Our work supports education equity and urban well-being by connecting research, community voices, and civic action to enhance outcomes for the state’s most vulnerable learners and their caregivers.
Local Leader Spotlight
Mark Comesañas
By Margaret Goldman
I had the opportunity to sit down with third-generation Newarker and long-time local leader, Mark Comesañas. Adding to the many roles he has played for the city – a teacher and alternative high school founding team member, a school administrator, and the Executive Director of My Brother’s Keeper-Newark – Mark was recently elected to Newark’s School Board. We spoke about how he approaches the intersection between research and local leadership in public education. Throughout our conversation, Mark highlighted the importance of research-driven decision-making but emphasized the delicate balance between ‘data’ and lived experience.
Latest Publications
Swati Dontamsetti, Claudia M. Castillo-Lavergne, and Vandeen A. Campbell. 2026. Bilingual Education in the U.S. Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, Rutgers University-Newark.
Kim, Elisabeth. 2025. “Mandatory” FAFSA: What Have We Learned? Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, Rutgers University-Newark.
Russell, Shana, Kimaada Sills, Nakeefa Bernard, and Margaret Goldman. 2025. Freedom School Resource Guide. Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, Rutgers University-Newark.
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