Our Principal

Greetings! 

My name is James Makoto Lee.  I am proud to be the principal teacher of this amazing school.  I am constantly humbled by the wonderful work that our parents, students, volunteers, and staff do every day.  Not one minute passes without an inspirational action by a staff person, a witty or insightful remark made by a student, or a smile or sign of love given by a parent or guardian.  We are one big happy family here at PS 20, and we look to make this family grow every year.

I want to share just a little about who I am.  I am a graduate of UC Berkeley, and I have Master's degrees in Special Education and Educational Leadership.  Most of my teaching experience is from California, but I did work in Peru as well.  I have taught both special education and a self-contained ESL class, with my true love being literacy and hands-on science.   I speak both French and Spanish fluently, so you can imagine that I firmly believe in producing bilingual and bi-cultural students!  Aside from classroom teaching, I have also worked as a consultant in whole-school reform and as the Assistant Director for a science education non-profit organization. I am a product of the New York City Leadership Academy, and was previously principal of PS 156 in the South Bronx.

I have an open-door policy, so please stop by any time to either discuss your child, or to learn more about this amazing school.

I hope to see you soon at PS 20!

All the best,

James