Washington Twp. teachers named to supervisor posts
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP - Birches Elementary School special education teacher Christina Cox and Orchard Valley Middle School teacher Joseph Hoopes have been appointed to two supervisor posts in the Washington Township School District's Special Education Department.
Hoopes will assume his new responsibilities on Feb. 1 and Cox will begin on July 1.
Cox and Hoopes will plan, implement, supervise and evaluate special education programs, assisting in curriculum development implementation and the selection of instructional materials and equipment for all special education programs and related areas.
Cox and Hoopes also will assist in representing the school district in due process hearings and other legal hearings and conflict resolutions and will ensure the appropriate development and implementation of programs designed to support and increase student achievement for students with disabilities.
Cox has served as an elementary special education teacher in the district since 2008. Cox facilitated a number of school-wide initiatives, including training on positive behavior supports and prompting, autism awareness events and technology infusion. Cox, a 2012-13 Teacher of the Year, holds a bachelor of arts degree in early childhood education, teacher of the handicapped, and American Studies, and a master's in school administration and supervision from Rowan University. She has earned certificates in teacher of the handicapped, early childhood education, elementary education, as well as principal, supervisor and school administrator certificates. She also is certified in Wilson reading and nonviolent crisis intervention.
Hoopes has taught special education at Orchard Valley Middle School since 2008, where he has educated students with a wide range of disabilities in the self-contained and in-class support settings. He also has served on the school's Intervention and Referral Services Team and the Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Team. Hoopes spent six years in the Gloucester County Special Services School District at the Bankbridge Regional School, where he taught in the middle school behavior disabilities program and the elementary school multiple disabilities program. Hoopes has been the head coach of middle school wrestling in Washington Township for the past 10 years. He is a 2002 graduate of Montclair State and earned a master's in school leadership from Wilmington University. He is a certified teacher of the handicapped and supervisor.