Noha Abdel-Hady, EdD '20, a graduate of the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership for Social Justice program (EdD) in UHart's College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions (ENHP), has built a career spanning the classroom, school, and district leadership. Today, she serves as superintendent of Windsor Public Schools in Connecticut.
Her journey began long before she stepped into the superintendent's office. After immigrating to the United States as a teenager, Abdel-Hady experienced firsthand the transformative power of education. She went on to become a mathematics teacher, instructional and data coach, assistant principal, principal, and district leader before pursuing her doctorate at UHart.
"I chose to pursue Educational Leadership because I wanted to expand my impact beyond a single classroom or school," Abdel-Hady says. "I wanted to better understand systems, organizational leadership, policy, instructional improvement, and the responsibility that comes with leading educational communities."
Connecting Research to Real-World Leadership
As a practicing educational leader while pursuing her doctorate, Abdel-Hady valued how directly she could apply what she learned at UHart to her work.
"What I appreciated most was being able to connect theory directly to practice," she explains. "The conversations, research, and assignments were not abstract. I could immediately connect what I was learning to real challenges facing students, teachers, schools, and districts."
Her doctoral experience strengthened her research, analytical, and reflective skills while helping her look beyond immediate challenges to understand the systems and conditions behind them.
Today, as superintendent, Abdel-Hady oversees academics, operations, personnel, finance, student services, school climate and safety, community engagement, and implementation of the district's long-term strategic plan.
For her, however, the most rewarding part of the job remains simple: the people.
"I love being in schools, talking with students, watching teachers teach, and seeing an idea move from a conversation into something that actually changes a child's experience," she emphasizes.
Noha Abdel-Hady, EdD ’20, Superintendent of Windsor Public SchoolsI could immediately connect what I was learning to real challenges facing students, teachers, schools, and districts.
A Full-Circle UHart Connection
Abdel-Hady's relationship with UHart didn't end when she earned her doctorate in 2020. Today, she returns to the University as an adjunct professor, helping prepare the next generation of educators.
"I am grateful that the University of Hartford has been part of that journey, first as a student and now as a member of its faculty," she says.
She also credits the ENHP community with support throughout her doctoral journey, particularly during the final stages of her program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The entire staff at ENHP were vital in my success and in supporting me," Abdel-Hady notes. "I am grateful for the faculty members who treated us not simply as graduate students completing coursework, but as practicing leaders who were being challenged to think more deeply about the responsibility we carried."
Her connection to UHart has become even more personal as she chose the University for her own son, who is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering.
For Abdel-Hady, that makes her UHart story especially meaningful: she came to the University as a professional seeking to grow as a leader, and today she is helping shape future educators while watching her own son experience UHart as a student.
Throughout her career, Abdel-Hady has remained focused on a simple but powerful belief: academic excellence and student well-being should go hand in hand.
"I believe schools can maintain high expectations while creating environments in which children are known, supported, challenged, and excited to learn," she says.
Abdel-Hady’s own journey from immigrant teenager to mathematics teacher, educational leader, and superintendent continues to shape that philosophy.
"Titles and positions may change, but the purpose has remained remarkably consistent: creating schools where students are challenged to achieve at high levels while also knowing that the adults around them genuinely see them, believe in them, and care about who they become," she says.
For Abdel-Hady, UHart has been an important part of that journey and now, as an educator herself, she can help the next generation begin theirs.