Rafael Hernandez

Newark Superintendent of Schools Roger León Announces and Recognizes NPS Students Who Received a Perfect Score on the PARCC Exam

Banquet Held for Students and Families – Students Honored at Board Meeting

[Newark, NJ – September 26, 2018] Newark’s Superintendent of Schools Roger León recognized the 42 students who obtained perfect scores on the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) Exam. The students were recognized at the 2018 Perfect Scorers Banquet and featured at the September Board of Education public meeting.

Superintendent León said, “Last night, we recognized students who have excelled on the PARCC exam, who have set the bar high for achievement and set the stage of what is possible for other students.” The Superintendent continued, “The 42 students recognized represent the NPS mantra, ‘Where Passion Meets Progress’ – their passion for education and learning is worth recognizing and celebrating with the Newark Board of Education, their families, schools and the community.”

A total of 42 students from 16 schools, who were joined by parents and family members, were heralded at the 2018 Perfect Scorers Banquet and further recognized by the Newark Board of Education later in the evening at the Board meeting. Student honors were presented in English Language Arts, Mathematics and Algebra.

The students hail from:

Ann Street School
Arts High School
William H. Horton School
East Side High School
First Avenue School
Harriet Tubman
Lafayette Street School
Mount Vernon School
Oliver Street School
Park Elementary School
Rafael Hernandez
Ridge Street School
Roberto Clemente School
Science Park High School
Speedway Avenue School
Technology High School

“We are honoring these students because they are examples of all that is possible,” said Board Chairperson Josephine C. Garcia. “We are very proud of their accomplishments and wish them and all of our students continued success.”

Broadway actress visits Rafael Hernandez School

Broadway actress Daisy Hobbs and Emmy-nominated filmmakers Marylou & Jerome Bongiorno visited Rafael Hernandez School of the Performing Arts during Arts Week. Throughout the week, students presented musical concerts, dance performers, and comedic scenes. The week culminated with a family arts celebration, during which parents, children and members of the community participated in various performing and visual arts activities.

Ms. Hobbs, who recently appeared in Aladdin on Broadway, spoke to students about her journey as a student in a local high school to a successful career as an actress. Newark artists Marylou and Jerome Bongiorno have created numerous fictional, documentary, art, and experimental films and screenplays with wide distribution exhibited in theaters and on PBS. They demonstrated to students the process of creating 3D films.

Newark Public Schools Partners with Newark Yoga Movement to Host Staff Development Focused on Wellness

[Newark, NJ – August 31, 2017] This week, Newark Public Schools (NPS), in partnership with the Newark Yoga Movement (NYM), hosted a staff development (SD) for teachers and administrators at 8 schools in Newark. The SD was focused on wellness of the mind, body and spirit and provided tools for school staff (administrators and teachers) to learn and apply breathing and calming techniques in school and in their daily lives. The SD took place at 8 different Newark district schools; West Side High School, Camden, Cleveland, 14th Avenue, George Washington Carver, Hawkins Street, NJ Regional Day and Rafael Hernandez schools and included administrators and staff. According to the Newark Yoga Movement (NYM), over 400 staff members were trained over the course of the week, including students and staff at George Washington Carver School.

The SD provided staff members with tools to self-soothe and self-regulate themselves to get them ready to better serve their students. Christopher N. Cerf, NPS Superintendent of Schools said, “The benefits of offering yoga to both administration and staff are many, which is why NPS has worked with NYM since 2009 and is now extending the NYM program to more schools in the district and to the administrative arm of teaching and learning.”

Debbie Kaminsky, founder of Newark Yoga Movement said she is honored to be the recipient of these unique micro grants from NPS to provide yoga to students and administrators. She stated, “Teaching students to breathe and relax as they learn is a great step forward in education and in social and emotional learning.”

The Newark Yoga Movement will be teaching yoga and its related properties and benefits to 9 schools this year. More than 500 students at Sussex Avenue Renew School learned yoga as a way to reduce stress, help them concentrate and remain calm in different situations according to school administrators.

Newark Yoga Movement team has been meeting with school leaders and tailoring yoga programs that fills their school needs. According to Ms. Kaminsky, many of the schools are looking to yoga to help give children dealing with behavioral issues a leg up through gaining additional tools. She said one school has added the important parent component and children with special needs will also be receiving yoga in several schools especially for the self-soothing/self-regulating benefits and beginning in September at one school, Newark Yoga Movement will be teaching yoga to both children who are deaf or blind.

