Insight: principal's letters are a masterclass in teaching
He is one of those people who always wants to do more for education. He built Tsung Tsin College in Tuen Mun, was an active member of policy bodies such as the University Grants Committee and Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications, and has been a prolific writer in the media.
After retiring from his role as a principal, he embarked on a second career as a part-time lecturer at Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he teaches about effective school leadership and leading change.
He is also a co-founder of the year-old Principals' Institute and a school manager, keeping his ear to the ground on the latest developments in education.
As a prominent voice among principals past and present, he has now shared his insights in a collection of his writings in English and Chinese: 40 Years a Teacher: A Life in Learning. His purpose, he says, is to deepen the discourse on the education issues facing Hong Kong.
The learning in the title of his book refers as much to his own development as that of his students. Cheung, after all, worked his way up from being a non-graduate teacher to one of the few principals to have spent their spare time completing a doctoral degree.