HudsonWay Immersion School

I can say with full confidence that HudsonWay Immersion School is the best Mandarin immersion school in NYC. This is our child’s second year here and we are very pleased with her academic and social development. We have been amazed that our 3 ½ year old daughter is not only completely fluent in Mandarin and starting to recognize simple Chinese characters/​words but also beginning to read in English. (I should note that English is the main language spoken in our home so we are especially thrilled about the Mandarin fluency). Both the Mandarin and English Language Arts teachers that we have had have been great and very accessible. The administration is also very approachable and responsive.
The class sizes are intentionally kept small which overall is terrific as we have seen that it allows the teachers to provide individualized attention to the children and customize teaching methods to help each child excel. The one potential concern to the small class size that we had before the start of the school year was that our child might not be able to make as many friends as her class is a little smaller than the others. However, we have seen that the small class size has allowed our daughter and her classmates to form strong bonds with one another which has been wonderful to see. As a result, the parents have become friendly with one another as well and often try to get together outside of school functions.
The school is culturally diverse and for the most part I sense a shared appreciation among parents for the opportunity to have our children learn in such a unique environment. My husband and I are very grateful to be a part of the HudsonWay community. We actually used to live in LA in a neighborhood that had one of the best school districts in the country but decided to move to NYC when our daughter turned 2 years old in large part so that she could attend this school. Teaching our child to speak Mandarin was a priority and in my research I have found HudsonWay to be the benchmark for Mandarin immersion. This is what is important to us and we are glad to support and grow with the school.
Overall, if anyone is even just exploring the idea of a second language for their child, I would encourage them to visit the school, talk to the master teachers and observe the classrooms. HudsonWay may not be a fit for everyone but we are happy and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great immersion school!