Our Teachers

Melwyn is the proud new owner of the Goddard School in Freehold on Pond Road off. Route 9. He has been a Goddard parent for 5 years prior . He is blessed to have his daughter Meghan in Pre-K in the school. Melwyn holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering, an MBA in Marketing and an Executive Management certificate from the Wharton Business School. Melwyn and his family reside in Manalapan. He left his corporate job to spend time with family and feels very blessed to be engaged with the community. He is very focused on academics and enrichment activities. His goal is to spread love, kindness, happiness and cheer for all our Goddard families. "The best way to make children good is to make them happy." - Oscar Wilde, author & poet.

Ms. Vera, our school director, graduated from Rider University with a Bachelor’s degree in commerce. After having a career with AT&T and then starting a family, she returned to Rider University to receive her Elementary Education degree with a Middle School certification in Language Arts. Miss Vera has been with our Goddard School since 2008, first creating our Kindergarten program and as the Director of our school since 2016. She has more than twenty years’ experience in education and always leads from the front. Miss Vera believes that a loving and nurturing environment allows children to build positive social skills and allows them the confidence to be more creative. She enjoys knowing each and every student and parent in the school and the special bond she shares with each one of them and their families. She believes greeting everyone in the morning with a smile makes everyone’s day, including hers, so much brighter. She invites you to visit and learn more about what we do and how we go the extra mile for your family. “Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” – Dr. Seuss

Ms. Penny is the Administrative assistant in our school. She attended Nassau Community College and Mandell Dental Assistant School. She started her career in education while working in the elementary school that her son attended. She worked as an assistant to both the kindergarten and first grade teachers. She started working at our Goddard School in 2006 when we opened and has since enjoyed getting to know most of the children and their parents. If there is anything she takes pride in, it’s being a mother. She works with the children as a way to extend her passion into her professional life. She feels incredibly satisfied that she is lucky enough to be contributing to the development of our future generation. “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” – Dalai Lama

Ms. Andrea is the lead teacher in our Preschool (Inventors) classroom. She has been a part of our school since 2016. She started as an assistant teacher and later became a lead teacher. In 2016, Ms. Andrea graduated from The College of Staten Island with a bachelor’s degree in Science, Letters and Society and a minor in Psychology. Prior to The Goddard School, Ms. Andrea spent her time volunteering with children ages 2 – 10. Ms Andrea believes that the most important goal of a teacher is to make the child feel comfortable. When a child feels comfortable. they would be more willing to participate in new experiences and learn. Ms Andrea also believes that creating meaningful relationships with children is extremely important as it helps the teacher understand them and form unique opportunities to teach each child. “Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.” -Walt Disney

Ms. Maria has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Green Mountain College in Vermont. She is currently our Lead Pre-School teacher (Adventurers) and has been working at our school since 2016. In addition to Pre-School, Miss Maria has worked in the Infant, First Steps, Toddler and Get Set classrooms and is familiar with all the kids and families at our school. Ms Maria believes that children need to be provided with consistency and creativity to make an enjoyable learning experience. She also thinks it’s important for the children to have fun in a safe environment while engaging in activities that helps them make new memorable connections. She invites every parent to visit her classroom to understand all the wonderful learning experiences she provides to our preschoolers. “Because no matter how small an act of kindness or generosity or simple positivity you put out into the world , it will make a difference.” – Wonder Woman

Ms. Meghan has been with our Goddard School since 2012. She received her teaching certificate from Kean University, where she also earned her Bachelor’s degree in English. She also has a degree in photography. Meghan loves to read and write and was a photographer on the Kean University’s School Newspaper staff. Prior to becoming a teacher, she interned as an Editorial Assistant in New York City for two magazines. She loves being a teacher and has found that the best way to run a classroom is with routines and positive reinforcement. All children are different and learn in different ways, and she realized that getting to know her students and learning what works for each of them has made her a more effective teacher. Meghan wants to make learning fun and exciting, so her students will look forward to coming to school every day! She is a true inspiration to our pre-K children who love to say “Ms Meghan is the best”! "By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before.” - Edwin Elliot

Ms. Anna is our Assistant teacher for our 2.5 year olds and up classrooms. She has been with our school since 2015 and loves to work on Art projects with the kids. She is very nurturing and caring and looks after her 3 nieces in her spare time. " I love to be with kids and make them happy"