Introducing Mike Levy!

We are delighted to share some exciting news -- PKS now has a Head of Middle School! Our Middle School will open for 6th grade students in August 2018. Mike Levy has recently accepted our offer to join PKS as the founding Head of Middle School, starting in July 2017.

Mike has a rich background in Mandarin, Chinese culture, and progressive learning. He will spend the next school year focused on curriculum planning, teacher hiring, middle school admissions, and high school placement so that the program is fully prepared for launch in August 2018. During this time, Mike will also organize parent education workshops and partner with Renee Miller, our Head of Elementary, to support the transition for our pioneer students and families as they graduate from elementary and enter middle school. The PKS community will have many opportunities to get to know Mike over the coming year. In the meantime, below is a little bit more about his background and experiences.

About Mike Levy

Mike has spent his career educating students around the world -- he has taught history, literature, economics, humanities, and Chinese in the United States, Israel, and China. He has taught in boarding schools and day schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities. He is a proficient Mandarin speaker.

Mike began his career teaching in Quaker schools in the Philadelphia area. He then moved to China to teach at Guizhou University. After returning to the U.S., Mike taught at Saint Paul’s School in New Hampshire, and Saint Ann’s school in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, as Associate Division Head of grades 6-8 at Avenues, The World School in New York City, he led hiring, faculty evaluation, coherence of curriculum, and overall success for the Middle School. Avenues is a new breed of global educational schools with a focus on bringing progressive learning to campuses around the world.

Along with his teaching, Mike is also an author. His memoir, Kosher Chinese: Living, Teaching, and Eating with China’s Other Billion, won multiple literary awards and was a New York Times bestseller. His shorter work has appeared in numerous anthologies, magazines, and newspapers.

Mike graduated from Cornell University in 1998 with a B.A. in philosophy and religious studies. He met his wife, Ines, in his freshman dorm. Mike received his M.A.T. from Columbia University’s Teachers College. He has also studied at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel.

Mike and Ines have a three-year-old daughter, a one-year-old son, and a five-year-old dog, Tudou. All members of the family love dim sum, except for Tudou. He prefers Sichuanese food.

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