Founding Head of School

Lissette Roman is a mother of three who has worked in the field of education for fifteen years. Lissette most recently served on the Cypress Hills Ascend team as founding school director after serving as dean of instruction and resident director at Brownsville Ascend Lower School.

Prior to this, Lissette was Operations Director for the Hawaii Theatre Center in Honolulu, where she created and implemented improved data systems, directed a summer camp and afterschool programming initiative for at-risk youth, and managed human resources.

Earlier, she held various educational roles in Honolulu, including instructional mentor and operations specialist at Teach For America, program specialist at Read Aloud America, and second-grade teacher at a K-12 independent school. Roman has also held teaching positions at Achievement First in Bridgeport, CT, and in Las Vegas Public Schools, where she began her teaching career as a Teach For America Corps member.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in professional studies and human services from Metropolitan College of New York and her master of arts in education from Touro University.

Lissette will begin her role with Staten Island Hebrew Public on July 1 in a part-time capacity and full-time on January 1.  She will be actively involved in all aspects of new school development.

“I am incredibly excited to lead Staten Island Hebrew Public. This is a unique opportunity to found a Diverse by Design school that will allow our scholars to learn about many different cultures and promote diversity and inclusion.

In addition, I was lucky enough to attend a bilingual school growing up. This experience allowed me to not only become bilingual in my native language but also to learn about many different Hispanic cultures. This influenced the person I am today and I am very eager to join a network offering a similar experience to their students.

In the year to come, I will immerse myself in the community in order to learn more about the community’s hopes and dreams for our school. I am truly looking forward to doing this work alongside each of you!”