Houston’s Richard A. Carranza appointed as NYC Schools Chancellor

De Blasio’s second choice, will replace Fariña

March 5, 2018 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Houston Independent School District Superintendent Richard Carranza, appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio as the new chancellor of New York City schools, is shown talking with Houston second grader John Bradford, 7, following Hurricane Harvey. AP file photo by David J. Phillip

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Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that he has appointed Houston Superintendent of Schools Richard Carranza as the new chancellor of New York City schools, replacing Carmen Fariña.

Carranza is de Blasio’s second choice as chancellor, coming days after Miami’s schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho backed out after initially accepting the post.

De Blasio said in a release that Carranza — a grandson of Mexican immigrants — has a proven record of narrowing the achievement gap, turning around struggling schools and championing education for English Language learners in diverse cities.

As Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, Carranza led the effort to re-open schools after Hurricane Harvey. Carranza also previously served as the Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, where he raised graduation rates.

Carranza is married to Monique and has two daughters.

“Richard Carranza understands the power of public education to change lives, and he has a proven record of strengthening public schools and lifting up students and families,” de Blasio said, calling Carranza “the right person to lead our school system forward as we build on the progress we’ve made over the past four years and make our vision of equity and excellence for every child a reality.”

In 2016, Carranza signed a three-year contract in Houston paying him an annual base salary of $345,000 plus performance incentives, according to Chron.com. De Blasio said he will make the same base salary as he did in Houston.

De Blasio said that Fariña, who will be retiring at the end of March, leaves a “tremendous legacy” not only from her four years as Chancellor, but as an “inspiring and innovative educator and public servant for more than 50 years.”

Fariña, a NYC icon, taught at P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill, for 22 years. One of her students was future novelist Jonathan Lethem, who said that Fariña changed his life.

“She was an amazing teacher. I would sometimes just hang around on Henry and Amity so I could see a little more of her after school,” he said in 2014 during the Brooklyn Book Festival.

Fariña said in a statement that she was “thrilled” with the choice, and was philosophically on the same page as Carranza.

“He has a proven track record as an educator with a laser focus on what’s in the classroom,” she said. “He’s made critical investments in professional development, strengthened the leadership pipeline for principals and has immersed himself in the community to empower families. Every step of his career, he’s focused on equity for all, not just some.”

Carranza —a fluent Spanish-speaker and accomplished mariachi musician — said the appointment was an honor, saying he would further the progress made by Fariña.

“As the son of blue collar workers and a lifetime educator, it is an honor to serve New York City’s 1.1 million children as Schools Chancellor,” he said.

In Houston, Carranza has been praised for leading the successful effort to re-open schools two-weeks after Hurricane Harvey. During his eight years as Deputy Superintendent and then Superintendent in San Francisco, Carranza’s schools outpaced academic gains in the state and narrowed the achievement gap. He raised graduation rates for African-American students by 13.9 percentage points, and for Hispanic students by 15.4 percentage points, significantly faster than the overall growth rates in California as a whole.

Before moving to San Francisco, Carranza served as Northwest Region superintendent for the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, where he oversaw 66 schools with more than 66,000 students. He began his career as a high school, bilingual social studies and music teacher, then a principal in Tucson.

Carranza is the past chairman of the Board of Directors for the Council of the Great City Schools, where he served as a national spokesperson on significant issues facing urban school districts. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, the American Association of School Administrators Executive Committee, and the K to College Advisory Board.

Education Week profiled Carranza as a national 2015 Leader to Learn From.