This school year, Hendrick Hudson High School welcomes Ms. Martino Alves as the new principal, superseding Ms. Scollins.
She graduated from SUNY Purchase and got her master’s degree at Columbia University’s Teachers College.
After serving as an assistant principal in the New York City Department of Education, she worked at two different international schools in Brazil, afterwards working as an assistant principal in the Greenburgh Central School District.
“I’ve had a very unique experience learning and becoming a school leader in different settings,” she says, explaining that her involvement in larger schools has taught herhow to keep everyone connected.
This year, Ms. Martino Alves leads implementation of the PLAN Pilot program at Hen Hud; this plan will emphasise performance-based curriculum over standardized testing in schools to prepare students for professional and civic success. Under Ms. Martino Alves’ leadership, Hen Hud will be exploring these new methods.
Regarding the new state-mandated phone ban, Ms. Martino Alves is “very impressed” with how the students have adjusted to school without phones. She has seen more social interactions, even at times when phones are permitted. For example, at homecoming, she remarks that they were being used“appropriately.” She believes that phones easily influence students. Since the ban, students can not only think for themselves but also improve dialogue, create better discussions, debate, and learn more.
As part of her onboarding process, she expressed that she is gaining insights about Hen Hud politics and culture from existing faculty; she finds these staff members to be “real assets to the community.”
She is not only ready and willing to learn from the faculty but also excited to blend her prior experience with the new knowledge gained from our community. Ms. Martino Alves states that she hopes to “bring us in new directions but also be thoughtful of where we came from.”
