Shael polakow-suransky biography channel

Shael Polakow-Suransky (born January 10, 1972) is the president of the Bank Street College of Education.^[1] Previously, he was the New York City Department of Education Chief Academic Officer and Senior Deputy Chancellor.^[2][3][4]

Early years and education

Polakow-Suransky was born in Witbank, South Africa, where his parents, Valerie Polakow and Leonard Suransky, were anti-apartheid activists.^[2][5]

In 1973, the family immigrated to Michigan.^[2] Shael attended Ann Arbor's alternative Community High School.^[2][3] In high school, Shael Polakow-Suransky paired his fellow students with younger children in a peer-education program that promoted conversations about tolerance; the program spread throughout his school district.^[2] He spent his senior year conducting an independent study in Durban, South Africa, at the height of the anti-Apartheid movement.