A segment of Vineland’s Latino community recently gathered at La Unica to give a down-home welcome to the new school superintendent of the Vineland Public Schools Dr. Ariel Lajara, who joined the public school district this summer.
Lajara is just the second Latino named the lead Vineland schools, which is 62 percent Hispanic, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Education and is the first of Dominican heritage to hold the position. Lajara succeeds Alfonso Llano, the first Latino to serve as the local superintendent. 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, as attendees mingled and stood in line to meet Lajara and his cousin
