Contact Info
Yolonda Severe
Executive Director
Office Location
765 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Phone: 973-733-6234
Fax: 973-424-4372
Yolonda Severe
Executive Director
Office Location
765 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Phone: 973-733-6234
Fax: 973-424-4372
Mission
The Newark Board of Education Office of Early Childhood is committed to providing every 3- and 4-year old child, regardless of individual needs, with a high-quality Pre-K Education that also puts the health of children and the engagement of families at its core, by ensuring equal access to the opportunity to learn through developmentally-appropriate resources and services that promote children’s learning and development to ensure readiness for Kindergarten and beyond.
Vision
All 4-year olds leave Pre-K ready for Kindergarten, and with a love of learning. Parents and Families who experience Pre-K in Newark have the knowledge and skills to support and advocate for their children’s education and health for the long haul.
OEC Goals:
- Improve the quality of teaching and learning to ensure all students demonstrate readiness to transition to kindergarten.
- Ensure all students experience a school and classroom environment that furthers their academic knowledge and their functional, physical and social- emotional skills.
- Improve the well-being and quality of health for children and their families so children are able to thrive in Kindergarten and beyond.
- Increase child attendance and decrease chronic absenteeism so that all children develop the habit of attending school regularly, leading to success in kindergarten and ultimately opening doors to college.
- Improve family engagement systems to ensure all Newark Pre-K families are actively engaged at home, school and within their community.

Yolonda Severe
Executive Director

Marialana Juliano
Director for the Office of Early Childhood

Marshel Perkins
Supervisor/Director of Head Start

Samantha Liza
Supervisor of Early Childhood Family and Community Engagement

Marie Dukes
Principal Auditor of Early Childhood Fiscal and Facility Management

Kelee Brown
Supervisor of Pre-K Curriculum and Instruction and Professional Development

Victoria Dampere
Supervisor of Inclusive Services

Mara Kaplan
Supervisor of Pre-K Child Assessments

Kimberly Ramsay
Supervisor of Health Safety and Transition