From the Desk of the Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Kelly Harmon
Monmouth County Vocational School District
Meet Our Coaches
The Curriculum Coach Team
The curriculum coaches include seven lead teachers, who represent various content areas across the district: science, math,
English, history and world languages as well as our full time and shared time programs. This group serves as the liaison
between faculty and administration, updating curriculum/common exams, facilitating collegial discussions and keeping a
repository of resources for their colleagues. These are passionate and dedicated educational leaders at the forefront of
their field.
The following teachers serve as the district's curriculum coaches for the 2023-2024 school year:
English, Sarah Gross, HTHS
Sarah began her teaching career in 2005 as a middle school ELA teacher. In 2010, she returned “home” to HTHS, where she has taught 9th and 12th grade English ever since. A lifelong learner and science nerd, she received her MA in teaching biology in 2017 and renewed her National Board Certification in English Language Arts.
Sarah serves as an advisor for the National Honor Society, STEMinist Club, Book Club, and GSA at HTHS. Her
passion lies in showing students the connections between English class and science class.
History, Jessica Cappadona, MAST
Jessica Cappadona holds a B.S. in Adolescent Education with a concentration in Social Studies as well as a
M.A. in History both from St. John's University. She is proud to be a faculty member at the Marine Academy of
Science & Technology where she currently teaches United States History I as well as the college level dual
enrollment courses American History 101 and 102.
Math, Justine Lane, CHS
Justine Lane has been a math teacher in the MCVSD district for 18 years and was an electrical engineer
before joining the district. As the Math Curriculum Coach she will be focusing on digitizing the math
curricula, supporting teachers create transfer goals and performance based assessments in the math classroom.
Science, Danielle Jensen, BTHS
Dr. Danielle Jensen, has a BS and MS in molecular biology and a doctorate in eLearning; she has been a
member of the science department at Biotechnology High School (BTHS) for close to 20 years. She currently
serves as the IB Biology and research teacher at BTHS, as well as the senior mentorship coordinator.
World Languages, Courtney VanArsdale, CHS
Courtney comes with 17 years of classroom and curriculum experience, professionalism, and extreme
organization. Her BA was proudly done at Rutgers University in Spanish Linguistics and has earned two
Master's Degrees in Foreign Language Teaching and Acquisition from the University of Granada and
Salamanca, Spain. An adjunct professor at Rowan, Courtney also teaches Dual Enrollment courses at CHS for
Seton Hall. When not teaching, she enjoys traveling, going to the beach with friends, bike riding, cooking, and
reading.
Full Time CTE Programs, Wendy Green, MAST
Wendy Green holds an Associates in Specialized Technology Degree in Interior/Exterior Architectural
Design and a B.S. in Industrial Arts/Technology Education. She has been a faculty member at MAST
since 1998. She also has been an occasional adjunct at TCNJ. She currently teaches 10th grade
Technology, Engineering & Design and the Senior Capstone course called Systems Engineering II.
Shared Time CTE Programs, Amy McNamara, Career Center
Amy McNamara received her undergraduate degree from Monmouth University in the area of Secondary
Education and History. She went on to further her studies at New Jersey City University earning both a Special
Education endorsement and a Masters in Urban Education Administration and Supervision.
Amy is privileged to be entering her 16th year as an educator and 13th with MCVSD. She is a member of the
faculty at the Monmouth County Career Center where she was an academic support instructor for ten years. She
recently accepted a position as part of the prevocational evaluation team and is instrumental in placing students
within the Career Center.
Diversity Coach
Laura Gesin is a teacher leader, curriculum designer, professional development presenter, UX researcher, and doctoral student. In 2020, Mx. Gesin received a Certificate in Achievement in Curriculum ReDesign from MCVSD. She presents on topics that range from AI to creating connections through empathy and equity and was selected to present her approach to equity centered design in the computer science classroom at the 2023 Computer Science Teachers of America (CSTA) conference. A Social Justice Fellow at Monmouth University during the 2022-2023 school year, Mx. Gesin was awarded a grant through the Grunin Foundation to create a curricular unit in her advanced programming class that addresses racism and inequity in software design. As part of her doctoral studies at Rider University, Mx. Gesin will serve as the MCVSD Diversity, Access, and Inclusion Coach and will implement the Google UX Research Professional Certification program in her upper level courses for the 2024-2025 school year.
SEL Coach
Ms. Stefanie Garguilo serves as the district's SEL coach, guiding and developing the district's Character Strong curriculum
and supporting its implementation throughout the district. She works with teachers, counselors and administrators to
support the integration of SEL into the fabric of each school. Ms. Garguilo helps support students in need of SEL
intervention and coordinates the infusion of SEL standards with colleagues under the direction of the Director of School Counseling & Special Education. Ms. Garguilo started her career as an English teacher and 10 years later pursued a
career as a school counselor. Currently, she works at AAHS and has been there since 2016.