Han­nah S. Hess came to the US via Ecuador. Edu­cat­ed in the New York City pub­lic schools, she worked as a high school Eng­lish teacher, assis­tant prin­ci­pal, and prin­ci­pal there. The moth­er of three grown chil­dren, she lives in New York with her hus­band, Wal­ter, a poet and film-mak­er. She is the author of The Third Side of the Desk: How Par­ents Can Change the Schools.