In the Matter of the Suspension of the Teaching Certificates of Roven Gomez, Empowerment Academy Charter School, Inc., Hudson County, 12/4/25 (#547-25)

547-25
OAL Dkt. No. EDU 12161-25
Agency Dkt. No. 114-4/25
New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Final Decision
In the Matter of the Suspension of the Teaching
Certificates 	of 	Roven 	Gomez, 	Empowerment
Academy Charter School, Hudson County
The record of this matter and the Initial Decision of the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) have
been reviewed and considered. The parties did not file exceptions.
Upon review, the Commissioner concurs with the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that respondent
Roven Gomez failed to provide notice of 60 days as required by his employment contract prior to
abandoning his teaching position at Empowerment Academy Charter School. The Commissioner also
concurs with the ALJ that respondent’s conduct warrants a suspension of his teaching certificates for one
year pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:26-10.
Accordingly, the Initial Decision is adopted as the final decision in this matter, and the Order to
Show Cause is hereby granted. Respondent’s teaching certificates are suspended for a period of one year
from the filing date of this decision, a copy of which shall be forwarded to the State Board of Examiners
for implementation of the suspension.
IT IS SO ORDERED.1
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Date of Decision: 	December 4, 2025
Date of Mailing: 	December 4, 2025
1 This decision may be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-9.1. Under
N.J.Ct.R. 2:4-1(b), a notice of appeal must be filed with the Appellate Division within 45 days from the date of mailing
of this decision.

New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer
State of New Jersey
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
INITIAL DECISION
OAL DKT. NO. EDU 12161-25
AGENCY DKT. NO. 114-4/25
IN THE MATTER OF THE TEACHING
CERTIFICATE OF ROVEN GOMEZ,
EMPOWERMENT ACADEMY CHARTER
SCHOOL, HUDSON COUNTY
________________________________________
Jaryda Gonzalez, Esq., for petitioner (Johnston Law Firm, LLC, attorneys)
Roven Gomez, respondent, pro se
Record Closed: October 22, 2025 Decided: November 6, 2025
BEFORE ANDREA PERRY VILLANI, ALJ:
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On February 20, 2025, petitioner Roven Gomez, a teacher at Empowerment
Academy Charter School (Empowerment), stopped reporting to work and did not
provide the sixty-day notice required by his contract. Should Gomez’s teaching
certificate be suspended for one year? Yes. Under N.J.S.A. 18A:26-10, failure to
provide such notice is misconduct subject to a one-year certificate suspension.

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 12161-25
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PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On April 17, 2025, Empowerment filed an Order to Show Cause against Gomez
with the Commissioner of the Department of Education (Commissioner). On April 22,
2025, the Commissioner ordered Gomez to show cause why an order suspending his
teaching certificate should not be entered for unprofessional conduct. On June 13,
2025, Gomez responded in the form of a letter addressed to “Whom it May Concern.”
On July 9, 2025, the Commissioner transmitted the case as a contested case to
the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for a hearing under the Administrative Procedure
Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 to -15, and the act establishing the OAL, N.J.S.A. 52:14F-1 to -
13.
On August 14, 2025, I held a pre-hearing conference. Gomez did not participate
in the conference. On October 22, 2025, I conducted the hearing and closed the
record.
DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS OF FACT
On September 18, 2024, Gomez executed an Employment Agreement to work
as a teacher at Empowerment, a public charter school in Jersey City, for the 2024-2025
school year. The contract specified Gomez’s term of employment as October 7, 2024,
until June 30, 2025, as a seventh-grade math teacher. Under the Agreement, Gomez
could unilaterally terminate his employment by providing sixty-days’ written notice to the
school.
On February 20, 2025, Gomez did not report to work. He did not place his
absence in Paychex as required by Empowerment’s attendance policy. He did not
email any of the middle school leaders to tell them he would be absent. Gomez
continued to miss work – without informing anyone – on the following dates: February
24, 2025, March 3, 2025, March 4, 2025, March 5, 2025, March 6, 2025, March 7, 2025,
and March 10, 2025.

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On March 10, 2025, Empowerment's Middle School Principal, Lisa Powell,
emailed Gomez advising that she considered his absences job abandonment, which
could lead to revocation of his teaching certificate for one year. Gomez responded by
email the same day and said, “You are calling it job abandonment. I am calling it health
concerns. I am not healthy to perform my duties.”
On March 25, 2025, and March 29, 2025, Powell sent follow-up emails asking
Gomez to provide a doctor’s note. Gomez did not respond. Powell did not attempt to
contact Gomez after March 29, 2025. At that point, Gomez had not communicated with
Empowerment for nineteen days, and it was over a month since Gomez stopped
showing up for work.
Approximately three months later, Gomez filed a letter with the Commissioner
addressed to “Whom it May Concern.” In the letter, Gomez acknowledged that he did
not give proper notice to Empowerment: “I am writing this letter to formally explain the
circumstances that led to my decision to leave…without traditional notice.” He then
stated his reasons for not providing notice, which included “lack of structure and
discipline from the administration,” “absence of support from administration,” and
because he “felt increasing pressure to conform to certain ideological narratives.”
Gomez attempted to explain further at hearing, though his testimony was
contradictory and confusing. For instance, it was unclear whether Gomez left his
teaching position at Empowerment because of the school environment, health issues, or
both.
Gomez began by discussing his health issues. He mentioned a concussion that
he suffered in November 2024, though he later admitted that he was medically cleared
to return to work after the concussion. He spoke about problems with his hands,
including difficulty writing and using the mouse for the computer. Near the end of his
testimony, he mentioned he had a catheter, but he clarified that he “survived for six
years with the catheter” and “appreciate[d] that the school located a classroom near the
bathroom.” Gomez acknowledged that he never provided Empowerment with a doctor’s
note, medical records, or other documentation relating to any of these health issues.

