Roccisano named Lafayette school Support Person of the Year

Mrs. Karen Roccisano, School Social Worker and Counselor, was chosen as Lafayette Townships School District Education Support Person of the Year.

“Mrs. Roccisano is a dedicated member of our school staff and community,” Lafayette Township School Superintendent Jennifer Cenatiempo said. “Mrs. Roccisano is a motivated educator who has demonstrated the highest level of expertise and care for the students in their school district.”

In addition, Cenatiempo said that Roccisano provides families with the needed support to enrich their child’s experience in school. “Mrs. Roccisano believes in the ideal that every child can achieve greatness if only they are supported and nurtured along the way.”

Cenatiempo said that Roccisano is very knowledgeable about diverse topics related to the field of social work.

“Her experience is vast in the field as well as within the school,” she said. “The extensive repertoire has proven to be invaluable in our school community as well as within the school. Our school district is very lucky to have such a dynamic educator on our staff!”

Roccisano said she has been a social worker for 24 years. Roccisano worked in the addictions field for the first 18 years of her career, and was the Director of Women’s Services at a mental health and rehab facility. In addition, Roccisano helped to create a program for women who needed an in-patient substance abuse treatment program so they can get reunited with their children who were removed from the mother’s care by the Division of Childhood Protection and Permanency.

“Many of the children that were reunited with their mothers came with issues of their own such as delayed speech, motor skills, and social skills, and it was through this experience I knew I wanted to work with special needs children,” she said.

In September of 2015, Roccisano began working in the public school system and found that her previous experience was a great benefit working in the school. In the summer of 2019, Roccisano joined the Lafayette School District.

“It was quite a unique year to begin working in a new school as we were not expecting nor were we prepared for the current pandemic,” she said.

Roccisano said during this time she was able to connect with her team, the faculty, and the students in a very special way at Lafayette.