FOUR OAKS — Johnston County’s Teacher of the Year draws inspiration from her idol, Mary Poppins, speaking lovingly and calmly to her students.

“Teaching is just a way I get to be Mary Poppins every day,” said Jennifer Beninate, who teaches at Four Oaks Elementary School.

Her flame for learning was lit at an early age. The Princeton native graduated from what is now Princeton Middle/High School. “It was great because I had interaction with the lower grades and could volunteer to read with them,” she said.

As Beninate moved through school, she realized elementary teachers were there to make learning fun, middle school teachers taught ownership, and high school teachers were mentors preparing students for the real world. “All along the way, I was fascinated by the classroom and the community of it,” she said.

Through the PTA and parent advisory committees, her parents were involved in her education, Beninate said. “There was never a separation of home and school,” she said. “They were intertwined, and the importance was always there.”

Beninate earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and her master’s in education from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She worked at a preschool in the mornings and attended classes in the afternoons.

“I would show up to my college classes covered in markers and glue,” Beninate said.

Her husband, Jason, whom she met at UNCW, was in the military, and they moved around quite a bit, going as far as Japan. Now they are back in Johnston County.

“I wanted to come back home,” said Beninate, who taught in Johnston for three years early on. “I wanted to teach amongst some of my previous teachers and colleagues.“

She and Jason have two daughters, both of whom are students at Four Oaks Elementary. She also has two dogs and loves to garden, read and spend time with her family.

“This is a great place to raise our children and a great community for our family,” she said.

Beninate has been a teacher in Johnston County for 10 years now. “I get to be a part of so many people’s lives,” she said. “It fills my cup.”

Last year, Beninate taught second grade, and she had a student who came into the classroom one day and announced that he planned to drop out of school as soon as he turned 16. This student wasn’t excited about school, it was just a safe space.

Beniniate made it her mission to keep that child engaged. She did so by asking him what he wanted to be when he grew up and then showed him how an education would get him to that point.

“I’ve poured into them,” she said of the student. “I said ‘when’ you do this, not ‘if.’ I spoke their goals to them.”

Now teaching third grade, that same student is in her class. He hasn’t mentioned dropping out.

“So many students just need someone to believe in them,” said Beninate, who plans to be there when that student graduates from high school.

Beninate’s approach to learning is direct. “Get them now, get them engaged, and get them involved,” she said.

She intentionally discovers each student’s gifts and talents and then partners students to build each other up. Her classroom motto is “We were made to do hard things.”

Her student partners meet three times a week for five to 10 minutes to talk about school and personal goals.

“They hold each other accountable, and they celebrate together,” Beninate said.