Carteret Educator is Middlesex County’s New ‘Teacher of the Year’

CARTERET, NJ — A local middle school social studies teacher is Middlesex County’s 2024-25 “Teacher of the Year,” honored by the NJ Department of Education for her classroom effort and extracurricular contributions.

Kristen L. Johnson has taught ancient civilization history to 6th graders at Carteret Middle School since 2012, and she excels in student-engagement; makes positive contributions to school culture; and finds time to coach sports and advise student organizations, according to the state Education Department .

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The state Education Department released its list of the 2024-25 New Jersey “Teachers of the Year” for each county on Tuesday, Aug. 6th, honoring them for exemplary service to school children across the state. They were identified a ceremony at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

A complete look at Johnson’s bio and contributions to Carteret Middlesex School is at this state Education Department website , or Johnson’s school district website .

This is the second time in recent years that a Carteret Public School educator has been chosen as Middlesex County “Teacher of the Year.” Leana Malinowsky, a grade school teacher since 2011 at Carteret's Pvt. Nicholas Minue School, was named Middlesex County’s 2022-23 “Teacher of the Year.”

Read: Carteret Educator is Middlesex County’s 2022-23 ‘Teacher of the Year’

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OTHER 2024-25 TEACHER HONOREES
● ATLANTIC COUNTY – Carly Broomhead, middle school visual arts teacher in the Absecon School District.
● BERGEN COUNTY – Margarita Diakos, high school special-ed teacher in the Ramsey School District.
● BURLINGTON COUNTY -- Margaret Fanourgakis, health & phys-ed in the Lenape Regional High School District.
● CAMDEN COUNTY – Stacey Brown-Downham, elementary reading specialist in the Haddonfield School District.
● CAPE MAY COUNTY – Antonio Martín Franco, a Spanish & phys-ed teacher in the Avalon-Stone Harbor School District.
● CUMBERLAND COUNTY – Karolina Mills, an ESL teacher in the Vineland School District.
● ESSEX COUNTY – El Houcin Houssam, mathematics teacher in the Newark School District.
● GLOUCESTER COUNTY – Vanessa Poggioli, mathematics teacher in the Glassboro School District.
● HUDSON COUNTY – Kelly Carroll, a reading specialist in the Bayonne School District.
● HUNTERDON COUNTY – Meghan Luick, mathematics teacher in the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District.
● MERCER COUNTY – Nicole Hamlet, biology teacher in the Trenton School District
● MONMOUTH COUNTY – Sara Mazzone, English teacher in the Red Bank Regional High School District.
● MORRIS COUNTY – Morris County: Alyssa Guagenti, a gifted-talented & special-ed teacher in the Jefferson Township School District
● OCEAN COUNTY – Jill Falletta, grade school teacher in the Beach Haven School District.
● PASSAIC COUNTY – Bernadette Orsita, a Spanish teacher in the Manchester Regional High School District.
● SALEM COUNTY – Deanna Miller, a high school agricultural-science teacher in the Woodstown Pilesgrove Regional School District.
● SOMERSET COUNTY – Stefanie Lachenauer, social studies teacher in the Montgomery Township School District.
● SUSSEX COUNTY – Mary Houghtaling, an English teacher in the Kittatinny Regional School District.
● UNION COUNTY – Alejandro Mejía, a Spanish teacher in the Kenilworth School District.
● WARREN COUNTY – Jennifer Mazziotta-Walter, a visual arts & gifted–talented teacher in the Harmony Township School District.

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