West Orange Teacher Appointed Head Of NJTEEA

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the West Orange Public School District. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here.

West Orange High School Technology and Engineering teacher Debra Coen has been appointed Executive Director of the NJTEEA (NJ Technology and Engineering Educators Association). The NJTEEA is the state organization that represents all Technology and Engineering teachers.

Coen has been employed by the West Orange School District since September, 2000, teaching Technology Education to Roosevelt Middle School students. In 2013 she moved to West Orange High School, where she currently teaches Photography, Basic Electricity, and Introduction to iSTEM (Integrative Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Coen has been the producer of the spring musical at the high school for the past few years.

The WOHS Adaptive iSTEM class was created and developed in 2014 by Coen, Ryan DelGuercio (Supervisor of Technology and Engineering), Dawn Ribeiro (Director of Special Services 7-12), and Jodie Goldstein (WOHS Special Services). The innovative program was featured in an episode of "Classroom Close-up," the Emmy award-winning series on PBS, in March, 2016.

The segment centers on the group’s Rollercoaster project, where students and their instructional assistants created loops and tracks to make a working rollercoaster. Throughout the course, they built upon what they learned and worked with electricity and circuit kits. The course also utilized a modified DECIDER process, developed at WOHS for technology and engineering classes. Marie Blistan, Vice-President of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), also appears in the video along with WOHS instructors.

The NJTEEA runs workshops, an annual conference, and coordinates with the state for technology-related events. Coen has served this year as the secretary on the board and worked on the committee that is rewriting the state standards for Tech and Engineering, as well as helping lead the group working on certification for Tech and Engineering teachers. She has been asked to help the NJTEEA create a partnership with NJSBA (New Jersey School Boards Association) to help with their iSTEAM initiatives as well, with their first joint event set for June 21.

Coen is married and lives in Madison with her husband and three sons. She is running for the Madison Township Council in November.

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Photo: West Orange Public Schools