Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Carmen Fariña, a former deputy schools chancellor and teacher, as his administration’s schools chancellor in a move that landed him praise from Queens officials.
Saying Fariña will further his goals of working with parents, establishing a universal pre-kindergarten program, and prioritizing college and career readiness over standardized testing, de Blasio praised the incoming chancellor who replaces former Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott as the leader of the country’s largest public school system.
“Carmen won’t just be my chancellor as mayor – she’ll be my chancellor as a public school parent,” de Blasio said Monday in a statement. “For years, I’ve watched her innovate new ways to reach students, transform troubled schools and fight against wrongheaded policies that hurt our kids.
“Carmen has worked at nearly every level of this school system,” de Blasio continued. “She knows our students, teachers, principals, and parents better than anyone, and she will deliver progressive change in our schools that lifts up children in every neighborhood.”
Fariña has 40 years of experience in New York City public schools and launched her career as a teacher at PS 29 in Cobble Hill. She later became principal at Manhattan’s PS 6 and the superintendent of Brooklyn’s District 15. Farina was appointed deputy chancellor for teaching and learning in 2004, under Mayor Bloomberg, and later went on to become a vocal advocate outside of government for comprehensive early education and parental involvement in school policy.
“True change happens not through mandates and top-down decision making but through communication collaboration and celebrating the successes along the way,” Fariña said in a statement. “Raising the success rate of our students is the only goal.”
Mayor de Blasio speaks with his new schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña. Photo courtesy Transition NYC.
The emphasis on parent involvement comes at a time when parents have grown increasingly frustrated with a City Hall and Department of Education that they said routinely turn their backs on parents and teachers.
Queens legislators lauded de Blasio’s announcement.
“Our next chancellor has excelled as a teacher, a principal and a superintendent,” said Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan (D-Ridgewood), chairwoman of the Assembly’s education committee. “She knows every aspect of this school system inside and out. She knows how to help teachers improve their skills – and how to train principals to lead.”
Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) also backed the decision.
“As a former public school teacher, I could not be more excited to have a chancellor who understands what it means to step inside a classroom,” Dromm said.
Dmytro Fedkowskyj, who served as Queens Borough President Helen Marshall’s appointee to the city Panel for Educational Policy – a decision-making group that has been dominated by mayoral appointees and votes on such matters as school closures and co-locations, too congratulated Fariña.
“I’m ecstatic over the decision and delighted to see such a great educator appointed as our next NYC public schools chancellor,” said Fedkowskyj, who was recently tapped as a member of de Blasio’s transition team and serves on the education subcommittee. “Mayor de Blasio made the right choice, and this decision will benefit every school community across the city.”
The school system that Fariña takes over is one that has been vehemently criticized by Queens legislators, educational leaders, students, and parents, among others, for a litany of reasons. Those in the borough – as well as many others throughout the city – have slammed the former mayor over his policies that emphasized school closures – in which large, community high schools would be shuttered and replaced by smaller, more niche schools – as well as co-locations and standardized testing. Additionally, Queens battles some of the most over-crowded classrooms in the city.
Bloomberg, Walcott and others in the previous mayoral administration have long argued that the system grew stronger under the former mayor – who assumed control of the public schools after the state Legislature granted him power to do so in 2002. Under mayoral control, the former Board of Education system was dissolved and in its place was born a Department of Education controlled by the mayor.
Bloomberg and others, including former Chancellor Joel Klein and Walcott, have said the central control has allowed a more cohesive approach to education and has resulted in better graduation rates and test scores. Critics, meanwhile, have long taken issue with statistics as reported by the Bloomberg administration and have pointed out that many public school students graduate unprepared for college. Among other issues, community colleges have reported increases in the number of students needing to take remedial classes when they arrive as freshmen.
Still, Walcott said he believes the system about to be led by Fariña is one that is stronger than 12 years ago.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to focus on the future of one million students each and every day,” Walcott said in a statement. “When I reflect on the last 12 years – the remarkable progress made, the enormous obstacles overcome, and the incredible high goals set and met – I think about the children who will be better adults tomorrow because of our efforts today.
“We have worked passionately on their behalf, and I’m grateful to have been able to change the trajectory of so many lives during our tenure,” Walcott continued. “Mayor-elect de Blasio is someone who cares deeply about public education, and I want to congratulate Carmen Fariña on being named chancellor. I have known Carmen for many years, and she is a deeply committed educator with a true passion for improving our schools.”
By Anna Gustafson
