Thirty-Three new faculty and staff members will be joining the Montville Township Public Schools [MTPS] faculty for the 2025-2026 school year. Thirty of them began the 3-day MTPS New Teacher Orientation on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at 8:00 a.m.
“This is the largest class of new teachers we have seen in several years,” said Superintendent Dr. Thomas A. Gorman during his opening remarks. “We are excited to welcome you and your diverse perspectives and experiences. I am confident that you will all bring your broad range of knowledge to the students in your classrooms.”
The new teachers who were able to attend the opening launch of the 3-day workshop include: Kaitlyn Becker (Cedar Hill), Olivia Betzen (Woodmont), Melanie Brzozowski (MTHS), Michael Bury (Lazar), Kacey Cahill (Lazar), Megan Catanzariti (Lazar), Haley Chifla (Cedar Hill), Christopher DiMartino (MTHS), Eleanor Dishong (Lazar), Lauren Donohue (Lazar), Alec Ferguson (Lazar), Allie Gesek (Cedar Hill), Neveen Ghobrail (MTHS), Christopher Harle (Cedar Hill), Ashwin Herekar (Lazar), Brianna Kajetzke (Cedar Hill), Marisol Mendez (Lazar), Caitlin O’Connor (William Mason), Christian Parelli (Lazar), Mansi Patel (Lazar), Ya-ling Phillipi (Lazar), Brenda Rankin (Valley View), Pamela Roccisano (Lazar), Christine Romanos (Hilldale), Louella Selby (MTHS), Sara Simmons (MTHS), Kaitlin Sleight (MTHS), Elizabeth Annabelle Smart (MTHS), Holly Winans (Cedar Hill), and Joseph Woyce (MTHS). Three additional teachers will also be joining this team of new MTPS educators in the coming days.
Pointing around the room at the MTPS administrators who all attended the orientation in order to welcome the new teachers, Gorman continued, “We all welcome you. We are all here to support you. And, we encourage you to be innovative. You have my permission to try new approaches to the curriculum, to integrate new tools like AI, and to find new ways of reaching your students, that incorporate the ever-changing sphere of education. Work with your colleagues, work with your supervisors, and work with your administrators to implement new approaches to teaching, and to incorporate the district’s motto: ‘Educate. Inspire. Empower.’ Your work will support our students now and into the future.”
The New MTPS educators will support the district’s pre-k to grade 12 students at every level of education. Hilldale, William Mason and Woodmont Elementary Schools will each welcome one new teacher. Valley View Elementary School will welcome three new teachers, and Cedar Hill Elementary School will welcome six educators. Additionally, Montville Township High School will start the 2025-2026 academic year with eight new educators, and Robert R. Lazar Middle School will welcome twelve. An additional district-wide educator will also join the faculty this school year.
In addition to teaching at schools and grade levels throughout the district, the educators will also teach in a variety of subject areas. The thirty-three are comprised of five elementary teachers, four special education teachers, three world language, three math, and three resource teachers, two psychologists, two counselors, two music, and two science teachers, and one each in the areas of art, covering a leave, physical education/health, physical therapy, social studies, technology, and one nurse.
“We know you are outstanding educators,” said Montville Township Board of Education Member Karen Cortellino, “because you successfully completed a rigorous and thorough interview process.”
Cortellino, who recently completed a term as the President of the Board for the New Jersey School Boards Association, added, “We are excited that you are joining our excellent educational team, this is a great school district, and we look forward to working with you. Thank you for being here, and welcome to all of you.”
The Montville Township Public Schools New Teacher Orientation began on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, and will run through Friday, August 22. During the three-day training the new teachers are scheduled to receive Technology Training in Google Classroom, and Genesis; Technology Orientation Training; Danielson Training in Domains I, II, III, and IV; Counseling and HIB Training; Special Services Training; Business Office Orientation Training; and Grade Level/Department Trainings. The majority of programs will be offered in the MTHS Media Center, but the faculty will also have an opportunity to report to their assigned schools to prepare their classrooms.
Also on the three-day agenda, the Montville Township Education Association [MTEA] President Scott Riotto, who is also a Social Studies Teacher at MTHS, will welcome the new faculty. The district’s MTEA provided lunch on August 20.
This year, the MTPS New Teacher Orientation will also include a bus tour of the Montville Township community and all seven of the district’s public schools.
Montville Township Public Schools will welcome all faculty and staff members back for the 2025-2026 school year on Monday, August 26.
The district’s seven schools will open for students on Wednesday, August 27. Nearly 3,525 students, in grades Pre-k through Grade 12, are currently registered to attend the district’s five elementary schools, middle school, and high school.
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Thirty-three new teachers will join the Montville Township Public Schools district for the 2025-2026 academic year. Thirty of them were able to attend the launch of the district’s three-day New Teacher Orientation on Wednesday, August 20, 2025. Pictured (l to r): (FRONT ROW) Kaitlyn Becker, Olivia Betzen, Melanie Brzozowski, Christine Romanos, Kacey Cahill, Megan Catanzariti, Haley Chifla, Eleanor Dishong (SECOND ROW) Lauren Donohue, Allie Gesek, Caitlin O’Connor, Neveen Ghobrail, Mansi Patel, Ya-ling Phillipi, Brianna Kajetzke, (THIRD ROW) Brenda Rankin, Marisol Mendez, Pamela Roccisano, Louella Selby, Sara Simmons, Kaitlin Sleight, Elizabeth Annabelle Smart, Holly Winans, (FOURTH ROW) Alec Ferguson, Michael Bury, Christian Parelli, Christopher DiMartino, Christopher Harle, Joseph Woyce, and Ashwin Herekar. The New MTPS educators will support the district’s pre-k to grade 12 students at every level of education, across all seven district schools in a wide variety of subject areas. Nearly 3,525 students are registered to attend MTPS’ first day of school on Wednesday, August 27.