On February 19, a Verona High School alumna who once was named the “Essex County Teacher of the Year” pleaded guilty to third degree endangering the welfare of a 15 year-old male student in her West Orange High School English class. Erica DePalo, now a Montclair resident, admitted to having sexual relations with the student in the summer of 2012. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, and is expected to be given a three-year suspended sentence with lifelong parole supervision.
