Walt Whitman High School Of South Huntington Names New Assistant Principal

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — Alexandra Andrade was named assistant principal of Walt Whitman High School, the South Huntington School District announced.

Andrade has worked with the Sewanhaka Central High School District in Floral Park since 2006. While there, she served as family and consumer sciences district coordinator/chairperson for the last two years and was in charge of the program for the district’s five junior and senior high schools. Her responsibilities included curriculum development and teacher evaluations. Before that, she taught family and consumer sciences, as well as career and technical education.

Andrade said she's very excited to start the South Huntington chapter of her career.

"I did my research," Andrade said in a news release. "I think the diversity attracted me and the fact that it's something that they celebrate here and that they work so hard to make everybody feel included. You could get a real sense of community and I just want to be a part of it."

Andrade received her BA in family and consumer science education - K-12 from Queens College. She then acquired an MS in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and post master’s certification for school building leader (SBL) and school district leader (SDL). She speaks fluent Spanish and has put her ENL teaching skills to use in her previous positions to develop workshops for Spanish-speaking families, form policies and procedures in multiple languages, and worked with parents and students to reduce the anxieties of pursuing education in a new country.

Andrade still looks forward to learning more herself and feels South Huntington has people to teach her. She is also eager to work with the Spanish-speaking community.

"I would love to bridge any gap, get to know the students, and get to know the community," she said. "I’m excited to serve the community."

Andrade is the founder and executive director of a non-profit organization called Raise Your Hands Up High. The group partners with American students in all grades to fundraise to help orphaned children in Colombia, South America. Since 2012, the organization has raised more than $50,000, and Andrade has traveled to Colombia to support the efforts of two orphanages there.

A mother of two children, Andrade loves being an educator and wants her new community to know that she works really hard at her relationships. She described herself as empathetic.

"I just believe in being an advocate for kids," she said.