MRS. MAGNA


Mrs. Magna began her teaching career at FAMS in 2002.  This is her 24th year in the district as a special education teacher where she has taught 6th, 7th and 8th grade in a variety of in-class support and resource settings.  This year she will be teaching with Miss Bookspan for in-class support language arts, Mrs. Edson and Ms. Romer for in-class support social studies as well as replacement language arts in the sixth grade.  

Mrs. Magna earned her undergraduate degree from Marist College with duel certification in Psychology/Special education and Regular education. In addition, she has received her Masters degree in Special Education from Felician University.  In 2022 she completed an additional 30 credits in a variety of educational classes to enhance her teaching philosophy and learn new resources and tools for different content areas.  

 In her spare time Mrs. Magna enjoys spending time with her husband, son and daughter as well as her extended family and friends.  She can be seen relaxing with a good book and soaking up the sun at the beach.  Exercising and baking are also common hobbies as well.  

Teaching Philosophy

Philosophy of the Special Education Program in the Franklin Lakes School District:

“If he cannot learn the way we teach, we had better teach the way he can learn" - Robert Buck

The Special Education teachers of Franklin Lakes Public Schools believe in success for all children.  We are dedicated to providing a safe and nurturing environment in which each child has the opportunity to reach his or her fullest potential.  Learning is an individual process in which each child will have the optimum opportunity to develop academically, socially, and emotionally.  We strive to foster individual strengths while developing areas in need of more support.  We support students through a variety of specialized instructional strategies, techniques and materials.

The teachers in the Franklin Lakes Special Education Program focus on student achievement through the implementation of scientifically research-based curriculum that reflects best practices in special education. Comprehensive assessments are also used in order to establish data-driven goals and objectives to guide individual student success.  The IEP is the cornerstone of the student’s program.  We implement the IEP to meet the specific needs of each student in our programs.  We are consistently mindful of the specific accommodations and modifications that will help our students reach success in both special and general education programs.

As a group, we philosophically believe in the movement to give special needs students greater access to general education classes.  Our goal is to strengthen our relationship with our general education colleagues through the in-class support model.  The establishment of this partnership, while maintaining our identity as special educators, will create greater opportunities for student success now and in the future.  We are committed to excellence and making a significant difference in the lives of students challenged by the classroom setting.


Daily Schedule 2022-23

Daily Schedule for 2023-24 School Year

Back to School Checklist 2022-23

Get organized at the beginning of the year! Here are a few essentials.

Office Hours

My office hours are the first Monday of every month at 7:30 - 8:00 and last Thursday afternoon of every month from 3:00 - 3:30pm

amagna@franklinlakes.k12.nj.us