Nelyda Miguel Selected as Next Head of School for HudsonWay Immersion School

(STIRLING, N.J.) – Nelyda (Nely) Miguel, a K-8 education administrator with more than 20 years of experience, has been selected as the new Head of School for HudsonWay Immersion School (HWIS). She currently serves as Associate Head of School at The Red Oaks School in Morristown, NJ. She will officially begin her new position on July 1, 2021.

Miguel will oversee the school’s two campuses in Stirling, NJ and New York City, where students in preschool through grade 8 receive instruction in one of two immersion tracks—Mandarin/English or Spanish/English.

“Nely brings relevant skills, experience, a local network and a passion for our immersion program to support the next phase of our growth” said Sharon Huang, founder of HudsonWay Immersion School and leader of the selection committee. “We extend our deep appreciation to the search committee and to the many students, parents and staff members who participated in this process. Their enthusiastic involvement is a testament to our strong and vibrant community.”

Originally from Venezuela, Miguel is a native Spanish speaker. She earned two master’s degrees in education administration and special education from Columbia University, where she was on full scholarship, a master’s degree in media, libraries and computers in education from Fairfield University and a bachelor’s degree in special education from Instituto Venezolano de la Audición y Lenguaje.

At Red Oaks School, Miguel led a team that developed a middle school that is now accredited by the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. Under her leadership, the school grew its enrollment across grade levels.

Previously, she served in several administrative roles at the Whitby School in Connecticut including director of academic technology, dean of curriculum, international baccalaureate coordinator and interim co-head of school. In those capacities, she helped spearhead a turnaround in the school’s overall academic performance.

Additionally, at the International School at Dundee in Connecticut Miguel developed an award-winning online library and led in the integration of digital resources into the curriculum. She participated in the accreditation process leading the school to become the first accredited PYP school in New England.

“I am eager to bring my experience and skills as an educational leader to HudsonWay and together with the founders, teachers and staff work indefatigably to continue and grow the legacy of success established by HWIS,” said Miguel. “I will build strong relationships with each member of the school community and continue to extend these to the larger educational and business communities in New York City and New Jersey. I am excited to help parents understand that language immersion can benefit everyone.”

Miguel was selected from an impressive pool of over 20 international candidates. Miguel will succeed the current Head of School, Sue Ha, who oversaw the New York campus transition to its new Midtown West location, successful Middle States Association accreditation, and management of the COVID-19 shift to virtual learning in March 2020 and return to on-site learning in September 2020.

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HudsonWay Immersion School (HWIS) is a full immersion Mandarin and Spanish school serving children ages 2 through grade 8. The school is located on two campuses – Stirling, NJ and Midtown West, NYC. Children learn all of their subjects in two languages, becoming fully bilingual and biliterate. To learn more, visit www.hwis.org.