in the state finals, then warns the girls in the next race about puddles on the track. A few days later, she loses a tough race and hugs the girl that beat her. That’s the kind of kid we have in Ocean City.”

Dearborn believes his job is to help provide the appropriate facilities and fields for the student-athletes. “It is great that the wrestling program not only has a great gym in which to compete, there is also a great practice facility,” he said. “The new weight room helps every program and every student. And we don’t have kids finishing basketball practice at 10 p.m. on weeknights. You saw how those basketball teams played last year. They didn’t want to lose a game in their gym.”

It took a while to get there, with the new high school facing opposition before being approved. “I sometimes wonder about what people are thinking,” he said, “but a lot of good people stood up and worked hard so that the correct decision was eventually reached.”

Dearborn went through a very emotional day when the school offered a tribute to him, filling the entrance with students applauding as he left. “I feel like a dad to those kids,” he said, “and it really moved me, that day.”

Dearborn will do a few things with his family over the summer, then look for a new challenge in the fall – something that will make use of his energies and talents. And you can bet it will have education as its base.

“I like to quote John Adams,” he said. “‘It is up to each generation to educate the next.’”

Robert Kennedy and many other great men often tried to live their lives by yet another quote – "leave the World better than you found it.

Dr. Donald Dearborn certainly reached that goal during his 13 years in Ocean City.



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