Read our Head of School hiring announcement.
Dear PKS community,
I am absolutely thrilled at the prospect of becoming your next Head of School in July 2018. I would like to thank all of the students, teachers, staff, parents and board members that took the time to meet with me during my visit to school and with whom I have interacted over the last few weeks. I especially appreciated the time I spent in Chinese answering the most challenging questions of all – from the PKS third graders!
PKS is moving rapidly to become an innovator in bilingual and progressive education, and I am excited about this opportunity to help the school realize its full potential as a global leader in the field. I have spent the last twenty years – as an educator, writer, and diplomat – engaged in the task of creating opportunities to build students’ global competency and to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people across Asia. I will have the privilege of working with an outstanding faculty and leadership team to build a dynamic, impactful program through which our students will explore, discover, create, and build a foundation for deep cultural literacy in both English and Chinese.
Over the next year, I will work closely with the PKS board, faculty, and staff to begin the task of preparing myself to become your new Head of School in 2018, while fulfilling my responsibilities as principal at International School of the Peninsula (ISTP) in Palo Alto, and as a senior advisor at Asia Society. I am deeply connected to my work at ISTP and Asia Society, and will bring the same energy and commitment to PKS – I hope to engage, empower, and connect the PKS team with their counterparts in the field, in China, the US, and worldwide.
It was as a child obsessed with British accents, Maya glyphs, and later Chinese characters that I first discovered the world beyond my provincial suburban upbringing. It’s been one of the greatest thrills of my life to bring that same sense of discovery and wonder to young people, and to give them the gift of a multilingual mind. The Reggio Emilia approach is resonant with my own work connecting academic rigor to student engagement, inquiry, and creativity, and I am looking forward to building a program that can become a true model for the field, but more importantly that will provide a richly rewarding learning experience for kids.
I am deeply honored to be given this opportunity and deeply humbled by the gracious reception I have received already by members of the PKS community. I look forward to the prospect of working with all of you to continue building a thoughtful, compassionate, and vibrant school culture.
With sincerest thanks and warmest regards,
Chris