Vietnamese teacher opens high school in the US

Mr. Van Tan Hoang Vy, from Nha Trang, opened the first standard private school for Vietnamese people in Houston, after helping hundreds of weak and underperforming students in the US enter university.

Mr. Vy, 38 years old, is the principal of Van Houston Academy (VHA) in Houston, Texas. The school has 20 teachers and 200 students from kindergarten to grade 12. In 2022, the school met the standards of the world's largesteducational accreditation organization, Cognia.

"This year, the school was licensed to recruit international students from Vietnam for the first time, with 20 students," said Mr. Vy.

Mr. Vy said that he came to the teaching profession by chance. In 2001, while studying in grade 10 of Mathematics at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted (Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa), he received an A-level scholarship from Ashbourne College London, then was admitted to the Mathematics program at Imperial College London (UK). This school has been in the world's top 10 in prestigious university rankings many times.

During his first Easter break, Vy joined a tutoring program for students in Hackney, London's poorest area, run by professors at his school. His job was to be a teaching assistant, but due to a shortage of staff, he was given the main teaching position.

Mr. Vy admitted that he initially took this job because of the attractive salary. While working as a waiter at a restaurant only paid 5 pounds (more than 150,000 VND)/hour, working as a teaching assistant paid 5 times more.

"I never thought of studying Math to become a teacher. Back then, I dreamed of working in an investment bank," said Mr. Vy.

After the first 1-2 days of confusion, Vy was excited because he realized that he could convey the lesson to students. In the following summers, he continued to tutor and was loved by many students. This made Vy more confident in his teaching ability and decided to pursue a teaching career.

Mr. Van Tan Hoang Vy, Van Houston Academy. Photo: Provided by the character

After graduating, Vy went to the US to visit his family and learned that Sam Houston High School in Texas was recruiting teachers. This school had been rated “unacceptable” by the State Board of Education for six consecutive years, the lowest level on the four-point credit rating scale. The students here came from poor families, did not care about their studies, got pregnant early, and many got involved in social evils.

"I want to try. If I am a good teacher, I have to teach and reach all students, regardless of their level or circumstances," said Mr. Vy.

So one day in late August 2008, the 11th grade class at Sam Houston High School had a new math teacher. The young teacher was assigned to 7 11th grade classes with nearly 200 students. Of the 80 female students, 70% were pregnant or had children. Many were not proficient in basic calculations, did not know how many sides a triangle had, could not draw a graph with the X and Y axes, calculate the radius of a circle, or solve first-degree and second-degree equations.

After the survey, Vy started to prepare lessons according to the state's curriculum. For each type of lesson, he analyzed which skills were needed but which students did not yet have to teach in advance. For example, to solve quadratic equations, students must know square roots, add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions.

Many students do not like going to school, so Mr. Vy realized that in order to change and help them improve, he had to prove that he really cared about them. A class is 55 minutes long, Vy only spends 7-8 minutes lecturing, the rest is giving examples and practicing. Vy also sits with each student to ask about their family situation, boyfriends and girlfriends.

Knowing that his students love playing basketball, after school he stays to watch them play. On weekends, he washes cars with his students, using the money he earns to take his students to visit famous universities. Vy believes that this is a way to get students interested and nurture their dreams of going to university.

By the end of that school year, Vy's students were able to grasp the required knowledge and solve even cubic and quartic equations. 100% of the students Vy tutored passed their final exams.

In four years at Sam Houston, Vy has helped nearly 600 students get into college. Most of them were once poor students.

Mr. Vy (in purple shirt) when teaching at Sam Houston School. Photo: Character provided

During this time, he continued his graduate studies and graduated from the prestigious Stanford University, majoring in lesson planning and teacher training. With his work experience and training, Mr. Vy quit his job at Sam Houston to pursue his dream of a Vietnamese school in Houston.

VHA was founded in 2016, initially operating as an after school model (tutoring after school hours and SAT preparation on weekends). Two years later, he expanded the model into a full-day private school.

According to Mr. Vy, to open a private school in the US, the head must have a principal certificate. During his time teaching, he studied, took exams and was granted this certificate by the state. To have money to operate the school, he maintained a model of after-school tutoring and SAT tutoring. When it first opened, the school had only three teachers and eight students. By the end of that year, the number of students had increased to 20, and a year later, to 40.

"Mostly thanks to parents' trust," said the teacher.

Under U.S. regulations, private schools must be in operation for at least two years before they can be considered for Cognia certification. Otherwise, their high school diplomas are invalid. Five education experts were sent to the school, interviewing teachers, students, and parents to grade grades and review lesson plans. Ultimately, the school passed the assessments.

Here, in addition to the detailed program for each level, Mr. Vy also opened a special class: Vietnamese class, for students from kindergarten to the end of secondary school.

"The school has received a lot of positive feedback from parents, they are happy that their children can speak their mother tongue," said Mr. Vy.

Johnny Nguyen is one of the first 6 students from VHA to graduate from high school in 2022, and is currently a first-year Nursing student at St. Thomas University. Having attended VHA since 8th grade, the male student is grateful to the teachers for creating an open, safe, non-judgmental space for students to be themselves and not feel afraid to ask questions.

"The teachers always encourage and push me in the right direction. Here, in addition to knowledge, I also learn time management and communication skills," Johnny said.

Ms. Lily Nguyen has two children who have been studying at VHA since the beginning. She said that her children have made clear progress, study better, and know how to help their classmates.

"My two children like studying here because the teachers are enthusiastic and they also get to learn drawing and gymnastics. I am very grateful to Mr. Vy," said Lily.

The first 6 VHA 12th graders at the 2022 graduation ceremony. Photo: Character provided

As Mr. Vy's homeroom teacher in grade 8 at Thai Nguyen Secondary School, Nha Trang City, Ms. Lai Thi Ngoc Tran was still impressed with the intelligent student, who was loved by the teachers at the school. Ms. Tran always followed every step of the student's journey abroad. Every time Mr. Vy returned to the country, the two teachers and students met and talked.

"Vy is very passionate about her job. Hearing Vy talk about the school for Vietnamese people, I was very proud," said Ms. Tran.

Looking back on his journey, Mr. Vy said he always adhered to the teaching philosophy of transforming students, not just recruiting excellent students.

"I am proud of the achievements of the students. No matter how well I speak, if the students do not progress and cannot get into university, I cannot make the parents trust and entrust their children to the school," said Mr. Vy, adding that in the near future, VHA will be moved to a new, larger location, increasing its scale to about 600 students.

Vnexpress.net