Faculty & Staff

HudsonWay Immersion School (HWIS) takes great pride in attracting, developing and retaining the best faculty and staff possible to enable us to achieve our collective vision.

Our educators and administrators are uniquely qualified and highly trained. They represent over 20 countries making HWIS a culturally stimulating and enriching environment for our students, parents, faculty, and staff. Our educators are all native speakers, a key differentiator for HWIS relative to other language immersion schools.

64%

Have advanced academic degrees

63%

Were born outside the United States

28%

Are also parents in the school

30%

Have been with HWIS 5+ years

Staff Development

HudsonWay Immersion School believes in actively supporting faculty and staff development opportunities. Some examples include:

• On the job training and teacher mentorship
• Conferences and workshops
• Visits to other schools
• Support for continuing education
• Teaching clubs and exploring outside areas of interest
• Summer fellowships
• Collaboration with universities

Irene Gallardo

Assistant Director

Irene is in her 6th year as an education administrator at HudsonWay Immersion School (HWIS). Prior to HWIS, she was a mentor teacher at Hoboken’s Dual Language Charter School where she developed curriculum, trained and coached teachers in best dual language immersion practices and administered and analyzed assessments.

Irene holds an MA in Educational Leadership from Montclair State University. She is New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) certified in Educational Administration. She also holds a BA in Psychology and two teaching certifications in Early Childhood Education and Special Education, from New Jersey City University.

Lucy Hao

Preschool Master Teacher

New York

Originally from Beijing, Lucy graduated from the Beijing Language and Culture University majoring in English language and literature. She has a MA from Seton Hall University in Asian Studies and received her second MA in Early Childhood and Special Education along with New York state certification in 2018. Lucy has taught at HudsonWay Immersion School for over 10 years.

Sherry Ma

Master Teacher

Mandarin Curriculum Coordinator

Sherry has been at HudsonWay Immersion School (HWIS) for 5 years having taught after school and elementary prior to becoming a master teacher overseeing the New York program and Mandarin curriculum. Prior to HWIS, Sherry taught at the Brooklyn Technical High School and The Dalton School. She graduated from New York University with a MA in Foreign Language Teacher Education and holds a BA in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Tianjin Normal University in Tianjin, China.

Patti Wollman Summers

Director, Early Childhood Education & Teacher

New York

Patti Wollman Summers has been an early childhood educator in Manhattan for over thirty years. In addition to her extensive teaching experience, Patti was the founding director of two private preschools in New York City. Her MA in Early Childhood is from Bank Street College, where she recently worked to help the Department of Education in New York City devise a curriculum for the Pre-School For All program for preschool. Patti is the author of three books: Behind the Playdough Curtain, I’m Afraid of the Vampire State Building and most recently, Toddlers on Technology. Patti and her husband Robert live in New York City. Together they are the proud parents of six children and five grandchildren who range in age from 3-year-old twins to 15 years of age.

Nicole Liu

Admissions Advisor

New York

(212) 787-8088

Book a meeting

Tracie Xiong

Admissions Advisor

New Jersey

(908) 598-8088

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Meet our Head of School
Introduction to Sue Ha