Hicksville Middle School welcomed new assistant principals Vinh Nguyen-Horan,
Zeny Rodriguez and Jonathan Silkowitz for the 2023-24 school year. The three new
administrators each bring unique experiences to their roles that will support the academic,
social and emotional needs of the Hicksville Middle School student body.
Ms. Nguyen-Horan was until recently the Assistant Principal at I.S. 278 Marine Park
Intermediate School in Brooklyn for more than five years. She was also an English
Language Arts Teacher at the same school for close to 10 years. Among the many roles Ms.
Nguyen-Horan contributed to included serving as a team leader of the school’s English
Language Arts Curriculum Committee and an ELA Assessment Creator. Ms. Nguyen-Horan
holds a Bachelor of Arts from Pace University, a Master of Arts in English Education from
Teachers College Columbia University, and a Certificate of School Building Leadership
through the College of Integrated Education from The College of Saint Rose in Albany. She
has been nominated for The Big Apple Awards and was an honoree of the Recognizing
Teacher Excellence Award.
Ms. Rodriguez has been an integral part of the Hicksville school community since
2002. She started as a member of the Hicksville Middle School faculty, teaching seventh
and eighth grade science until 2015. Until recently, she taught ninth through twelfth grade
science at Hicksville High School which included Living Environment, Living Environment
Honors, Introduction to Medical Science and Forensics, and Environmental Science. Among
Ms. Rodriguez’s many professional accomplishments, she is most proud of her English
language learner students achieving a 100% passing rate on the LE Regents during the
2018-2019 school year. She has served on Hicksville High School’s Safety Committee and
Hicksville Middle School’s Focus Committee. Ms. Rodriguez earned her Bachelor of Science
from Stony Brook University and a Master of Arts from New York University. Additionally,
she holds a Specialist Diploma in Administration and Supervision from CUNY Queens
College.
Mr. Silkowitz brings close to 24 years of administrative and teaching experience to
his new role at Hicksville Middle School and has contributed to high schools and middle
schools throughout Long Island, Manhattan and Brooklyn. These include Great Oaks NYC
Charter High School, Hunter College High School and Plainview-Old Bethpage’s John F.
Kennedy High School. Until recently, Mr. Silkowitz served as the Assistant Principal at
Selden Middle School in Centereach. He has contributed to numerous past committees that
have always supported the highest needs of his students. In his most recent position, he
was the Co-Founder of the School Culture Committee to address post-pandemic areas of
concern. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University at Albany, a Master of
Science in Secondary Education from Long Island University, and a second Master of
Science in Educational Administration from Touro College. Mr. Silkowitz anticipates that in
the next year, he will complete his Doctor of Education in Education Leadership from
Concordia University.
The district extends congratulations and best wishes for a wonderful school year
ahead to Assistant Principals Nguyen-Horan, Rodriguez and Silkowitz.
Hicksville Middle School recently welcomed three new assistant principals (L-R)
Zeny Rodriguez, Vinh Nguyen-Horan and Jonathan Silkowitz.