Our Principal

Meet Our Principal:

Mr. Michael Pizzingrillo

As the school's principal, Mr. Pizzingrillo oversees the day-to-day operations of the 272-student, 48-staff member population. This includes all matters related to student achievement (curriculum, instruction, and assessment) as well as operations and management, special education, scheduling, safety and facilities, MTSS, and student attendance.

Before leading PS 705, Mr. Pizzingrillo served as the Assistant Principal of PS 316 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn for two years. Previous to working in public education, he served as the Senior Project Associate in Fordham University’s Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP) for four years. He was responsible for leading all aspects of the CEP’s professional development work with schools, districts, dioceses, and all affiliations. Just prior, he was the founding Director of the Community Schools Technical Assistance Center (CSTAC) within the CEP, working with NYC public schools to ensure the implementation of the community school strategy.

Preceding his work with the Fordham CEP, Mr. Pizzingrillo served at all levels of Catholic education being a teacher, principal, and associate and deputy superintendent in the Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens, before becoming Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Albany. During his nearly five years in the Capital Region, he oversaw 19 elementary schools and 4 high schools, led system-wide curricular, administrative, and student-support service improvements culminating with diocesan-wide accreditation using a continuous improvement model and framework.

Mr. Pizzingrillo is a two-time graduate of St. John’s University holding a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in Elementary Education. He completed his school administration degree from Manhattan University (then College) and is currently a doctoral candidate at Manhattanville University. Additionally, Mr. Pizzingrillo is starting his 17th year as an the adjunct professor in Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education, having taught several operational and instructional courses, as well as school finance and the administrative internship course which is the culminating coursework for aspiring school leaders.