Assistant Head of School, Academics, Michal Hershkovitz has led Poly Prep’s curricula to further promote the exchange of ideas, the importance of difficult conversations, and to encourage students to be the best versions of themselves as critical thinkers and members of an ever-changing societal landscape.
Since joining the History Department as an Upper School teacher in 2011 and assuming her current role in 2019, Hershkovitz has been a force of strength, growth, and positive change: she’s created her own initiatives, such as the media studies program and her series “Countering Ideologies of Hate”.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Michigan, Hershkovitz received a master’s degree in international relations from Yale University and a master’s of philosophy in political science from Columbia University. Hershkovitz realized her passion lay in teaching—an extension of the civic engagement and education she hailed from throughout her collegiate education. According to her biography on the Poly Prep Website, she was initially drawn to “the school’s vibrancy, diversity, and commitment to nurturing the whole child.”
Today, her priorities are “to engage [her students] in deep, critical thinking. Never to tell [them] what to think, but to allow [them] to stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before [them],” Hershkovitz said. Her loyalty to these principles is particularly evident in the Advanced History Seminar she teaches titled “Democracy at a Crossroads,” which, although categorized as a history class, she refers to as “a political science class.” The course is designed for students to examine American democracy as both a historical and living entity. However, Hershkovitz has slightly reshaped the course to consider the current political climate and to contextualize it further. “I worked on [the course] in July, and then had one of those moments where I bolted up in bed in early August, and given the changing context, I thought to myself, ‘I can’t teach it the way I had planned to.’ Too much had already changed, and so the course is actually still under design today.”
As a result of her influential role as a teacher and an administrator, Hershkovitz feels the weight of balancing the reality of the real world, the Poly community, and her respect for her students. “I have to take great care not to assume that you all have the same beliefs and to remind you that you’re not fragile. By that, I mean that it’s okay for you to feel deeply and even to be scared or anxious, but always know that you are well supported, and always trust yourself to be able to deal with the hard stuff,” Hershkovitz said. She also believes in and supports the intertwined nature of such political conversations with inclusive and diverse education. “DEIB is everything. We’ve been working…to ensure inclusivity, to ensure empathy, and to ensure that we’re building those competencies in our students. Because frankly, if you don’t build those competencies here, you’re going out into a world where you will not know how to navigate effectively and successfully,” Hershkovitz stated. According to the Brown Center of Education, “Americans’ participation in civic life is essential to sustaining our democratic form of government.” Additionally, research conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that one in four adults cannot name the three branches of government. The education Hershkovitz advocates for today is unique, as a result of a dwindling number of opportunities for civic engagement.
Hershkovitz’s contributions to the Poly community are appreciated by both her students and the teachers she works alongside. History Chair Virginia Dillon described Hershkovitz as a “passionate and knowledgeable educator.” [Hershkovitz] asks so much from her students, from herself, and from each of us in a way that really pushes you, as a teacher, to ask how we can better serve our students. How can we ask more of them, but in a way that allows them to realize their potential?”
Junior Anna Reisen, a student currently enrolled in “Democracy at a Crossroads,” credits Hershkovitz with her ability to be introspective both in and out of the classroom. “I owe her my self-confidence in my academic abilities, but also [my ability to] question my own ideas and thoughts, to question everything,” Reisen said.
Regardless of her administrative role today, Hershkovitz believes she is still first and foremost an educator in everything she does at Poly. “The through line is always education… I think [my students] are partnering with me, and I don’t use that word loosely.” For Hershkovitz, teaching is not simply giving instructions, but rather an opportunity to collaborate with and guide students towards a lifelong love of learning and an appreciation for the complex world around them.
On October 8, 2025, a schoolwide email was sent out by Head of School Dr. Noni Thomas Lopez announcing that Hershkovitz, “will be leaving Poly at the end of this academic year to pursue a lifelong dream of founding her own school.”
