Irvington woman named to state Board of Education

An Irvington woman has joined the New Jersey State Board of Education.

Mary G. Bennett, who works as an educational consultant/adjunct faculty at the Seton Hall University Academy for Urban Transformation, was sworn on to the board last week along with Jeanette Peña, educational director of special education and organizational accountability for the Union City Public Schools.

“I am pleased that Mary and Jeanette have been officially sworn into the State Board of Education, and I look forward to seeing them further our mission of uplifting our best-in-the-nation public schools and ensuring every child in New Jersey has the opportunity to thrive academically,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “Mary and Jeanette bring with them a wealth of experience in working to improve educational outcomes of young learners in our state. I am confident they will be invaluable to the Board.”

The New Jersey State Board of Education is a 13-member panel appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the State Senate. The State Board adopts the administrative code, which are the regulations that detail how education law will be implemented.

Regulations cover the supervision and governance of the state’s local educational agencies, which include all public school districts, charter schools, and renaissance school projects that collectively serve nearly 1.4 million students. In addition, the State Board advises on educational policies proposed by the Commissioner and confirms Department of Education staff appointments made by the Commissioner.

Bennett replaces Mary Elizabeth Gazi, and Peña fills the seat of Ernie Lepore, who resigned from the Board.

Currently a resident of Irvington, Bennett has worked at the Seton Hall University Academy since 2007. She has also worked as an instructor and education mentor at Montclair State University since 2007.

She served as executive director of Project GRAD, Newark from 2001-2013; as senior fellow/lead facilitator at the National Center for Educational Alliances, Bronx Community College, from 1999-2002; and as principal, vice-principal, program director, and English language arts teacher in Newark Public Schools from 1973 to 1999.

Bennett earned a bachelor of arts degree from Douglass College, New Brunswick, and received her master’s in curriculum development from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She is certified by the New Jersey Department of Education as a school business administrator, assistant executive superintendent, principal, supervisor, and teacher. She also attended Seton Hall University for Administrative Credentialing.

She chaired the Newark Educational Services Board in 2016 to help implement the district’s return to local control; served as former board member of Our Children, Our Schools New Jersey in 2015; as co-coordinator with Alliance for Newark Public Schools since 2013; and as Children’s Advocate appointed by Superior Court of New Jersey, from 2003-2006.

  Irvington, State Board of Education