Hoa Tu
Principal
e-mail: htu@henrystreetschool.org

Ms. Tu is Henry Street School's High School Director. Together with Ms. Allison, she created this international studies school and now mentors other small school leaders across the country.

For eight years, Hoa Tu has been building a number of projects and inquiry-based curricula for biology and chemistry at different schools. One of her pedagogical experiences includes working at the Brooklyn International High School and Baruch College Campus High School, a consortium school for new immigrants. She helped build rigorous science programs at the schools via her relationship with Columbia University's Science Teacher Research Fellowship program as a research fellow.

She also partook in the start up of two other urban schools: the Life Science Secondary School for low income minority students interested in pursuing a career in the medical field and the Bard High School Early College, a collaboration of Bard College and what was then the NYC Board of Education for inner city students motivated to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree in four years.

Before joining New Leaders for New School, Ms. Tu served as an instructional specialist for science at the Brooklyn High School Superintendency and opened and coordinated a new teacher center for the UFT at Lower East Side Preparatory School, a second chance school for at-risk youth and new Chinese immigrants. Currently, as a New Leaders Resident at University Neighborhood High School, she serves as an assistant principal and works closely with the parent coordinator and guidance staff to involve parents in supporting struggling students in District One and the Chinatown area.

She is bilingual and her ability to communicate in both Cantonese and Mandarin has greatly increased the number of successful parental outreach efforts. In addition to her work with youngsters, she is active within the NYC Teaching Fellows Program as a selector and trainer of new teachers committed to serving the children of high needs neighborhoods in the City.