Laura Peynado-Castro

Laura is the principal at University Neighborhood Middle School in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Originally from the Dominican Republic, she migrated to the United States at age 12 and was enrolled in the New York City public school system. After attending the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, she returned to the New York City DOE as a Science teacher in the Bronx. She is a graduate of SPA NYC's first class, and In 2007, she became an assistant principal at UNMS. She was appointed principal in August 2008.