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 12161-25
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Gomez changed topics several times during his testimony to complain about
Empowerment’s school environment. Among other things, he said, “I was given
students that had no motivation to learn.” Kids would fall asleep in class. He mentioned
that sometimes the school did not allow students to recess outdoors. Gomez also had
problems with students who complained that he did not address transgender students
by their identified gender.
Gomez concluded by saying that he left Empowerment for personal reasons and
knowingly risked suspension of his license. He stated, “This charter school experience
will be a reminder that…it was a lesson learned that not everything is meant for you.
That’s why I walked away. It wasn’t meant for me.” Additionally, he stated, “If you’re
willing to suffer your consequences for what’s going to be provided for you, I’m going to
suffer those consequences. I saw the possibility of losing my license for a year. If I lose
my license, it’s in His hands.”
Powell testified that, when Gomez left his position, there was no certified teacher
available to take over his classes, and Empowerment was unable to find one before the
end of the school year. Gomez was responsible for two math classes, and each class
had a Teaching Assistant (TA). The TAs stepped in to lead the classes in Gomez’s
absence, but the TAs are not certified teachers, and they effectively acted as substitute
teachers for the remainder of the school year. Powell believes this was detrimental to
the students, noting that interim assessments conducted each quarter that year showed
that the students made no meaningful growth.
Given this discussion of facts, I FIND that Gomez left his position at
Empowerment for personal reasons, without notice. I further FIND that, even after he
stopped showing up for work, Gomez never clearly communicated with the school about
leaving his employment, so Powell continued to email him for several weeks. This
delayed Empowerment’s search for a replacement math teacher and, indeed,
Empowerment was unable to find a replacement teacher before the end of the school
year, which was detrimental to the students.

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 12161-25
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CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Under N.J.S.A. 18A:26-10, a teaching staff member who ceases to perform their
duties before the term of their employment’s end absent Board consent, “shall be
deemed guilty of unprofessional conduct.” In turn, the Commissioner of Education may
suspend the teacher’s certificate for up to one year. Id. The statute’s purpose is to
encourage notice to the school so that it can hire a suitable replacement “without
adversely impacting students.” Penns Grove-Carneys Point Bd. of Educ. v. Leinen, 94
N.J.A.R.2d (EDU) 405, 407. Typically, the Commissioner will suspend a teacher’s
certificate for the one-year maximum when the circumstances show that the teacher
failed to provide sixty days’ notice “for strictly personal reasons, putting their own self-
interest above the interests of students and their professional obligation to provide
adequate notice to the board.” In re Certificates of Chae Hyuk Im, 2018 N.J. Super.
Unpub. LEXIS 1748, at 8-9 (App. Div. July 20, 2018).
In this case, not only did Gomez fail to provide sixty-days’ notice, he failed to
provide any notice whatsoever. He simply stopped showing up for work. Then, when
Powell emailed him, he didn’t clearly communicate that he was leaving his employment.
Powell spent several weeks following up with more emails, to which Gomez never
responded. During this time and for the remainder of the school year, Gomez’s
students went without a certified math teacher.
For all of these reasons, I CONCLUDE that Gomez’s conduct was
unprofessional and warrants a suspension of his certificate for one year under N.J.S.A.
18A:26-10.
ORDER
Given my findings of fact and conclusions of law, I ORDER that Gomez’s
teaching certificate be suspended for one year.

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I hereby FILE this initial decision with the COMMISSIONER OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION for consideration.
This recommended decision may be adopted, modified, or rejected by the
COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, who by law is authorized
to make a final decision in this matter. If the Commissioner of the Department of
Education does not adopt, modify, or reject this decision within forty-five days and
unless such time limit is otherwise extended, this recommended decision shall become
a final decision in accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:14B-10
Within thirteen days from the date on which this recommended decision was
mailed to the parties, any party may file written exceptions with the COMMISSIONER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, ATTN: BUREAU OF CONTROVERSIES
AND DISPUTES, 100 Riverview Plaza, 4th Floor, PO Box 500, Trenton, New Jersey
08625-0500, marked “Attention: Exceptions.” A copy of any exceptions must be sent to
the judge and to the other parties.
November 6, 2025
________________________________
DATE ANDREA PERRY VILLANI, ALJ
Date Received at Agency: November 6, 2025
Date Mailed to Parties: November 6, 2025
sej

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 12161-25
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APPENDIX
WITNESSES
For Petitioner:
Lisa Powell
For Respondent:
Roven Gomez
EXHIBITS
For Petitioner:
P-1 Petition and Order to Show Cause with Cover Letter to Gomez
P-2 Gomez Employment Contract
P-3 Email from Gomez
P-4 Email from Powell to Gomez
P-5 Letter from Gomez
For Respondent:
None