• School Day: Saturdays at the Newark Campus, 87 Congress Street, Newark, NJ
  • Drop-Off: 9:00 AM
  • Pick-Up: 12:00 PM
  • Parking & Arrival: Below you’ll find important information about recommended parking, accessing the school from Prospect Street, and helping us reduce traffic and double-parking on Congress Street.
  • Experience the Ironbound: While your child is in class, discover Portuguese bakeries, cafés, restaurants, shops, and community landmarks within walking distance of the school.
  • Learning Beyond the Classroom: Students will have opportunities throughout the year to experience Portuguese language, history, culture, traditions, and the surrounding Portuguese-American community.
  • Benefits for Escola Families: Learn about special discounts and offers available to Escola Luís de Camões families from participating local businesses, with additional benefits being developed throughout the year.
  • 90 Years of History: Our students are the newest generation continuing a Portuguese educational tradition in Newark that began in 1936.

More Than a School: Experience Portugal Every Saturday in Newark

For 90 years, Escola Luís de Camões has helped generations of children learn Portuguese, discover their heritage, and strengthen their connection to Portugal.

The school was officially inaugurated in Newark on October 4, 1936, with classes beginning the following day. What started as a community initiative of Sport Club Português has grown into one of New Jersey’s longest-established Portuguese-language schools. Today, a new generation of students is continuing that story.

At Escola Luís de Camões, however, learning Portuguese has never been only about vocabulary and grammar.

It is about experiencing Portugal.

A Portuguese Experience in the Heart of the Ironbound

Our Newark Campus is located at 87 Congress Street, in the heart of Newark’s historic Ironbound and only a short walk from Ferry Street — also known as Portugal Avenue.

The current school property became the permanent home of Escola Luís de Camões after Sport Club Português purchased the Congress Street property in 1975. Today, its six classrooms and distinctive Portuguese tile mural continue a tradition of Portuguese education that began decades earlier.

That location gives our students something particularly special: Portuguese culture exists right outside the classroom.

Throughout the school year, we want our students to experience the community around them. That can include activities and walks along Ferry Street, visits to Portuguese businesses, cultural and historical activities, opportunities to explore the museum at Sport Club Portuguese Inc, and participation in the celebrations, traditions and community events that make the Ironbound such an important center of Portuguese-American life.

Our educational program already combines Portuguese-language development with Portuguese history, geography, traditions and culture. Through the school’s relationship with Sport Club Português, students can also be exposed to music, folklore, art, festivals, community commemorations, museum activities and other experiences outside the traditional classroom.

The newest generation of a 90-year tradition

When today’s students walk through the doors at 87 Congress Street, they become the latest generation in a story that began in 1936.

Many of the children attending Escola Luís de Camões today may grow up speaking English most of the week. Saturday gives them a place where words like avó, futebol, pastel de nata, Minho, Açores, Madeira, Lisboa and Portugal become part of a larger experience.

Our goal is for students to understand that Portuguese is not simply another subject they study.

It is a language connected to people, places, food, music, traditions, family stories and community.

Make Saturday a Portuguese Family Morning

The Newark program runs every Saturday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at 87 Congress Street.

Parents don’t have to think of those three hours simply as school drop-off and pickup.

Drop your child off at 9:00 AM, then explore the neighborhood.

Walk over to Ferry Street. Have a pastel de nata and a galão. Pick up Portuguese bread for the weekend. Do some grocery shopping. Visit the local shops. Take a walk through the neighborhood that generations of Portuguese immigrants helped build.

Then return at 12:00 PM to pick up your student and continue the experience with lunch at Sport Club Português or one of the many Portuguese restaurants surrounding the school.

Three hours of Portuguese school for the children can become three hours of Portugal for the entire family.

Portuguese Bakeries, Cafés & Restaurants Near the School

The following are in the immediate Ironbound/Ferry Street area and approximately within one mile of the Newark campus based on their listed addresses. Walking distance will vary depending on the route, so families should check directions before heading out.

