Our Director
Veronica Goka, M.S, MS Ed
Mrs. Veronica Goka was born and educated in Ghana. She is a graduate of Wesley College and the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. She also pursued advanced degrees at the City University of New York and Mercy College. She was a renowned educator for over four decades. Veronica taught in Ghana, Liberia, and a private school in New York City before joining the New York City Department of Education. As an outstanding teacher, she was nominated Distinguished African American teacher in District Six in 1996.
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As a Staff Developer, she pioneered the implementation of the best practices in literacy instruction in a very traditional school to move student achievement. During her tenure as an Assistant Principal in District 11, literacy scores improved tremendously. She was the Principal at The Helen Keller School, P. S. 153 in the Bronx. Under her leadership, Helen Keller School was named a Reward School by the State Department of Education. She worked tirelessly with her team to create systems and structures to improve student achievement and to engage teachers in meaningful professional development.
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By the end of her tenure, The Helen Keller has become the most sought after elementary school in District 11, New York City. She retired in September 2014 and immediately took over the restructuring of the SamSalo School which her mother started in 1989.