HudsonWay Immersion School

I have two kids at this school-- both started at age 2 and one is in 1st grade now, the other is in pre-K. We will be sending them to the school again next year. My kids are happy and can read (in English and simplified Chinese), write (in English and simplified Chinese) and speak Mandarin (and English). Is the school perfect? No. It was a start up idea and created by a couple 10 years ago who wanted immersion options for their twin sons. There have been growing pains over the years (which I've been through and witnessed everything) and the school recently brought on new administration to run the school which has led to some parents liking the new administration and some parents not liking it-- which can be expected. I've been impressed with the new curriculum they've implemented and think it is very well thought out. The school has the best Mandarin language immersion curriculum in the city. My children's lessons are in Mandarin 80% of the week. If your priority is an immersion education -- this is the school for you. If you want a more established school or a school with bigger facilities that will have 1 language class a week or only 50% of the week in Mandarin (as is with Avenues), then maybe another school is for you. We have been happy with the teachers at the school -- the teacher in the pre-K class has been at the school for over 3 years, and my 1st grader's teacher is in her second year at the school. The school has high standards and has only hired native speaker teachers. The school has been honest with the parents that at times it has been difficult to find native speaker teachers with masters degrees in early education and immersion instruction. However, I think the school has been making efforts to make sure teachers are happy and to keep the lines of communication open between teachers and the administration should any issues come up. Any time I've needed to speak to a teacher or anyone in the administration, it has never been a problem. Choosing a school is a very important decision for any parent and it really depends on what your priorities are for your family/child. We've been through growing pains at HudsonWay over the years, but the bottom line is that I never doubted the school's ability to give my kids a good Chinese immersion education and my kids have made great friends, like their teachers and are happy at the school.

My son has been attending the New York campus of this school for three years, starting at age 2. As a first-time parent enrolling my child in school, I wondered initially whether I had made the right decision, whether there was somewhere else better for him, whether the grass was greener at another school. In my third year, and with some hindsight, I am very glad that I did not move him to another school. I could not be happier with HWIS, the administrative staff and especially the teachers. My son has benefited immensely from the close and nurturing attention that each of his teachers has given him since the day he started three years ago. His teachers communicate with me regularly about his development, any concerns they might have and proactive steps to support him. They seek my input and they offer theirs. They work cooperatively with me for the benefit of my son. I couldn't ask for more. Today he is thriving socially, academically and physically.

When I toured other private schools in Manhattan before deciding to enroll my son at HWIS, I discovered that at most schools, the ratio of teachers to students (starting at the pre-K level) were approximately 1:8 or 1:9. At HWIS, it is 1:6 in the most crowded classroom. I firmly believe that this beneficial ratio, together with the great teaching staff, has been key in my son's social-emotional and academic advancement. My son is able to speak both Mandarin and English with a fluency in both that I will never have but more importantly, he is able to converse about substantive content (math, science, music, etc.) in both languages without losing a beat. He is five years old. He is happy at drop-off every day. He talks about the projects in class, the things the kids made that day, how they made them, the colors used, he talks about science - the system of pulleys they put together, he talks about his friends, the games they played, the stories the teachers read to them. He is excited about school.

I agree that there was some turnover in staff 2 years ago shortly after the first director of the NY school resigned (for personal reasons) and some new hires either realized that they did not want to move to NYC (from the midwest) or did not work out. But the school replaced them with great people and it has been stable since then. The curriculum was revised but for the better.

No school is one-size-fits-all. Every parent should assess each school to determine whether it is the right fit for them and their child(ren). I was surprised and disappointed to read one review where a parent commented that parents who stay with the school have drunk Kool Aid or have their kids "stuck" and cannot go anywhere else. The internet is a wonderful invention but it has, unfortunately, given all of us the freedom to express exasperation, frustration, anger, etc, justified or otherwise, without a filter. The back-handed slight is uncalled for. Parents who pay tens of thousands of dollars every year for their child's education have choices. How they choose to exercise those choices are solely within their purview. I suspect most of them don't drink Kool Aid. Too much sugar.

