Secaucus Educational Services Professional for the year 2017-2018 !! Congratulations to JoMarie Bennett for being chosen as Secaucus Educational Services Professional for the year 2017-2018 !! Being a paraprofessional in Secaucus was JoMarie Bennett's second career, but a career for which she feels she was destined. Mrs. Bennett has earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from New Jersey City University, and a Certificate in Medical Technology from Newark Beth Israel Medical Center where she worked for many years as a medical technologist. When life’s circumstances dictated a career change, Mrs. Bennett started at the Secaucus School District in 1998 as a substitute teacher. Within six months, it was discovered that she had an aptitude for working with students with special needs, and was subsequently hired as a paraprofessional. As a paraprofessional, JoMarie Bennett helps students, within her assigned classes, with tests and quizzes. She also serves as an additional resource, providing students with extra help before or after school, as well as at lunchtime. During her nineteen-year career, Mrs. Bennett has worked in Huber Street School, Secaucus Middle School, and now Secaucus High School where she has been for the last nine years. For the past seventeen years, Mrs. Bennett has run REBEL, an anti-smoking club in both the middle school and the high school. She has also recently taken on the role of the greenhouse coordinator, where students grow vegetables and herbs from seeds for distribution within the high school. To JoMarie Bennett, it is especially rewarding to watch her students mature and then return to report on their successes in life. Mrs. Bennett stated: "I am extremely honored to have been selected as Secaucus High School’s Educational Services Professional of the Year for the 2017-2018 school year." Published November 2, 2017 Print