(upbeat music) - Hi everyone.

Steve Adubato.

We kick off the program talking about Newark Student Leaders of Tomorrow with Sandra Marques, who's Assistant Superintendent of Newark Public Schools, East and Central School Leadership team, part of our partnership with the Newark Public Schools.

Good to see you, Sandra.

- Thank you Steve.

Thank you for having me.

- You got it.

You've been with the Newark Public Schools for how long?

- This is my 26th year in the district, and I started as a student teacher.

So if you count that, that's 27.

- Why teaching?

Why education for you?

- So, when I became a parent, I needed to have a little bit of a understanding what the educational system was about for my son.

And that really sparked an interest in the teaching career that I began at Hawkins Street School.

- At Hawkins Street School, I know it well.

As a student who went through the Newark Public Schools back in the day.

Why is bilingual education so important to you and why do you think it's so important to your students?

- So, I'm trilingual myself.

I was raised in a household that we spoke Portuguese, and having started kindergarten, not knowing English, even though I was born in this country, led me to value both what I was able to do at home, speak a second language, as well as learn how to speak English with my teachers and my peers.

I think that students who are newcomers into the country, they come with an educational system and they have an understanding and background, and our job is really to provide them with the language and the resources so that they can become successful.

So supporting our bilingual students as well as all of our other students is crucial for our school system.

- Sandra, in the post pandemic as we do this program, we're approaching six years that COVID became such a painful reality for so many, especially students.

There are many challenges academically for our students, but in Newark and other urban communities, talk about the mental health struggles and the social and emotional challenges our students face.

'cause you told our producers this is incredibly important.

You wanted to talk about it, go ahead.

- Sure.

So I think post COVID, everyone needs some sort of supports with the social-emotional needs and wellbeing, whether it be, you know, being more active and engaging in physical activity or the mental health services.

All of our schools provide those in school services for our students, there are guidance counselors and social workers that provide support.

We have curriculum that supports social emotional needs.

We use reThink, which is one of our resources for our students.

So I think in general, it's something that we cannot just, you know, ignore.

And I think that we're doing a really good job of supporting our students and making sure that the resources are available to them.

- Let me ask you this, I'm curious about this.

We talked to Roger León, your superintendent about this.

This series again called Newark Student Leaders of Tomorrow.

Graphic will come up so people can go on our website, which will be also put on the screen.

You can find previous interviews featuring Newark Student Leaders of Tomorrow.

What is it that you see in your students that causes you to be so optimistic about their leadership potential with all the challenges they face?

- So I believe that all students can learn, and it's our job to tap into those abilities and motivate our students to do better.

In my role as CTE director for the district.

- CTE?

- Career and technical education.

- Yep.

- Was the role that I had previous to this role.

I got to experience education in just a different lens where we're not only preparing them for current education, but we're preparing them for the workforce and we're preparing them for their futures.

And we have programs that are preparing all our students.

We have carpentry programs, we have the trades, we have biomedical programs for students that are interested in pursuing medical career, allied health programs.

So the geniuses that I saw in all of those settings and the motivation that students had to succeed just, you know, is motivating to an adult doing the job, that they have interest, they have a skillset beyond the skillset that we have when it comes to technology, robotics, eSports, there's just so many venues and places where they can excel, and it's just affording them those opportunities, and I believe that that's what we do.

Our 10-year strategic plan, our high school redesign is intentionally designed to do that.

And our high schools are excelling.

- Let me ask you this, Sandra, you're very committed to helping people better understand what autism is and our students who are dealing with it.

I know you work with the Center for Autism.

My sister Michele, who will actually be recording with us today, founded the Center for Autism.

We've worked with them in greater, creating greater public awareness around autism.

You're working with the Center for Autism.

Talk about that work and why it's so significant to many of your students who are dealing with this.

- Sure.

So in 2016, I was appointed the principal of Salome Urena, which is the old First Avenue building.

And at the time we had a population of students with autism as well as general education students.

And there was a community resource right there that were the experts, and we took full advantage of it.

We did outreach and we were, your sister was very supportive and she provided my staff and myself with some professional development resources.

We were able to visit the autism center and experience some of what it does on a daily basis, and how those young adults that are there are succeeding.

I had a population of students in pre-K through eighth grade, so it really gave my teachers a lens of what, you know, adulthood and older teenager, the success that they have.

So it was really a great partnership at the time, and I feel like it excelled our program, and we're really grateful.

- Yeah.

Check out those interviews on the Center for Autism with my sister Michele.

Sandra, cannot thank you and Roger, and the team, and look forward to continuing to feature Newark Student Leaders of Tomorrow.

All the best, Sandra, thank you.

- Thank you.

I appreciate your time.

- You got it.

Stay with us, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by Delta Dental of New Jersey.

Johnson & Johnson.

EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

Atlantic Health System.

New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program.

NJ Best, New Jersey’s five-two-nine college savings plan.

PSE&G.

The Center for Autism And by The Fund for New Jersey.

Promotional support provided by NJBIA.

And by Insider NJ.

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