Richard Carranza

Richard A. Carranza is the current New York City Schools Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.[1][2] He was appointed by Mayor de Blasio after Alberto M. Carvalho publicly turned down the job in March 2018.[3] He previously served as the superintendent of the Houston Independent and the San Francisco Unified School Districts.[4]

Richard A. Carranza
Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education
Assumed office
April 2, 2018
Appointed byBill de Blasio
Preceded byCarmen Fariña
Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District
In office
August 18, 2016 – April 1, 2018
Preceded byTerry Grier
Succeeded byGrenita Latham (interim)
Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District
In office
2012–2016
Preceded byCarlos A. Garcia
Succeeded byMyong Leigh (interim)
Personal details
Children2

Early life and education

Carranza is the son of Mexican day immigrants, a sheet metal worker and a hairdresser and credits his public school education for putting him on a path to college and a successful career.[5]

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary education from the University of Arizona and a Master of Education with distinction in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University.[5] He has completed his doctoral coursework through Northern Arizona University and is currently pursuing a doctorate of education through Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida in educational leadership.

Career

He began his career as a high school bilingual social studies and music teacher, and then as a principal, both in Tucson, Arizona.[5]

Carranza was the Northwest Region superintendent for the Clark County School District in Las Vegas.[5] He served the San Francisco Unified School District, first as deputy superintendent and then as superintendent, where he was accused in 2015 of creating a hostile environment for women.[5][6]

Houston Independent School District

He was the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) beginning in fall 2016.[7] Carranza, who had signed a contract to serve for three years,[8] served in this capacity until April 2018, when he was hired as New York City Schools Chancellor with a $345,000 salary.[5] He announced his acceptance of the new job in March of that year.[7] Observers in the Houston area were not aware that Carranza was seeking to exit his position with HISD: He publicly stated that he and the board members of HISD did not have problems with one another.[9]

Doris Delaney, a monitor of HISD appointed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), wrote a report stating that the former superintendent in fact disliked and felt frustration in reaction to actions taken by HISD board members. The report stated that Carranza disliked how the board was unable to deliberate important issues, overstepped its authority, and included members with inappropriate political desires.[9]

New York City

In 2018, the de Blasio administration initiated a plan to eliminate New York City's specialized high school exam, which is available to all middle school students in the city.[10] In June 2018, defending the plan, Carranza stated that “I just don’t buy into the narrative that any one ethnic group owns admission to these schools.”[11] Asian-American groups decried this as anti-Asian racism, considering that a disproportionately large number of students admitted to the city’s eight specialized schools are of Asian descent. They believe their children are being targeted for their success on the exam.[12] Alumni, activists and Asian American groups argued that Chancellor Carranza failed to appreciate the socio-economic and other diversity among these students and internal to communities of Asian descent.[13] Carranza refused to apologize for the remarks.

In June 2019 nine members of the New York City Council wrote a letter to Mayor Bill DeBlasio asking him to dismiss Carranza, accusing him of having divisive actions.[14] In response, twenty-three Councilmembers, including the education committee chair, sent a letter to the mayor in support of Carranza.[15]

In May 2020, it was reported that under Carranza, the Department of Education downplayed the coronavirus threat as it was closing schools. Students presumed sick from the virus were left unrecorded, and teachers and parents were deprived of information by supervisors on students and staff who were presumed sick. The teachers union contend that the DOE was not complying with state protocols.[16] As of May 11, 74 NYC Department of Education employees had died due to Covid-19.[17]

References
  1. "Richard A. Carranza - DOE Leadership - New York City Department of Education". schools.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  2. "Mayor de Blasio Appoints Richard A. Carranza as Schools Chancellor". The official website of the City of New York. March 5, 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  3. Taylor, Kate (March 5, 2018). "Next to Lead New York's Schools: An Educator With a Song on His Lips". Retrieved March 7, 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
  4. "San Francisco Educator Takes Charge Of HISD". Associated Press at Houston Public Media. 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  5. Harris, Elizabeth A.; Fernandez, Manny (18 March 2018). "Is Richard Carranza Ready to Run America's Biggest School System?". Retrieved 3 April 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
  6. "Controversy Swirls Around New NYC Schools Chancellor". 1010 wins. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  7. Webb, Shelby; Jacob Carpenter (2018-03-06). "Houston ISD superintendent Richard Carranza leaving for NYC's top job after 18 months here". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  8. Isensee, Laura (2016-08-22). "It Was The First Day of School for HISD's New Superintendent Too". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  9. Carpenter, Jacob (2018-06-30). "State monitor's reports detail Carranza's frustration with HISD board, concerns about governance". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  10. "In a mostly black district, parents bring different concerns to debate over New York City's specialized high schools". Chalkbeat. 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  11. Shapiro, Eliza. "Richard Carranza wants to talk about school segregation. Is New York ready?". Politico PRO. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  12. "SHSAT controversy continues to divide". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  13. Weinstein, Boaz (2018-06-13). "Opinion | No Ethnic Group Owns Stuyvesant. All New Yorkers Do". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  14. "NYC Council Members Call For Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza To Be Fired". WLNY CBS New York. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  15. "Too 'Divisive' or Just Honest? Local Pols Split on Carranza". bklyner.com. BKLYNER.
  16. Smith, Greg B. (11 May 2020). "HOW NYC SCHOOLS OFFICIALS PLAYED DOWN THE COVID-19 THREAT". The City.
  17. Zimmerman, Alex (11 May 2020). "74 NYC education department employees have been killed by the coronavirus". Chalkbeat.org.
Educational offices
Preceded by
Carmen Fariña		 Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education
2018–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Terry Grier		 Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District
2016–2018		 Succeeded by
Grenita Latham (interim)
Preceded by
Carlos A. Garcia		 Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District
2012–2016		 Succeeded by
Myong Leigh (interim)
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