Founding Leadership

Pagee Cheung and Arthur Samuels are the co-founders of MESA Charter High School, which opened its doors in 2013 and since celebrated over 90% graduation rate for the past 5 years. The New York Post has said that MESA "just might be the best charter high school in New York State." MESA has emerged as a leader in the charter sector in several areas, earning plaudits for both its academic and operational performance. MESA leadership has shared its "secret sauce" in areas ranging from standards-based grading to creating student programming, from SPED/ELL instruction to DEI practices. 

Pagee Cheung, Co-Executive Director

Formerly a high school math teacher in both NYCODE and charter schools, Cheung holds a B.A.  from the University of Southern California and an M.A. in Secondary Math Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is an alumna of the Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished Principals. She is a championship-caliber competitive eater currently accepting challenges. 

Arthur Samuels, Co-Executive Director

Samuels is a former teacher, college counselor, and youth baseball coach. He holds a B.A. from Brown University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Master of Arts in Education Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.  He is a 50Can National Voices Fellow for 2021. His educational rap videos has been viewed over 150,000 times on YouTube.