A Lynbrook Owl for more than 20 years, math teacher MaryJean LaMarca will start a new chapter of her life beginning her retirement this year. LaMarca began her teaching career 41 years ago at Freeport High School, where she taught for 16 years before becoming a part of the LHS community in 2000.
LaMarca reflected on her own experience as a student and how this inspired her. “I wanted to be just like my third-grade teacher,” LaMarca explained. “I went to school to become an elementary school teacher, but to become more marketable, I took extra math classes. I got an elementary school certification and a high school certification. Right after I graduated, I got a job teaching math in a high school, and I never looked back,” she added. Her love for math was seen throughout her own high school career, with scoring high marks on all of her math Regents exams and crediting her own high school math teachers for the progress that she made. LaMarca emphasized that she was not in any accelerated math courses as a student; this experience fueled her dedication to her students and the determination to help them understand the course material. The reward of watching a student improve in math fulfills LaMarca’s personal purpose as a teacher.
Being the oldest of eight siblings, LaMarca surrounded herself with routine, organization, and structure – a trait she claims is best fit for high school students rather than elementary. When entering her classroom, students know what to expect: challenging work and a professional teacher. Her sophomores and juniors excel in her classroom from Algebra to AP Calculus under this system. Principal Matthew Sarosy praised LaMarca for her gift of teaching students more than just the subject’s content, but for also teaching them to “build their frustration tolerance by allowing students to work through a problem.” Sarosy added, “Mrs. LaMarca is an outstanding teacher who will be greatly missed.”
Her smaller family within the LHS staff – the math department – gifted her with friends and supporters. “[The math department] works together as a team, and I think that’s really important,” LaMarca said. “As a department, we share everything, and it makes the job so much easier. I’m going to miss them a lot,” she added. These close friends uplifted her during her first days in the district, helping adjust and assimilate to the new community. Now, LaMarca has taken on that role herself: mentoring teachers, supporting them, and passing on the pieces of advice that she has learned during her time as an educator.
The impact that LaMarca has made on others stretches far beyond just her students. Christopher Persaud, the chairperson of the math department, shared how grateful he is to have had opportunities to “engage in countless conversations and get to know not only an exceptional teacher, but also a devoted mother and a proud grandmother.” Math teacher Drew Bidart also reflected on LaMarca’s personality, mentioning her willingness to help, mentor, and support the other members of the staff along with describing her as “fierce and caring wrapped into one.”
Retired life calls out to LaMarca, as she will now have more time to spend with her two granddaughters. “I’m going to be able to take my four-year-old granddaughter to kindergarten. I was never able to take my own kids to school on the first day since I was always [teaching], so it’ll be fun to take her to her first day of school,” LaMarca mused. “Then, I’m going to be babysitting the little one, so I’ll still be busy!” Colleagues and students alike wish her the best in her new chapter. LaMarca will be remembered as a dedicated, fair, and hardworking teacher who always put her students first.
