RFH Teacher Named Monmouth County Teacher of the Year

RUMSON, NJ – A teacher from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School was recently named NJ Teacher of the Year for Monmouth County, the New Jersey Department of Education announced Wednesday.

Christina Gauss, a Spanish teacher at the high school, was honored as Monmouth County Teacher of the Year at a virtual awards ceremony.

Over 14 years serving students at Rumson-Fair Haven School District for 14 years, Gauss has distinguished herself as an “innovative educator”, according to ceremony officials. She empowers students to explore their passions and aims to foster global citizenship, including through an sister school initiative she started with a high school in Spain.

“I’m so appreciative of the guidance and the support that I received from my administration and staff at RFH,” said Gauss at the online ceremony. “I would also like to thank my amazing colleagues in the world language department. My colleague Ida Marcus in Spain, my family, my amazing students and the greater school community that continued to inspire me on a daily basis so that I can do a job that I love.”

Gauss graduated from Bucknell University with degrees in Spanish and International Relations. She earned her master’s degree in teaching and Spanish from Rutgers University.

The educator also runs interdisciplinary extracurriculars in school that aim to expose students to “real-world issues”. She has presented at local, national and international conferences, serves as regional director for Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica and received a distinction from the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese in 2017.

“This honor recognizes the positive impact that each of these teachers has on our students and their communities. They are involved beyond their classrooms and are key to the changes we want to applaud,” stated NJEA Vice President Sean M. Spiller in a statement.

County Teachers of the Year are encouraged to apply for the New Jersey State Teacher of the Year recognition. The instructor chosen for this honor is named at the New Jersey State Board of Education meeting in October.

The 2019-2020 recipient of the award is Kimberly Dickstein Hughes, an English Language Arts instructor at Haddonfield Memorial High School in Camden County.

“These amazing individuals have chosen to serve our communities in one of the most honorable professions. They are true representatives of the quality educators we have working in our great public schools,” said NJEA Secretary-Treasurer Steve Beatty in a release.

View winners from each county here.

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