Jeneca Parker-Tongue

With over a decade of leadership experience spanning from early childhood to high school, Jeneca has earned recognition as a Model Principal within New York City (NYC) Public Schools, where she has demonstrated her strength in designing collaborative structures that support high-quality instruction for racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students. As a proponent of social-emotional learning (SEL), she has built a strong culture in her schools. She also coaches adult learners to recognize and positively manage emotions to improve emotional intelligence as a component of effective school leadership. In 2023, she was awarded the Distinguished Principal Award of Manhattan by The Middle School Principal Association of New York City and national SEL Leadership award by BlackSEL. Additionally, she is a Transformative Educational Leadership (TEL) Fellow and a proud alumna of the Gray Fellowship for Principal Excellence.

In her role as the Director of the Hunter College Collaborative for Social Emotional Learning & Leading (C-SELL), Jeneca is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of college and citywide projects related to training and advocacy for Social Emotional Learning (SEL). The Collaborative integrates SEL into teacher and leadership education. Driven by a mission to help K-20 school systems create agents of change at every level of the system, from leader to student, she works collaboratively to co-create and transform school cultures where positive school-wide outcomes intersect with individual well-being, collective well-being, and equity. This is achieved through innovative certification programs, embodied leadership coaching, educator fellowships in higher education, and teaming models to build staff and student agency, ensuring that sense of belonging becomes the DNA of a school with authenticity and sustainability.

• Pursuing Ed.D. in Instructional Leadership, Hunter College
• Ed.M., Leadership for Educational Change: Focus on Special Education, Bank Street College, 2012
• M.S.T., Childhood Education & Childhood Special Education, Pace University, 2009
• B.A., International Development Studies, Furman University, 2007

• ADSUP 716 – Leadership for School Reform

Jeneca’s research focuses on leadership studies in placemaking using visual/artful methodologies. Toward this goal, she examines the social context of education, human geography, and emotional intelligence of school leaders by mapping internal and external geographies of belongingness in schools.