Maria Merlo
Principal
Mrs. Merlo has been a Newark Public School's District Employee for 45 years; this is her eighteenth year as the Principal of Lafayette St. School. Prior to becoming principal, Mrs. Merlo had many leadership experiences including Vice-Principal, Reading Recovery, Teacher, ESL Teacher, Bilingual Teacher, and General Education Teacher. Even with the extensive experiences, Mrs. Maria Merlo considers herself to be a teacher at heart. It is Mrs. Merlo's privilege to lead Lafayette St. School and the many talented teachers and students. Her goal is to continue to provide a supportive climate and culture at Lafayette that is conductive to teaching and learning.
Diane Periera
.Vice Principal
Mrs. Diane Pereira has been in the field of education for 25 years. She started out her career student teaching at Lafayette Street School. She taught Bilingual grades 3/4, first and fifth grade here at Lafayette Street School. She is currently our testing coordinator at school and supervises ELA, Bilingual, Inclusion, and ESL teachers.
Rose Stokes
Vice Principal
Ms. Rose Ortiz – Stokes began her career in the Newark Public School District over 15 years ago as a School Social Worker. She is currently a Vice Principal at Lafayette Street School and has been in the position for the past four years. She supervises the Humanities Department as the Science Department at Lafayette Street School. Ms. Ortiz-Stokes is one of our Anti Bullying Specialists.
Nicole Morgan Lewis
Vice Principal
Nicole Morgan-Lewis is a native of Newark and has been an educator for over 20 years. She served as a middle school math and science teacher and a facilitator for Girls Who Code. he is currently serving as Vice-Principal at Lafayette Street School.She supervises K-8 math teachers, bilingual teachers, and special education teachers.
Danielle Gonzalez
Vice Principal
Ms. Danielle Gonzalez has been in the field of education for 10 years. Ms. Gonzalez completed her undergraduate work at The College of New Jersey, where she developed her craft as an Elementary Education major. Ms. Gonzalez began teaching at Ann Street School, as a 7th Grade English Language Arts Teacher. Ms. Gonzalez is thrilled to continue serving our students in Newark as Vice Principal of Lafayette Street School.