HudsonWay Immersion School Offers Students A Bilingual Education

This Patch article is sponsored by HudsonWay Immersion School.

HudsonWay Immersion School is a progressive private school offering classes that range from preschool through eighth grade. The school helps students develop academic knowledge, biliteracy, cognitive skills and character to become global citizens. By learning all of their subjects in two languages — either Mandarin and English or Spanish and English — children develop superior cognitive and language skills as compared to monolinguals, as well as language skills that will give them an advantage in today’s global world.

Patch caught up with Sharon Huang, founder of HudsonWay Immersion School, to learn more about the New Jersey and New York campuses, where students can come on-site to a safe, supportive and engaging learning environment five days per week.

Patch: How long have you been an educator?

Huang: I founded the school 15 years ago in 2005 but I’ve always loved education even prior to that. I taught English during summers in Taiwan when I was a college student.

Patch: What attracted you to education, and how did you get started?

Huang: I founded this school because I wanted to create an environment for my then-1-year-old twin boys to grow up bilingual. My parents, immigrants from Taiwan, focused on ensuring my sisters and I assimilated to American culture and, therefore, I did not grow up speaking Mandarin. I came to regret this as an adult working in international marketing; so when I had children, I decided to quit my job and start a Mandarin immersion preschool in my home. Fast forward 15 years, and now we are on two campuses — one in Stirling, New Jersey, and one in Midtown West, New York City — serving students ages 2 through grade eight with two tracks: one for Mandarin/English and one for Spanish/English.

Patch: What is your teaching style or philosophy?

Huang: We are a supportive and progressive full immersion program where students develop the knowledge, skills and character to be global citizens. Most of our students do not come from backgrounds in which the language is spoken at home, yet they become fully bilingual and biliterate, developing strong academic skills and character traits of empathy, persistence and confidence. We have a model and curriculum developed over 15 years that has achieved results. Our students’ standardized assessment scores on the Educational Record Bureau (ERB) surpass the independent school norm. Students spend most of the day in another language, becoming fully bilingual and developing the cognitive benefits that come with immersion, making them smarter. Finally, we believe in learning that is hands-on and engaging and that is individualized to each student. Our small class sizes enable teachers to develop close relationships with students so that they love learning and enjoy being at school.

Patch: What’s the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you’ve faced working in the education system?

Huang: Having to turn on a dime and switch to remote learning this past spring was a challenge for our entire community of administrators, teachers, parents and students. Our Head of School, Sue Ha, did an amazing job preparing our school for this, given her connections to schools in Asia that began experiencing closures months ahead of the U.S. Similarly, this fall when we reopened to be on-site five days per week, we had already prepared all the protocols to be able to reopen safely on-site and provide the option for students choosing to be remote.

Patch: What’s your favorite thing about being an educator?

Huang: I enjoy knowing that what we are doing is changing the way children view the world, giving them skills that may open new doors and giving them confidence to “navigate the world.” I also enjoy knowing that we are creating a very special community where teachers love what they do, sharing their culture and love of language with children eager to learn, and where parents who value this type of education can find other forward-thinking, globally minded parents who are excited for new opportunities for their children.

Patch: Why should parents send their children to your school?

Huang: Parents have a window of opportunity from birth to age 12 to take advantage of the brain’s natural ability to learn language and to impact on their cognition. Through our years of being a leader in immersion, we have demonstrated that children can become bilingual even if their parents are not, and that they develop so many other benefits. If you could send your child to an environment that is nurturing and gives him or her so many advantages for the future, why wouldn’t you do this?

Patch: What does a typical day in one of your classrooms look like?

Huang: A typical day is 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. We do offer half-day programs for 2–3-year-old preschool students. We start the day with table-top activities, have circle time, centers with blocks, dramatic play, puzzles and manipulatives, reading corner, sensory table, art corner and blocks. We have snack, go outdoors each day for recess and have specials classes for art, music and physical education. It’s like a typical preschool or elementary school class — with the only difference being that most of the time the subjects are taught in a second language.

Patch: What kind of extracurricular activities does your school provide?

Huang: We provide both early drop-off and extended-care hours after school. We also provide enrichment programs after school such as chess, robotics, karate and other language programs. This schedule changes yearly and can be found on our website.

Patch: Do you have any upcoming open houses or events for prospective students?

Huang: Yes, we have information sessions listed on our website’s virtual admissions hub. The upcoming ones are on Dec. 8 and 9 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on Jan. 9 and 10 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your school?

Huang: Feel free to visit our website, or follow our social media on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. You can find all of these links on our website. Or you can call us at 908-598-8088 for the New Jersey campus, or 212-787-8088 for the New York campus. You can also email us at info@hwis.org.