Community Corner

Bridgewater Teacher Brings Health Into Everyday Life

Elementary physical education teacher is named one of the most outstanding women in the county.

Through budget cuts, the has eliminated the health component from the physical education curriculum—but that is not stopping one of Somerset County’s “Outstanding Women” from incorporating health facts into her teaching.

Jennifer Balucha—a Manville resident and physical education teacher at Milltown Primary and John F. Kennedy Primary schools—has been named one of 17 women honored by the county’s Commission on the Status of Women, and was chosen in the category of athletics.

“I come to work every day because I love what I do, and when people in the community nominate you for an award like this, it overwhelms me,” she said. “I never feel like I can do enough for kids, and for some to think it makes me a good teacher and a standout in athletics, it warms my heart.”

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Balucha has worked for the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District for 12 years—following her graduation in 1999 from Kean University with a degree in education, and health and education—and began at JFK Primary in 1999, moving to Milltown Primary seven years later.

Balucha said Bridgewater was one of her top districts to work for when she graduated from college.

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“They have an amazing physical education program for lower elementary school,” she said. “If you want to work in Somerset County, Bridgewater is one of the tops, there are a lot of teachers with standout programs.”

But after budget cuts in the district, Balucha was moved to teach in both elementary schools.

“I tell the kids that this is the first year I have had to travel between schools,” she said of the 1,000 kids she works with between schools. “And if I mess up their names, I’m very sorry, but if they tell me over again, it will help me remember.”

The curriculum though, Balucha said, has changed in the past year, and she has had to alter her work. But she still makes sure to include health facts while teaching about sports.

“Bridgewater through the budget cuts has taken health out of the phys ed curriculum and given it to the classroom teachers,” she said. “So what I do every day as part of the lesson is that depending on what body part we are using in the sport, I give facts that will cross the curriculum.”

“Then they know what muscles to engage and can bring it into the classroom,” she added. “Everyday, I make references to what they do.”

For example, Balucha said, if the students are having pizza, the fact she gives involves the digestive system and moderation, which she said is a great vocabulary word.

“I give them life lessons, so they will remember what moderations means,” she said. “That way, it’s not just a health lesson, it’s something to take for the rest of their lives.”

“When the kids have their birthday parties, they are notorious for coming in and giving cupcakes,” she added. “But they tell me it’s only one, so I can eat it in moderation.”

Balucha said the students are very respectful, and the idea of eating in moderation is very prevalent, so they are learning skills for the future.

“Weight and healthy lifestyles has to be at the forefront with obesity levels, and the kids are proud of themselves when they accomplish something,” she said. “They are really taking it to heart, so it makes me feel proud for them.”

Balucha said it has always been her goal to be a teacher, and she first earned an associates degree in education from Middlesex County Community College. But she also always had a love of health and sports.

“I had a teacher at Middlesex for a basic swimming course, and she just empowered everyone in the class,” she said. “She made you want to swim harder, and swim faster. Most of the time you take a general phys ed class and it’s just the basics, but she wanted to teach about strokes, and how to teach someone how to swim.”

“I realized from her and my dad that that’s what I should be doing in teaching children how to do things,” she added.

When she was younger, Balucha said, she was always good at sports, but knew she was one of the only girls in a male-dominated arena. Her father, Rick Scuderi, was a great influence in that regard, she said, and asked her when she was going to start focusing on physical education while she was in college.

But being in a male-dominated profession, Balucha said, makes the award as an outstanding woman that much more special.

“My father always said it doesn’t matter what people say, and it doesn’t matter if they try to hold you back, if you try and work hard, you can do whatever you want,” she said. “I work in a male-dominated profession where most of the people I work with are male. Seeing other women being empowered and being strong is so important, I try to give that to the children I teach because you can be whatever you want to be.”

Aside from her work in the school, Balucha said, she was also once involved, until about two years ago, with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a charity she took on because she lost her mother to leukemia when she was young. She said she used to participate in the Team in Training program, running a marathon and raising money, particularly about $5,000 during a half marathon.

“It was a wonderful program, and to know the money I am giving goes directly to research is wonderful,” she said.

Currently, Balucha said, she is involved with Rawhide Rescue, a dog rescue program based in Greenbrook. She said the program finds homes for animals that have been abused and need training.

“Over the years, I have helped get 20 different pit bulls rehabilitated and sent to homes,” she said.

This work, Balucha said, has become a new love of hers, and she even took home one of the rescue dogs. Over the years, she said, she has held small fundraisers at the school to collect dog biscuits for the program, among others items.

“A new love of mine is training animals and helping them find homes,” she said. “I have gotten closer with the director of the organization, and she asked me if I would come and volunteer because of how I trained my dog who was abused.”

Balucha said she believes the nomination for the award came from members of the Raritan Borough Council, whose children she has taught in the schools.

“I got an email from [Raritan Mayor] Jo-Ann Liptak that my name had been brought up for an award, and I had to fill out a biography and other information,” she said. “I really forgot about it because it was in November, and then I got a letter and phone call that I was chosen for it, and I was overjoyed.”

In addition to this award, Balucha said, she was honored as the Elementary School Teacher of the Year in 2009 by the state.

But being named one of the outstanding women in Somerset County, Balucha said, is an especially great prize, and she is proud to be recognized for her work in athletics.

“There are so many women who don’t get recognized, and to be among those who do, I hope I can continue to inspire other women in the district to be stronger and to really empower them,” she said. 

“I hope I can let them know that physical education is not what it was 18 years ago, and not even what it was 10 years ago,” she added. “Athletics are the doorway to teamwork and life skills you will take for the rest of your life.”

Also receiving the awards, which were presented at a dinner at the Imperia on Easton Avenue March 25, were Normarie McLean, of Franklin, for arts and entertainment; Raritan Valley Community College president Casey Crabill, of Montgomery, for education; Barbara Long, of Bernardsville, for being an entrepreneur; Thuy Anh Le, of Hillsborough, for environmental initiatives; Manville Borough Mayor Lillian Zuza for government; Raritan Borough Councilwoman Denise Hudak Carra for government; Warren Township Deputy Mayor Carolann Garafola for government; Michelle Woolf, of Montgomery, as the hometown hero; Katherine Esposito Howes, of Peapack-Gladstone, for law; Bernice Wicks, of Bernards, for media; Kate Lincoln, of Bernardsville, for medicine; Pat Reilly, of Franklin, for public service; Patricia Cataruozolo, of Warren, for research and management; Sarah Murchison, of Franklin, for social services; Christine Retz, of Franklin, for volunteerism; and Charlotte Frances Fischer, of Bernardsville, with the Shirley Noble Award.


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