Both of our children attend this school and we couldn't be happier. While I'm surprised to see any negative reviews of the school here, I am aware that one particular family has been creating waves recently and can only assume they're the source of those reviews. It's a shame they are willing to sacrifice such an amazing school and their own child's education over personal drama.
Our boys, thanks to the school, are on the road to speaking, reading, and writing in two languages even though neither my wife nor I are fluent. It's clear that their bilingual language development will surely surpass our own. I'm also in awe of the way our boys are able to comprehend mathematic concepts at such a young age. They frequently make up their own word problems and solve them.
The only truth to the negative review is that there was an administrative change at the school 2 years ago. While there were a lot of initial changes made to the curriculum at that time, it proved to be for the best. They adopted new science and music curriculums, and changed classroom teaching methods. The admin/teaching staff has felt very stable ever since.
Ultimately, my boys look forward to school every day. It's a pleasure to drop them off there and we are confident that their emotional and educational needs are being nurtured during their school day. Their teachers constantly challenge them academically while supporting their other needs. They potty trained our youngest son. The teachers hand cut my boys' fruit for snack. Altogether, we couldn't be happier.

Do your research before enrolling in this school. It was our worst mistake.

At first, we thought they were just disorganized - administrative emails often had the wrong dates for teacher conferences, events, etc. Annoying, but no real harm done - except we had to reschedule things at work when they changed important dates at the last minute.

But then we noticed that teachers keep leaving. Their explanation was that immersion teachers are in very high demand, but often teachers just revolved through their door every year, or even just a few months or even weeks. One director never showed up after supposedly signing on to 'lead' the school, another one left after a few weeks, and another admin left after barely 3 months. What is going on??

And then the worst of it. My child's preschool assistant teacher had to take a month off for medical reasons. Instead of hiring a temporary assistant for that month, our class had a different assistant teacher every day for weeks! And one of them was a male substitute teacher. One of the assistant teacher's tasks is to take the children to the restroom. These are really little kids; I was angry. Many of the other parents were very concerned as well.

But the administration's response is, he is a qualified teacher and my concerns are unfounded. Excuse me?! Firstly, since when is a temporary substitute teacher more important than our children? Stomping down preschooler parents' concern over this was a horrible slap in our faces. He may very well be qualified, but the administration did not address our concern at all. Perhaps he would have done better at a middle or high school, or even elementary, but not a good idea for very young, vulnerable preschoolers!

Furthermore, their upper grades (past K) dwindles. There are only 1 or 2 students per grade in the 1st - 3rd grades. Obviously, people who have been at this school figured out, as we have, that they need to leave. Asap. So the ones left in the older grades are those who are stuck, can't get into any other school, or are still drinking the Kool Aid. My guess is, those who think very highly of this school are fairly ignorant, or unaware of what actually happens there.

Immersion is a great idea, but here it is done very poorly. Actually, here EVERYTHING is done very poorly.

I feel awful for being, and knowing, so many Hudson Way parents. We are partners in misery.

Where do I start? How could a school take such a good idea (Mandarin Immersion), and execute it with such violent incompetence?

Well, let's start at the top. HWIS leadership has a gift - an uncanny ability to mistreat parents and staff to the point that all trust in the administration of the school is destroyed. The net result? An alarming attrition of teachers and students. Each year, more than half of the class will leave the school between pre-K and Kindergarten, and by the time students reach the upper grades (the school runs until 5th grade), the class size steadily dwindles down to 1. 1 student does not make a class, so you will find 1st graders and 5th graders in the same classroom with just one teacher ... what a mess.

At the same time as parents run for their lives (and the sanctity of their children's futures), teachers are running for better jobs. One by one, the very best teachers at the school leave. One of the founders of the school at one point had the gall to stand in front of all the parents and tell us, with a straight face, that all of the teachers who have left HudsonWay are no longer teaching. He claimed that each of them left for family reasons - to care for a new child or to return to China/Taiwan to be with family. But the longer you are at the school the more you realize the lie - many teachers have left for other schools with Mandarin programs. There is a particularly robust contingent of former HudsonWay teachers at Avenues, and a good number have gone on to public school. As we have reconnected with these teachers over time we realize the pattern that the administration so arduously attempts to conceal - these teachers leave because the work environment is hostile, the pay is poor, the expectation that teachers will staff day school, after school, and summer camp is unprecedented, etc. As one teacher put it on her way out the door - "my goal is to just find a better job at a better school."

As parents at this school, you quickly realize the bald faced truth - our children learn Mandarin because their teachers speak it all day, NOT because the school or the curriculum is good by any definition. Our children learn precious little else. Why? Well, for starters, miserable teachers, though their intentions may be noble, do not deliver outstanding lessons. Further, an administration that is obsessed with cost savings does not invest in good teaching.

To summarize - what is the best part about being a HudsonWay parent? Leaving the school. Save yourself the painful journey of discovery and stay away.