Tyee Chin
Director of Finance
Tyee, a Certified Master Practitioner from the Class of 2020-21, is newly our Director of Finance.
Tyee has over two decades of experience working in public education in the New York City Department of Education. Prior to joining the Center for Systems Awareness, he worked for five years as the Director of Student Services of Brooklyn and Staten Island. He entered the Department of Education at the beginning of the movement of accountability, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards and No Child Left Behind. He holds a New York State permanent certifications in School, District Administration/Supervisor, and Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). His experience encompasses math teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal and principal. He had the pleasure of serving as “turn-around” principal for two renewal schools. Both schools were under state review for closure. With the collective work of the entire community, and a commitment to combining the pursuit of education with character building and preparing students to function in the global market, Tyee and his team were able to improve the status of both schools to “school in good standing”.
As the Director of Student Services, his primary task was to improve the school culture, safety, attendance, school climate, and mental and physical health. He supported 27 high schools in Brooklyn and 71 Pre-K to 12 schools in Staten Island. In Brooklyn, his division was directly responsible for the safety, well-being and social emotional learning of approximately 55,000 students and staff; his division supported approximately 88,000 students in Staten Island.
One of Tyee’s roles in Staten Island was to create a Compassionate Systems District that provided opportunities for healing, self-care and unification. This initiative was instrumental for staff, students and community during a time of uncertainty and was very impactful upon returning to in-person instruction.
The purpose of developing a district Compassionate Systems initiative was to provide opportunities for teachers to support the social emotional needs of their students, to support the school community and to develop stronger interconnections to one another. With the creation of this networked learning community and space to develop an embodied mindfulness compassionate practice, school staff became better able to respond to their students and community in a way that is both meaningful and skillful toward developing self-regulation skills. Additionally, these practices establish and nurture a safe space to learn and grow, increasing student achievement and resilience, while simultaneously addressing the extraordinary social and economic imbalances in our current education system. Our current reality requires the practices of compassion and mindfulness more than ever. The COVID crisis has elevated anxiety, emotional response to stress, worries for loved ones, and our way of life and the future. All communities will need safe, compassionate spaces to address the stress and trauma being experienced at this time.
Now as the Director of Finance and a member of the site development team at the Center for Systems Awareness, Tyee will be responsible for managing the finances of the Center while also working directly with sites/hubs to develop a compassionate community either at the school level or district level. He will be actively involved in capacity building, coaching, resource development and professional development.
As a Certified Compassionate Systems Master Practitioner, Tyee is driven to develop and cultivate generative social fields with all stakeholders. He aspires to maintain his commitment to superior education, student-family advocacy, diversity, and bringing new opportunities and possibilities so that all can develop deep connections with others.