Poet Teacher Crowned Essex County Educator of the Year | Newark News

Essex County just named its Teacher of the Year — Carla Ferreira, a bilingual poet and educator from Newark with a Harvard-Cambridge-Stanford pedigree, who’s been transforming classrooms for a decade. Now teaching ninth-grade English and Portuguese at Newark’s new School of Architecture and Interior Design, she blends academic rigor with restorative justice, student-centered learning, and immigrant advocacy. Her poetry, edited anthologies, and AI ethics workshops reflect her mission: to build bridges through education and empower students to shape a more just world. With 21 county finalists chosen and a state winner to be crowned this fall, Ferreira’s win shines a spotlight on how teaching can be both art and activism. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/bdf9bf928c91c58c