  • 🥐 Bakery/Café — Pao Da Terra LLC — 135 Ferry Street. Portuguese-style bakery and café serving coffee, breads, pastries and pastéis de nata.
  • 🥐 Bakery/Café — Nova Alianca Bakery — 121 Ferry Street. Traditional neighborhood bakery with Portuguese pastries, bread, coffee and casual food.
  • 🥐 Bakery/Café — Teixeira’s Bakery — 186 Ferry Street. A longtime Ironbound Portuguese bakery known for breads, pastries, pastéis de nata and coffee.
  • 🥐 Bakery/Café — Suissa Bakery & Coffee Shop — 57 Pacific Street. A neighborhood bakery and coffee shop with Portuguese pastries, breakfast items and coffee.
  • 🍽️ Portuguese Restaurant — PortuCale Restaurant & Bar — 129 Elm Street. Traditional Portuguese cooking with seafood, grilled meats, bacalhau and other familiar dishes.
  • 🍽️ Portuguese Restaurant — Seabra’s Marisqueira — 87 Madison Street. Portuguese seafood restaurant featuring shellfish, fish, Portuguese specialties and desserts.
  • 🍽️ Portuguese Restaurant — Portugalia Bar & Restaurant — 280½ Ferry Street. Casual neighborhood Portuguese restaurant with traditional comfort food and generous portions.
  • 🍽️ Portuguese Restaurant — O PIPO TAVERN — 349 Chestnut Street. Portuguese neighborhood restaurant with a strong focus on seafood and traditional dishes.
  • 🍽️ Portuguese Restaurant — Casa Seabra — 255 Jefferson Street. Traditional Portuguese restaurant serving grilled meats, seafood and familiar Portuguese appetizers.
  • 🍽️ Portuguese Restaurant — Taste of Portugal — 148 Delancy Street. Portuguese restaurant and bar serving seafood, steaks and traditional Portuguese dishes.
  • 🍽️ Portuguese/Spanish Restaurant — Adega Grill — 130 Ferry Street. Portuguese and Spanish dining featuring seafood, meats and traditional dishes; the restaurant also lists free parking nearby.
  • ⚽ Portuguese Community Lunch — Sport Club Portuguese Inc — 55 Prospect Street. Located steps from the school and an important part of the Escola Luís de Camões experience and Portuguese community life.

Parking for Escola Families

Because Congress Street is a busy two-way street and parking directly in front of the school can be limited, we strongly encourage families to avoid double-parking whenever possible.

Our recommended option is SCP Plaza at 76 Prospect Street, when available for school activities. Sport Club Português also identifies 32 Congress Street as an additional parking location when available for events.

From the Prospect Street parking area, families can walk through the rear parking area and use the small gate leading toward the school, then continue to the school’s front entrance.

The short walk helps reduce congestion on Congress Street and makes arrival and dismissal easier for everyone.

Escola Family Benefits in the Ironbound

We also want being part of Escola Luís de Camões to provide benefits for the whole family.

The school is beginning to work with local businesses to create special offers exclusively for Escola families.

Our first participating businesses include Ironbound Physical Therapy, which has created a special October promotion for Escola Luís de Camões families. Its October 10 open house runs from 9:00 AM to noon and includes a complimentary 10–15 minute consultation with soft-tissue massage, breakfast and coffee, along with the promotional offer detailed on the family flyer.

Families can also visit Pegasus Sporting Goods at 101 Ferry Street, where Escola families can receive 10% off select merchandise.

To receive participating Escola family discounts, parents should be prepared to show the Procare app while logged into their family account.

We are working to add more local businesses and more benefits throughout the school year.

More Than a School — A Bridge to Portugal

There is something special about teaching Portuguese in the middle of a neighborhood where students can leave class and immediately hear the language, taste the food, visit Portuguese institutions and see the history of the community around them.

That is one of the things that makes the Newark Campus unique.

Come to school. Explore the Ironbound. Have a nata. Speak some Portuguese. Visit the shops. Learn our history. Stay for lunch. Make Saturday a family tradition.

After 90 years, Escola Luís de Camões continues the same mission that inspired its founders: preserving the Portuguese language, celebrating Portuguese culture and giving the next generation a lasting connection to Portugal.

Escola Luís de Camões – Newark

87 Congress Street, Newark, NJ
Saturdays | 9:00 AM–12:00 PM

Escola Luís de Camões — more than a school, a Portuguese experience for the whole family. 🇵🇹