Nearly 2,000 NPS 3rd & 4th Grade Students Perform At NJPAC

Recorder Arts Program Highlights Newark Students and A Commitment to the Arts

[NEWARK, NJ – June 27, 2017] Nearly 2,000 Newark Public Schools (NPS) 4th and 5th grade students recently performed at NJPAC as part of the Recorder Arts for Musical Pathways Program; a partnership between NPS and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. This participation more than doubled the 739 students who participated last year.

“Thank you to NJPAC and Margaret El for their dedication to this important program that brings the arts to our students and allows them to play in the best concert hall in this country,” noted Superintendent of Newark Public Schools Christopher D. Cerf. “We must continue to grow programs like this because the arts are a vital part of our students’ education.”

The partnership includes 20 schools and teachers, who participated in a two day professional development program. As part of the program, NJPAC’s Recorder Arts master teacher conducted two site visits at each school during the first and second semester of the school year for in class support. In addition, NPS teachers from each of the 20 schools made nominations for the All-Star Recorder Choir, who performed on stage during the concert. The concert was held on June 15 at NJPAC’s Prudential Hall.

“I absolutely got chills looking out over the orchestra and all the way up to the third tier in Prudential Theater, seeing and hearing over 1900 third and fourth graders from Newark Public Schools performing in unison,” Added Margaret El, Director of Arts Education at NPS. “We are so excited about the work NPS music students and teachers have accomplished, and look forward to many students pursuing an instrument of choice in the future.”

Click here to listen to the concert.

Participating schools included:

14th Avenue School
B.R.I.C.K. Avon Academy
Camden Street School
Elliott Street School
First Avenue School
Harriet Tubman School
Ivy Hill School
Lafayette Street School
Lincoln School
Louise A Spencer School
McKinley School
Mt. Vernon School
Oliver Street School
Park Elementary School
Quitman Street Community School
Rafael Hernandez School
Ridge Street School
Roberto Clemente School
South Street School
Wilson Avenue School

NPS Teachers Awarded for Excellence

Governor’s Recognition Award

These eight individuals stand out as top staff members in their schools based on their ability to inspire students of all backgrounds; foster a strong student learning environment, demonstrate leadership in educational activities; and are dedicated to the school and community. These are not just teachers but also our education service professionals who work closely with our children.

Jessica Allen a teacher from Quitman Elementary
Glenda Capers a teacher from BRICK Avon
Josephine Cooper – a Social Worker from Quitman
Lucinda Lopez – a teacher from First Avenue
Melissa Milara (Ramirez) a teacher from Miller Street
Alberta Shiavo a teacher from John F. Kennedy school
Deborah Sims a Behavioral Specialist from John F. Kennedy school
Hilda Soto-Yao a teacher from New Jersey Regional Day

School Teacher of the Year Award

These teachers were nominated as the top teacher in their school based on their individual accomplishments and contributions in the classroom as well as for their leadership. Not only do these teachers consistently exhibit preparedness and instructional excellence, but they also take on formal and informal mentoring and leadership roles to broadly improve the quality of education at their school.

Marisa Alves, from Lafayette Street School
Andrea Arguello from South Street
Tammy Chavez from Ann Street
Nicole Coppola from Park Elementary
Deirdre Corley from Hawthorne Avenue
Whitney Farrand from Mount Vernon
Lisa Fischman from Harriet Tubman
Angelisa Guilford from Lincoln Elementary
Michelle Gutierrez from Abington Avenue
Stacy Guzman from McKinley
Stephanie Hairston from Chancellor
Nicole Harris from Hawkins Street
Sadiqua Harvard from George Washington Carver
Natasha Javed from Camden Street School
Celia Laricchia from East Side High
Cristano Liborio from Science Park High
Matthew Lichten from Ridge Street
Susan Lopes Oliveira from Wilson Avenue
Melissa McSweeney from Elliott Street
Jessica Morais from Oliver Street
Kariema Muhammad from Belmont Runyon
Sean Nally from Barringer Arts and Humanities
Teresa Oliveira from BRICK Avon
Marcela Palma from Miller Street
Anany Rodriguez from Luis Munoz Marin
Kimberly Rubenstein from Rafael Hernandez

Special congratulations to District Teacher of the Year recipient, Edith Battle. She is a teacher who exemplifies the highest level of excellence and is a true example for all other teachers in the district.