The YK Pao School Board of Governors is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Paul Wood as the new Executive Principal for YK Pao School’s Secondary Division, effective August 2015.
Dr. Paul Wood is an innovative and dedicated educational leader who brings extensive experience in teaching and school leadership at the secondary level. He has spent the last eight years in China, serving as High School Principal at the International School of Beijing and the American International School in Guangzhou. At ISB, Paul is responsible for almost 700 students and 80 teachers. Under his leadership, the school furthered its reputation for academic strength and students achieved outstanding results in the IB Diploma Program, eventually moving on to many of the top universities internationally. While promoting academic success, Paul also has a deep understanding of the need to develop the whole child and provide opportunities for learning and personal development beyond the classroom.
Paul has extensive experience as an IBDP Coordinator and teacher. He has also taught Science at the secondary level from Year 6-12. Paul’s broad perspective has roots in his early career in science. He received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Manchester, and has worked as a scientific researcher at Harvard Medical School and the National Research Council of Canada.
During his visits to our campus last month, Paul impressed members of the Board as well as the staff he encountered with his enthusiasm, approachability and passion for learning. He enjoyed meeting and speaking with our students and was impressed by their engagement and how much they enjoyed studying at Pao School. Paul has previously taught French and speaks basic German, and having learnt Japanese while working in Japan and through his current efforts to learn Chinese, he understands well the opportunities and challenges of a bilingual education.
Paul will be joined by his wife Jennifer, who is a Consul at the Canadian embassy in Beijing as well as his daughter, who is currently a Year 8 student and a keen athlete.
Paul will be succeeding our first Executive Principal, Tony Jaccaci, who will be returning to the US for personal reasons. As the founding Principal of the Secondary Division, Tony has worked tirelessly for the development of Pao School. We would like to thank him for his outstanding contribution to the Pao School community, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming Paul and his family to the Pao School community!
