Yelena Gonzalez-Horre

Yelena Gonzalez-Horre, superintendent of Monmouth Beach School District, believes strong schools must resist complacency. Success should invite reflection, not reliance on familiar practices without questioning their value for students’ evolving educational needs.

For her, leadership means looking beyond present performance to identify what students need next and whether today’s learning prepares them for the world ahead.

Knowing the community she serves deeply is central to Horre’s leadership. She greets families at drop-off, keeps her door open to parents and staff, sends a weekly newsletter and favors phone calls over lengthy email exchanges. These daily interactions help her keep district decisions largely focused on supporting teachers, improving students’ experience and fostering their broader development.

Tradition should not become its own justification. Monmouth Beach’s record of achievements provides a foundation for growth, not a reason to preserve every established notion. For Horre, sustained success depends on trying new approaches, learning from mistakes and adjusting practices. Alongside acquiring knowledge, students must also learn to communicate ideas meaningfully and apply their lessons beyond the classroom.

“I want students to engage actively with information rather than simply consume it, explore different perspectives and take responsibility for their academic growth,” states Horre.

The People Who Make Change Stick

For Horre, change happens when people have an equal voice in shaping it. A sign on her office wall reads, “We rise by lifting others,” reflecting her belief that leadership is more about bringing people together around a shared purpose than dictating from the top. She welcomes colleagues who challenge her ideas, values their expertise and willingly reconsiders her own approach when someone offers a better one.

A superintendent’s announcement cannot make an initiative succeed. Instead, teachers must understand its purpose and have a stake in its direction and outcome. Horre sees no role as more important than another, whether it belongs to a superintendent, classroom teacher, custodian or secretary. Each plays a noteworthy role in the school’s work. Among her greatest sources of pride is seeing former colleagues advance from classroom teachers into leadership positions.

The Framework Changes

Monmouth Beach’s candidacy for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years and Middle Years Programs reflects Horre’s rationale for deeper learning within the existing curriculum. She sees the limits of instruction built around fact memorization and tests and envisions learning that encourages students to question ideas, form their own perceptions and apply lessons practically.

“I want students to engage actively with information rather than simply consume it, explore different perspectives and take responsibility for their academic growth.”

At Monmouth Beach, that thought drives a significant shift in what learning should accomplish. The district is pursuing both programs, which Horre says may make it the first in New Jersey to do so. Through alternative expressions, such as podcasts, collaborative investigations and designed solutions, students can demonstrate understanding in ways that connect knowledge to real-world thinking and surface abilities that conventional assessments tend to overlook.

Broadening the Definition of Learning

Horre’s view of education extends beyond academic performance. She tells families that the school wants to raise “good humans and happy humans.” Electives such as woodshop, ceramics, forensics and STEM let students discover interests and abilities beyond conventional academic measures. She also values movement, breaks, play and social-emotional learning, giving children time to connect, communicate and develop skills such as sharing.

She does not equate innovation with more technology, but with room for independent thought, expression and shared learning. While students should learn to use AI effectively, they must not let it think, write or create for them. Classrooms should preserve time for relationships, conversation and collaboration, with technology supporting learning rather than taking over intellectual work.

Horre believes school improvement begins with listening, learning from the community and supporting teachers, whose classroom presence has the greatest impact on students. She treats leadership not as issuing directives, but as helping those closest to students turn ideas into memorable classroom experiences. That commitment underpins her recognition as one of New Jersey’s Top 10 School Superintendents in New Jersey 2026.