Posted May 21, 2021 in Press Releases

We are very pleased to announce that Saint Martin de Porres is growing! We couldn’t be more excited to have welcomed Lea Dotson as our new Assistant Principal this past Monday!

Working closely with our principal, Adam Trifiro, she will provide mission focused leadership to ensure our school’s learning environment is aligned to the school’s strategic vision to drive rigor and support continual improvement measures for students, families and staffulty.

After graduating from Kent State University with her degree in Pan African Studies and Political Science, Lea started her professional career in community development in her home town of Warren, Ohio. While involved in the work, she read the book, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, by Paulo Friere and it changed both her life and her career trajectory. She narrowed her focus on the need for a paradigm of “Educating for Empowerment”, and shifted gears towards a career in education. She went back to school and graduated from The Ohio State University and worked her way into administration. Lea is currently working towards attaining her PhD in Cultural Foundations of Education where she is researching the intersection of social systems and education models. She plans to utilize her current research to aid in continuing to identify culturally responsive pedagogy that pushes students to view their education as a tool for not only individual success but as the mechanism to change entire communities. Lea is extremely excited to join the St. Martin Martin De Porres community and do her part to support the mission and vision of the school.

Lea is the proud mother of two children, Nailah and Marvis. She is very "outdoorsy", and in her free time enjoys all things that put her in direct contact with nature. She particularly loves hiking, bird watching, and whitewater rafting.