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Lower Cape May Regional’s Carly Crisanti Among New Jersey’s Top Teachers

Issue #777

August 14, 2026

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In This Cape May Local Scoop Issue…

 📆 Cape May Events

☀️ Cape May Local Weather 

🍎Lower Cape May Regional’s Carly Crisanti Among New Jersey’s Top Teachers  

🦈Mystery on the Beach: Dozens of Small Sharks Found Dead in Sea Isle City

🤘 Blue Öyster Cult to Rock Cape May in Summer Series Finale

Cape May Local Scoop’s Events Are Sponsored By: Cape May Antique Center

👇 Here’s what’s going on in the Cape May Local Area👇  

 August 14

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Lower Cape May Regional’s Carly Crisanti Among New Jersey’s Top Teachers

Carly Crisanti, an art teacher at Lower Cape May Regional High School, has been named Cape May County Teacher of the Year for the 2026-27 school year.

Crisanti is among 21 educators — one representing each county — selected as New Jersey’s County Teachers of the Year by the New Jersey Department of Education. The educators were honored at an awards ceremony at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

The county honorees represent a wide range of grade levels and subjects, including art, special education, computer science, criminal justice, dance and environmental science.

Throughout the upcoming school year, the 21 educators will serve as ambassadors for New Jersey’s public schools while connecting and collaborating with fellow teachers from across the state.

For Crisanti, the honor carries special significance because Lower Cape May Regional High School is also her alma mater.

She earned bachelor’s degrees in studio art and secondary education from William Paterson University before beginning her teaching career in 2015 with Passaic Public Schools. In 2018, she returned to Cape May County to teach at Lower Cape May Regional.

Since returning, Crisanti has worked to expand opportunities for students in the school’s visual arts program. She introduced Advanced Placement Studio Art and established a chapter of the National Art Honor Society.

Crisanti also co-founded the return of the school’s Celebration of the Arts, an event showcasing student work in a variety of creative and technical disciplines, including art, fashion, television media, woodworking and engineering.

Her students have also put their artistic abilities to work in support of the school and surrounding community, contributing to murals, displays and charitable fundraisers. Among those projects was an Empty Bowls event where students sold handmade clay bowls to raise money for a local outreach center.

Outside the classroom, Crisanti works as a freelance illustrator and creates mixed-media artwork. She has also begun studying American Sign Language and Deaf culture.

Her approach to education emphasizes learning about students as individuals and understanding their experiences and perspectives. That philosophy was influenced in part by the teachers who inspired Crisanti when she was a student, and she now seeks to provide that same kind of positive influence for her own students.

Individual schools select their Teachers of the Year, who may then apply for county recognition through the Governor’s Educator of the Year Program.

Crisanti and the other 20 county honorees will now be considered for the 2026-27 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year award. The selection process includes written applications, video submissions and finalist interviews.

The state winner is expected to be announced this fall and will go on to represent New Jersey in the National Teacher of the Year program.

Mystery on the Beach: Dozens of Small Sharks Found Dead in Sea Isle City

The discovery of nearly 30 small sharks along a stretch of beach in Sea Isle City this week startled beachgoers, but state wildlife officials say the incident may have a relatively common explanation.

A beach goer discovered 29 dead sharks Wednesday morning while walking along the beach between 29th and 39th streets. The animals, approximately a foot long, were scattered across about 10 blocks.

Stephen Nagiewicz, an adjunct professor of marine science at Stockton University, identified the animals as likely juvenile dogfish sharks. Dogfish are common in New Jersey coastal waters and can travel together in schools numbering in the hundreds or thousands.

Although the concentration of dead sharks attracted attention, experts have identified several possible causes.

One possibility is that the sharks moved into shallow water while feeding and became trapped behind sandbars as the tide receded. Dogfish and other small sharks frequently forage near the shoreline during the summer, creating conditions in which groups can become stranded before the water returns.

Another possibility involves fishing activity. The sharks could have been unintentionally caught by commercial or recreational fishermen targeting other species and later discarded offshore. Currents and tides could then have carried the animals onto the Sea Isle City beach.

Concerns were also raised about whether pollution or another harmful substance in the water could have caused the deaths. Nagiewicz considered that scenario less likely because an environmental toxin would be expected to affect other marine species rather than only a group of dogfish.

Some of the sharks reportedly had red markings on their undersides, adding to concerns among people who encountered them on the beach. However, no evidence has been reported linking the deaths to a water-quality problem.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection indicated that strandings involving dogfish and other small sharks can occur during the summer and that Wednesday's discovery does not appear to represent an unusual event. The agency is not conducting an investigation into the incident, according to information provided to news outlets.

By around midday Wednesday, the sharks were no longer on the beach. They were believed to have been carried back into the ocean by the incoming tide.

While the precise cause of the Sea Isle City deaths has not been determined, experts say tidal stranding and fishing bycatch remain plausible explanations. State officials have not indicated that the incident represents a broader threat to swimmers or marine life.

Blue Öyster Cult to Rock Cape May in Summer Series Finale

Classic rock fans will have a chance to see one of the genre's most enduring acts when Blue Öyster Cult takes the stage at Cape May Convention Hall on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026.

The concert is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. at the beachfront venue located at 714 Beach Avenue in Cape May.

For more than 50 years, the Long Island-based band has remained a powerful force in rock music, earning both critical praise and commercial success while helping shape the sound of hard rock and heavy metal. The group has influenced generations of musicians and has frequently been recognized among the most important hard rock bands of all time.

Blue Öyster Cult is widely known for a catalog of iconic songs, including "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," "Godzilla," and "Burnin' for You." Their music has appeared in numerous films, television programs and video games, helping introduce the band's work to new audiences over the decades.

The current lineup features founding members Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser and Eric Bloom alongside guitarist and keyboardist Richie Castellano, bassist Danny Miranda and drummer Jules Radino.

The performance will serve as the finale of the 2026 Cape May Summer Concert Series, bringing a legendary act to one of the Jersey Shore's most recognizable entertainment venues.

In 1885, an unusual attraction was built in South Cape May—a large 'Lucy type elephant' structure called the "Light of Asia." What was its primary purpose?

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 Answer to the August 13th Trivia Question

Which historic hotel in Cape May served as the "Summer White House" for President Benjamin Harrison?

A) The Chalfonte Hotel
B) Congress Hall
C) The Virginia Hotel
D) The Grand Hotel

Answer: B) Congress Hall

Congress Hall is a historic hotel in Cape May, originally built in 1816. It was used as the "Summer White House" by President Benjamin Harrison and has hosted several other U.S. presidents.

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