Dr. Jennifer Shirley-Brown hails from the sun-kissed island of Jamaica. During her thirty-two years as an educator, Dr. Shirley-Brown has served as a teacher of English Language Arts, a Lead teacher, a Literacy Coach, and an Assistant Principal. She holds a Diploma in Teacher Education from Shortwood Teachers’ College in Kingston, Jamaica West Indies, a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Hunter College, a Master of Education degree from Cambridge College, and a Master’s degree in Administration and Supervision from Touro College. She is a recent graduate of the Sage Colleges of Albany where she obtained a doctorate in Educational Leadership. This is Dr. Shirley-Brown’s ninth year as the Assistant Principal of the Renaissance Academy at Middle School 226. Her mantra; Effort, Grit, Success serves as a guiding principle for members of her learning community. She has initiated several programs and residencies during her tenure in the school and strives daily to ensure the social and academic development of her students.

She firmly believes that educators serve as role models for their students. She asserts, “I constantly strive for excellence because I believe it is my responsibility to operate from the pinnacle of my craft. It is important for me to be a model of success not only for the students and teachers in my school but for my four sons who have to navigate the complex demands of the 21^st century. Pursuing a doctoral degree has always been a goal for me but with the demands of life and work, I had placed it in the pile of long term, not right now, things to do. I thought I was too busy and could not find an hour in any of my days to accommodate it. However, one should always be audacious and go boldly in the directions of his/her dreams.”

She is a proud member of the New York Academy of Public Education, The Association of Assistant Principals, The Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, The Black Caucus of the Council of School Supervisors and administrators, and The Concerned Parents of Baldwin.

Lucia Lengua was born in Brooklyn, New York and realized by the tender age of seven that she had a passion for writing and literature. She began to hone her skills at Mark Twain Junior High School for the Gifted and Talented in Creative Writing Talent and later at Midwood High School where she discovered her love for the stage and theater. Before graduating high school, she decided to pursue at path in secondary education as a literature teacher. Ms. Lengua received a scholarship to attend the Scholar’s Program at CUNY Brooklyn where she studied under esteemed professors such as Robert Viscusi who inspired her to write her Bachelor’s thesis on the literature of Italian-American women. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1998 and went on the receive her Master’s degree in Liberal Studies where her thesis explored the transformation of her students’ definitions of heroism in the post-9/11 era.

In 1998, she began her twenty-year career as a teacher of literature at Madison High School in Brooklyn where she taught two generations of students with the passion and love for literature that inspired her into the most noble profession. From 2001-2018 she was the coordinator of the NYC Mentoring Program, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, where her love for mentoring was further cultivated as many graduates became successful in their chosen fields. From 2006 to 2018, she taught a college course in Mass Communication in conjunction with Kingsborough Community College. In 2012, she became a dean, in addition to teaching, and found fulfillment in attending to the social-emotional needs of students through restorative practices such as conflict resolution, restorative circles and meditation.

She joined the MS 226 family in August 2018 as AP Safety, Security and Organization. Her work is led by a deep love and fundamental belief that student learning is best achieved when students’ social-emotional needs are developed. She hopes to continue to enrich the lives of the MS226 students through youth development programs.

When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family and especially her daughters, Violeta and Juliette. She loves to listen to music, cook, travel and spend time on the North Fork beaches and vineyards.