Mayor Bill de Blasio today appointed Richard A. Carranza as New York City’s next Schools Chancellor.
Carranza’s appointment comes off the heels of former Chancellor Carmen Fariña’s decision in December to step down as the top education official. Farina was appointed in 2013 by the Mayor and plans to retire at the end of this academic year.
“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. He understands the tremendous work New York City educators do every day to put our children on the path to success. Richard is 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,” said de Blasio.
Carranza has served as Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District beginning in August 2016. HISD is the largest school district in Texas and the seventh largest district in the United States, with a predominately Hispanic and Black student population. Carranza helped raise 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, while in office.
Carranza was also a key player in leading the successful effort to re-open schools two-weeks after Hurricane Harvey. This included coordinating transportation for students living in shelter and providing counseling for all students and staff.
Carranza will now oversee the city’s 1,800 schools and 1.1 million students.
Fariña applauded the appointment and believes Carranza will continue her legacy into his tenure.
“I am thrilled Richard will be New York City Schools Chancellor. We are philosophically on the same page and he has a proven track record as an educator with a laser focus on what’s in the classroom. Every step of his career, he’s focused on equity for all not just some. I know he will deepen the Equity & Excellence agenda and bring new ideas that will make New York City better,” said Fariña.
Before Houston, Carranza also previously served as the Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, where he raised graduation rates to historic highs.
“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. I want to thank the Mayor and First Lady for the opportunity to join an administration that knows public education is an investment in our future. I will work every day to further the progress Chancellor Fariña has made in strengthening our public schools for generations to come,” said Carranza.
Carranza is a fluent Spanish-speaker and accomplished mariachi musician. He is married to Monique and has two daughters.
