Vineland Community Welcomes Dr. Ariel Lajara During Local Meet & Greet
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an updated version of a story posted last month on Front Runner New Jersey.com.
BY JUSTIN ROIG | For AC JosepH Media
VINELAND – A segment of Vineland’s Latino community gathered at La Unica on Seventh and Almond streets on July 10 to give a down home welcome new school superintendent Dr. Ariel Lajara, who had just joined the public school district a week before.
Lajara is just the second Latino named the lead Vineland schools, which is 62 percent Hispanic, according to the latest figures from U.S. Education. He is the first of Dominican heritage to hold the position. Lajara succeeds Alfonso Llano, the first Latino to serve in the position. Llano is now serving as state superintendent of Camden Public Schools.
A new local nonprofit, Sanemos Juntas, organized the meet and greet with La Unica, which also recognized Lajara’s cousin, Dr. Renato Lajara, for their achievements in education administration.
Renato Lajara this summer became the new superintendent of Bethlehem Public Schools in the Lehigh Valley north of Philadelphia. Both worked in Philadelphia public schools before their recent hirings.
The festive feel of the meet and greet reverberated throughout the neighborhood with most of the presentation done in Spanish. Dominican pride was central to the meet and greet as the Dominican community in Vineland celebrated a new level of representation in the city. The gathering included free food, attendees, who mingled and stood line to meet Lajara and his cousin.
Edith Encarnacion, of Sanemos Juntas, shared her thoughts and excitement around the arrival of Lajara during a short speech at the gathering.
“Thank you for being here,” Encarnacion said during her presentation. “Thank you Dr. Lajara and Rey (Renato) Lajara for allowing us to honor you at this event; a real event that is an honor for us.”
Juan Noel Encarnacion, a student at Sgt. Dominick Pilla School who is moving on to Vineland High School in the fall, told Lajara and the audience about the student experience of some of his classmates.
“As a middle school student, I saw many classmates going through difficult times and feeling alone and that their voices weren’t being heard,” Joel Encarnacion said. “Thankfully, many of those students found the courage to open up to my guidance counselors at Sgt. Dominick Pilla Middle School.”
Lajara completed the first week, with him assuming the job on July 1.
“I’ve been abl3e to meetn with over 60 statkeholders one-on-oneto really bring to life my six-month play,” Lajara told Front Runner New Jersey.com. He said he has been “hyper-focused on listening and assessing the current status of our district, but also our constituents and how they are experiencing Vineland Public Schools.”
Lajara said facilitating his first school board meeting went “really well.”
“I would say the best day I’ve had was when I visited our ESY, our extended school year program,, and the joy in our students’ faces was second to none,” Lajara said. “our staff was locked in doing the good work, so it’s been an amazing first week, to be honest with you.”
Dr. Lajara address several other issues in his FRNJ interview.
FRNJ: Why do you think it’s important not just to be present during the school year in the school buildings, but in important community spaces?
Dr. Ariel Lajara: “Absolutely, these are hubs for our citizens, our constituents, and our students. So not just supporting small businesses but also locking arms and ensuring that we all have a qualitative approach around how we inform practice here at Vineland Public Schools. So I’ve been doing a good amount of that, but La Unica has opened their arms to me the multiple times I’ve been here already in a week, and I’m super excited to be here with the Dominican and Hispanic community, really locking arms, listening to what people have to say, and ensuring that I create avenues to listen to stakeholders so we can move the district forward.
FRNJ: How have your previous roles in administration in Philadelphia prepared you for the challenges in this district?
Dr. Ariel Lajara: Well, Philadelphia-it’s a very unique experience. It’s the eighth largest district in the United States of America. It’s also the sixth largest city in the United States of America, so it has a number of cities that turn into a community that turns into the city of Philadelphia. And Vineland has its own unique experiences as well with East Vineland, South Vineland, and North Vineland, where demographics, socioeconomic status, and things of that nature all turn into one. So, what Philly has allowed me to do is understand how to ensure that my practices are equitable, how to listen to community and the citizens in different parts of the city of Island to ensure that everybody’s voice is captured and everybody’s voice comes to life when we create our strategic plan.
FRNJ: Is there anything with the district so far that has really impressed you?
Dr. Ariel Lajara: I would say how staff treats our students has really impressed me. I was able to go to schools on the last day of school and visit four campuses. I was able to attend the Vineland High School graduation, which really blew me away. Being outside in the field on a beautiful day with over 600 graduates, seeing every seat in the stand being filled. What I can say is that this community is rich in culture, rich in tradition, and people come out and support their own. So, it’s been super exciting.
FRNJ: Then what is for a child of immigrants in the district right now? All the challenges that could be that that lived experience comes with. What message do you think seeing a superintendent that himself is the child of immigrants sends to them?
Dr. Ariel Lajara: “Being born in New York and living in Dominican Republic, coming back to New York during my early schooling there, then doing my secondary schooling in Philadelphia, then crossing the bridge and starting my collegiate career here at Gloucester County College, which is part of Rowan University, being on welfare from birth to 22, just I have experienced so many different challenges and opportunities that what I want to be able to show people and say to people is that it doesn’t matter where you come from, what zip code, what area, what state, what country. If you lock arms with your community, if you find the right mentors and advisors, if you have strong goals and big aspirations, man, you can really do anything you want. And I’m here to be the beacon of light for everybody.”
BIO: Justin Roig is a recent journalism graduate of Temple University where he won research awards while on campus. A native of Vineland, he has regularly freelanced for FRNJ on topics covering diversity and social justice. He can be reached at spanglishnewsnetwork@gmail.com
Note from AC JosepH Media: If you like this story and others posted on Front Runner New Jersey.com, lend us a hand so we can keep producing articles like these for New Jersey and the world to see. Click on SUPPORT FRNJ and make a contribution that will go directly in making more stories like this available. You can reach Editor Clyde Hughes at chughes@acjosephmedia.com. Thank you for reading!
About Author
