Principals

Shawn Benjamin, Principal, LPS-Richmond Campus
Shawn Benjamin is the Principal of LPS-Richmond. Ms. Benjamin has been with LPS for three years. In 2006, Ms. Benjamin was the Assistant Principal at LPS-Hayward and in 2005, the Principal Elect at LPS-Richmond. Ms. Benjamin has been a Resident Principal with New Leaders for New Schools, a national Urban Principal Training Program. Prior to joining LPS, Ms. Benjamin obtained a Principal License while completing her Master's work at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. During her year at Harvard, Ms. Benjamin was a Principal Intern at both a Boston Public High School and a K-12 Charter School in Cambridge, MA . Ms. Benjamin has taught for over 13 years in experiential and outdoor settings. She was with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) for over ten years leading glacier mountaineering courses in Alaska, India, Wyoming, Mexico and Chile. She also worked as Lead Educator at the Shackleton School, an expeditionary learning high school. Ms. Benjamin earned a Masters in Education degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from the University of California at Berkeley.

Lauren Klaffky, Principal, LPS-Hayward Campus
Lauren Klaffky, the Principal of LPS-Hayward, brings tremendous experience and expertise to the position. Prior to joining LPS, Ms. Klaffky served as the Assistant Principal at Oakland High School where she led the design team for 9th grade learning academies. Prior to her position at Oakland Senior High, she served as the New Leaders for New Schools Resident Principal at College Preparatory and Architecture Academy, a small school at the Fremont campus in Oakland. Her focus at Architecture was on professional development and professional learning communities, with particular attention to the needs of English Learners. Ms. Klaffky was an English teacher for six years, including three years at Mt. Eden High School in Hayward, where she also served as an ELD instructional coach. Ms. Klaffky has also served as the Teacher Training Coordinator for the University of California at Berkeley's Puente Project in Hayward.

Lisa Haynes, Principal, LPS-College Park Campus
Ms. Haynes, the Principal of LPS-College Park, brings her experience in the field of secondary educational leadership for literacy strategic planning, student achievement analysis, curriculum innovation and instructional leadership. Prior to becoming Principal, Ms. Haynes served as Academic Intervention Coordinator for LPS-College Park. She began her working career as an accountant and then a behavioral science counselor for juvenile offenders. She was a teacher for the California Department of Corrections and then went on to become a literacy coach and English teacher for the past 15 years. Ms. Haynes holds a B.A. in Behavioral Science and Business Administration, a Masters in English, and is currently a PhD candidate pursuing her doctorate in Human Services Administration as it relates to Family Services and Educational Interventions.

Vanessa Sifuentes, Principal, LPS-San Jose Campus
Ms. Sifuentes, the Principal of LPS-San Jose, began her career in education in the fall of 2003 as a Humanities teacher, continued as a Lead Teacher, and then worked as a Principal Intern for Aspire Public Schools in Oakland at both Monarch Academy and Lionel Wilson College Prep Academy. Ms. Sifuentes returned to her hometown of San Jose in the summer of 2008 as the founding principal of ACE Charter School, a 5th-8th grade college-prep middle school focused on recruiting Far Below and Below Basic students and propelling them to proficiency by the end of 8th grade. Ms. Sifuentes received her B.A. in Political Science and Chicana/o Studies from UCLA and her M.A. in Education from UC Berkeley.