New Road School. Specialized Private Schooling.

Our Faculty

The New Road Schools employ an extraordinary team of talented, caring professionals who foster a culture of unparalleled alternative learning.

Each academic classroom is led by a certified special education teacher, accompanied by a minimum of one teaching assistant. Our career training classes are taught by a well-rounded group of instructors who enliven their courses with demonstrated expertise and personal experience. All have been specially trained to work with special needs students and are dedicated to fulfilling our mission.

As versatile as our faculty is, each staff member is an incredibly supportive, compassionate educator who believes in our students and thus motivates and guides them in uncommon ways. Each is familiar with a variety of teaching styles to allow for flexible instruction of our diverse student body, and all of our team members — from part-time aides to therapists to administrators — bring an admirable passion and energy to their work on a daily basis. Best of all, the entire New Road team shares a strong sense of responsibility toward leading our students to become independent, high-functioning adults in the larger community.

 

Annette Hockenjos, M.A.
Executive Director, New Road Schools of New Jersey
Director, New Road School of Parlin

Annette Hockenjos, M.A. serves as Executive Director for the New Jersey schools. Ms. Hockenjos received her masters of arts in special education at Georgian Court University and has successfully completed Leadership Best Practices at Harvard Business School. She has over 30 years of experience in working with children with learning and social difficulties.

After college, Ms. Hockenjos worked in public education for several years before entering the private sector and starting her career working with adolescents with emotional problems. It was then that her passion for private schooling was born. She has spent the last 28 years of her career dedicated to improving the lives and academic skills of her students. As one of the founding members of New Road, Ms. Hockenjos's two decades with the organization have been concentrated on achieving success with each student even in the face of obstacles.

The New Road Schools of New Jersey have set a path for our facilities directing new programming toward the secondary-plus population (students aged 18-22) and offer career-based education and certification programs to these students. Our Executive Director is ready to lead her team in this latest effort and welcomes the challenges before her and her staff.

 

Diane O'Donnell
Director, New Road School of Ocean County

Diane O'Donnell completed her undergraduate work at the College of New Jersey and her graduate work at Georgian Court University. She is a founding member of the New Road School, having started with the organization in 1986 as a teacher. During her eight years of teaching for New Road, Ms. O'Donnell was named "Teacher of the Year" by NAPSEC (National Association of Private Education Centers) and received a "Teacher of the Year" nomination from the New Jersey—based ASAH organization. During her tenure as an Assistant Director, Ms. O'Donnell went on to develop a collaborative pilot project between New Road School and a private elementary school in Somerset, creating a unique inclusion program.

In 1998, Ms. O'Donnell established the third New Road School in New Jersey located in Ocean County, serving as Program Director. She credits the success of the New Road Schools to the team of Directors, all of whom have been true visionaries in creating innovative educational programs for a diverse population of students. She states, "New Road School provides a unique environment for students where they can be challenged to their fullest potential while experiencing acceptance for who they are. The small setting in Ocean County affords us the opportunity to provide highly individualized student programming in a warm, nurturing manner."

Ms. O'Donnell is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the New Road Schools team for so many years and for the rich experiences she has encountered both professionally and personally.

 

Michele Rieman
Director, New Road School of Somerset

Michelle Rieman is proud of the many steps she has taken on the New Road path over the years, each one with her special stamp of total dedication. She began as a teaching assistant in 1987, then went on to become a classroom teacher before eventually holding the position of Director of the New Road School of Somerset. Along the way, she developed a keen knowledge of all the areas involved in special education, which she deems "an important, challenging field that I love."

Ms. Rieman attended Kean University and is currently completing her higher education at Georgian Court University.  She continues to actively further her education to this day, believing that one cannot proactively and productively participate in this field, or any other without continuing to learn.

Married for 34 years, Ms. Rieman is the proud mother of a daughter and a son. One of her personal passions is Dalmation dogs, and she has raised four of her own as pets. She also enjoys craft fairs and playing Bunco.

