How the Asbury Park School District prepares students for success beyond the classroom
By Colleen Bartolotti
Across the Asbury Park School District (APSD), educators are being empowered to create innovative programs designed to meet the diverse needs of their students. With the support and encouragement of the Supervisor of Special Services, Dr. Jillian Garbolino, special education teachers and related service providers have transformed ideas into action. While each initiative serves a unique purpose, the programs share a set of guiding principles: help students gain confidence and self-advocacy skills, foster relationships, promote understanding, build independence and master real-life, practical skills.
Peer Buddies
By Lauren Gargiulo and Alyssa Schatzman
At Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, inclusion is not just a philosophy. It is embedded in our students’ daily experiences through meaningful opportunities that promote belonging, independence, communication and social connection. A key part of this work is our Peer Buddies program.
The Peer Buddies program pairs fifth grade general education students with students with disabilities throughout the school day in classrooms, adapted physical education, life skills activities and schoolwide events. These partnerships create natural opportunities for students to learn and grow alongside one another while building friendships, trust and confidence. Peer buddies develop empathy, leadership skills and a deeper understanding of diverse learners, while students in the special education program benefit from meaningful social connections and increased participation in everyday school experiences.
This spirit of inclusion extends into events such as our annual Autism Awareness Showcase, where peer buddies help support presentations and projects that celebrate neurodiversity and educate the school community. In our classrooms, peer buddies also work alongside students during hands-on learning experiences, such as our beverage cart and bagel sale, where students practice communication, money handling and independence while Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices ensure that every student has a voice and can participate fully.
Schoolwide activities, such as our Tattoo a Teacher fundraiser, strengthen these connections and build a sense of belonging across the entire school community. These efforts have led to noticeable growth in student confidence, independence and social interaction, while helping create a culture rooted in empathy, respect and inclusion. At Thurgood Marshall Elementary, inclusion is more than an idea; it is something we actively build each day through relationships, collaboration and opportunities so that every student feels valued and connected.
Rise and Shine Cafe
By William Bertscha
This school year, we established a transition program for 18- to 21-year-old students called RISE (Resource for Independent Skills and Employment). With the help of occupational therapist Ms. Jodie Redman and speech-language pathologist Dacia Deangelis, the Rise and Shine Cafe at Asbury Park High School was launched as a school-based enterprise to provide career exploration for our students.
Before each sale, the students meet with Ms. Redman and Ms. Deangelis to discuss what they would like to bake and sell. They then create a grocery list and walk to the City Supermarket in Asbury Park. At the grocery store, the students find their items and pay at the cash register. After buying the groceries, the students work with Ms. Redman and Ms. Deangelis, baking muffins or other treats to sell to staff. The students put muffins in the bags and label them.
During the week leading up to the sale, the students promote the cafe and pass out order forms. They collect the forms, taking inventory of how many cups, lids, regular coffee pods, decaf coffee pods, tea bags or hot chocolate pods they need. The students label cups with staff names and orders.
On the day of the cafe sale, each student has a different role. For example, one student fills beverage orders while two other students make deliveries and collect payments from school staff. The students are able to translate skills learned in the classroom to real-world situations like making change, fulfilling orders and thanking customers.
The students also had the opportunity to have pop-up Rise and Shine Cafe sales at the other three schools in the district. At Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, we collaborated with special education teacher Ms. Erin Rumsey and her students. At Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, we worked with special education teacher Ms. Alyssa Schatzman and her students. Both Ms. Rumsey’s and Ms. Schatzman’s classes sell bagels, while the Rise and Shine Cafe provides beverages. Paraprofessional Mr. Bellerive Dejoie is also an integral part of the success of the cafe.
The Rise and Shine Cafe has been a huge success, providing students with work-based learning experience. This year alone, the students have made and sold over 300 beverage orders, as well as baked and sold over 300 muffins and 40 cookies. All sales from the cafe go toward providing community-based learning experiences for our students, such as going out to a restaurant, making a purchase at a store or buying train tickets.
Colleen Bartolotti is a speech-language pathologist with experience in pediatrics and school-based services.
Lauren Gargiulo is an occupational therapist with school-based and outpatient pediatric therapy experience.
Alyssa Schatzman is a teacher in the Multiple Disabilities program in Asbury Park School District.
William “Billy” Bertscha is a special education teacher and work-based learning coordinator of the RISE Program in the Asbury Park School District.
Dacia Deangelis is a speech language pathologist in the Asbury Park School District.