He spent five years in the CIA, raised three young kids as a single dad, and shared one embarrassing story (2024)

True or false: It’s really important for people to get to see or meet their school superintendent, Kent Pekel, in person.

True. I think ....

And part two of the question: Because, that way, when I’m angry about snow day decisions or that I can’t remember my Skyward password, I can picture the face of the person I want to blame.

Yes. And you can stop me in the grocery store or on the street and tell me about it.

How often does that happen?

Daily. Someone says something to me daily. It’s usually positive. Yesterday, I was walking into the People’s Food Co-op and somebody said, “Do you ever not wear dress clothes?” But I appreciated it.

Next question: Do you ever not wear dress clothes?

I never wear dress clothes outside of work. A lot of the other Big Nine superintendents only have one high school. So the superintendent from Northfield, he has all kinds of Northfield gear. But if I wear Century, then I am in trouble with Mayo. If I wear Mayo, I’m in trouble with JM.

(Trying to speak Chinese): Nĭ hăo ma? [How are you doing?]

Wo hen hao! [I’m very well.]

Contributed

Are you fluent in Chinese?

I used to be much, much stronger. But yeah, at one time. I mean, it’s been 20 years since I used it regularly.

So tell me about your time in China. You were over there at a school, teaching English.

I was in university for two years in a city that now is quite famous, Wuhan, where coronavirus originated.

This was well before that.

Well before. I’d studied the language starting at Central High School in St. Paul as a high school student. Then I studied it in college. I didn’t have money to travel before I graduated. There was a long-standing program at the college where I worked. I spent two years living there. It was right after the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Oh, wow. So why the early interest in China?

I was an exchange student in Japan in high school. Then I came back, and my high school didn’t have Japanese, but it had Chinese. Chinese was one of those things where, after I had spent so many hours staring at the characters and trying to memorize it, I thought, “I’ve done too much to quit.”

What does a CIA agent do when it’s time for bed?

Generally, they go to bed.

They go undercover. So can you tell me about your CIA work without killing me?

No. I will have to kill you.

Wow. OK. Well, go ahead and tell me first then.

Oh, it was amazing. It was a time of huge change in the CIA because the Cold War was over. The director was John Deutch. John was a creative thinker. He knew about the White House Fellows program (in which Pekel served), and he wanted somebody completely unexpected to spend a year working with him. I fit the profile because I spoke really good Chinese and had degrees from Yale and Harvard. That was very much in the tradition of the world of CIA. It’s a yearlong fellowship, and I ended up staying for five years.

Quiz: What is your wife Katie’s title?

She is the executive director of educational leadership (at the University of Minnesota).

Correct. How did you two meet?

In our doctoral program. I was lucky. She has two great kids, Thomas and Molly.

You lost your first wife (Tanya) in 2006. Is that something you talk about?

I talk about it.

So how do you characterize that time period?

It was hell. Tanya was diagnosed when our kids were 1, 3, and 7. She died when they were 3, 5, and 10. But we came through it, and I have incredible memories of Tanya. She was amazing. She had a daughter, Lauren, from a previous marriage. And we had Adam and Victoria.

Recently, you had to choose between a Janet Jackson concert and attending a school board meeting. You chose the meeting, in which you faced belligerent public comments for the maximum allotted time. Do you regret that decision?

I do not. I always appreciate the input at the school board meetings. Also, I can’t say I’m a gigantic Janet Jackson fan. If it had been Prince at the time, I would have seen Prince.

First concert you ever saw? I’ll guess REO Speedwagon.

No. It’s much worse. It’s embarrassing. It was Captain & Tennille at the Minnesota State Fair.

Ouch. That's pretty bad.

It is pretty bad. I’ve never divulged that. I must have been 10 or so. I went with my dad. Obviously, I wanted to go.

Yeah. Ten-year-old Kent was probably BEGGING his dad to let him hear “Muskrat Love” live.

I hope not. My second concert was Supertramp.

You may want to tell people that was your first.

No. I didn’t want to lie to you. Remember that. I told you the truth, even when it was as embarrassing as that.

Steve Lange is the editor of Rochester Magazine. His column appears every Tuesday.