"My greatest rewards are reflected in the faces of the students as they accomplish new milestones," she says of her life's work. "Each day is a new challenge, and I attempt to meet it with compassion, enthusiasm, and fresh eyes. It's a case of a person, position, and passion being a perfect fit, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work at something I love."

 

Joe Vilanova, M.S.
Principal, New Road School of Somerset

Joe Vilanova brings over 20 years of educational experience to his position at New Road. He was formerly the Director and Associate Director of the Somerset and Parlin schools respectively. Mr. Vilanova entered the education field later in his life, but he eventually fulfilled his dream to get his teacher's degree so that he could have a positive effect on every child he encounters.

New Road School is very special to him he says, because the organization "looks at each child as an individual from the moment they come in the door. The program must meet the child's individual needs, not like in the public sector, where children are forced to meet the individual school district's program. New Road, however, takes the state-mandated curriculum and develops an individual learning plan tailored to each child."

Mr. Vilanova looks forward every day to advancing the ideas of New Road's founders and continuing to make a positive impact on the special needs student population in New Jersey

 

Douglas Bower
Principal, New Road School of Ocean County

Doug Bower is a native New Jerseyan, born and bred in Wall Township, where he still lives in the house he built for his family, consisting of his wife Lynda, their three accomplished children, and their dog, Tide.

Mr. Bower attended Trenton State College (now TCNJ) and went on to teach health and physical education and to coach football, wrestling, and golf in the public sector for 20 years. He then applied his talents for K. Hovnanian, the largest homebuilder in the state, but found that a corporate job just wasn’t for him. So he returned to school at Jersey City State College, where he earned his master’s in educational administration and his principal’s license before working for several special educational schools in New Jersey.

His current position as principal of the New Road School of Ocean County was preceded by earlier positions with the New Road organization, namely principal of the Learning Center Charter School in Atlantic City for two years and then principal of the High Road Upper School.

Mr. Bower’s greatest joy in life, though, is spending time with his family, particularly if a sporting event is involved — and if it’s on the beach on the Jersey Shore where both he and his sons have served as lifeguards over the years, even better! The New Road Schools of New Jersey feels very fortunate to have this Jersey boy, through and through, at the helm of our state-of-the-art Somerset facility.

 

Carol Padgitt, M.S.
Principal, New Road School of Parlin

Carol Padgitt received her bachelor’s degree in science and teacher of the handicapped certification from Monmouth University, followed by her master’s in science in education and principal certification from the same institution. Presently, she is enrolled at Rutgers University’s Education Law and Policy Institute to keep current with the ever-changing regulations in the field of education, which equips her to expertly attend to parental concerns as well as to staff and programming issues.

Ms. Padgitt’s educational career has spanned more than 30 years, during which time she’s enjoyed a myriad of diverse and unique experiences. She began as a teacher’s assistant in a residential program for the severely autistic, working with students facing behavioral problems, communication challenges, and neurological impairments and developing innovative techniques and customized approaches to learning. Upon joining the New Road Schools, she participated in the Transitional School-to-Work Program, cooperatively contributing to establishing programs that allow students to gain confidence, to grasp work skills and concepts, and to build upon individual strengths and successes. In 1995, the program was elected for presentation at the International Congress Conference on Special Education in England. Ms. Padgitt was also invited to work with the NJ Department of Education on a pilot program for career training. Once she was put on the leadership track at New Road, Ms. Padgitt was given the opportunity to supervise programs and staff independently, with the guidance and encouragement of her superiors.

Accepting the position of principal of the New Road School of Parlin in 2004 was like “coming back home” to Ms. Padgitt, as she’s returned to a program and a vision for which she has been such a positive advocate. Ms. Padgitt’s enthusiasm for her work is evident throughout the Parlin school, where the warm and inviting atmosphere of lifelong learning nurtures all the staff and students.