Carmen Fariña

Carmen Fariña
New York City Schools Chancellor
In office
January 1, 2014 – April 2, 2018
Appointed by Bill de Blasio
Preceded by Dennis Walcott
Succeeded by Richard Carranza
New York City Deputy Schools Chancellor
In office
2004–2006
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Personal details
Born (1943-04-05) April 5, 1943
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Nationality United States
Spouse(s) Antonio Fariña Jr. (1965-present)
Children 2

Carmen Fariña (née Guillén; born April 5, 1943, Brooklyn, New York) was a New York City Schools Chancellor, head of the New York City Department of Education,[1] announced Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio on December 30, 2013; the first Chancellor to have had schools supervision training and experience since Board of Education chancellor Rudy Crew.

Fariña was a teacher, principal, superintendent, and the Deputy Chancellor of Teaching and Learning from 2004-06. In December 2017, Farina announced she would leave her position after a replacement was named.[2] She finished her term alongside the new Chancellor, Richard Carranza.[3]

Early life and education

Fariña was born in New York City to Galician parents who fled Spain during the Spanish Civil War, Fariña was the only Spanish-speaker in her kindergarten class and learned English in school. The language barrier was so severe, that Fariña's "teacher marked her absent every day for six weeks because Carmen then [sur]named Guillén, did not answer when the teacher, who was of Irish background, called Quillan during roll call."[4]

She was the first person in her family to attend college. She holds a Bachelor of Science from New York University and three master's degrees from Brooklyn College (Bilingual Education), Fordham University (Gifted/Arts Education), and Pace University (Administration and Supervision).

Career

Fariña started her career at P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, where she flourished as a classroom teacher specializing in the social sciences. Throughout her 22 years there, "she was beginning to make a name for herself across the city, pioneering a curriculum that blended social studies and literacy."[5]

At P.S. 29, one of her students was future novelist and professor Jonathan Lethem, who called her the "perfect" teacher and dedicated his first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, to her.[6]

As District 15's Core Curriculum Coordinator, Fariña published her multicultural and interdisciplinary program, "Making Connections", a model the-then Board of Education replicated in every district in the city.[7]

From 1991-2001, Fariña began serving as principal of P.S. 6, replacing 80% of the staff there. Under her leadership, that school's ranking among public elementary schools on the citywide reading test rose from 76th to fourth from 1988-97, with 91.8 percent of students classified as reading at grade level.[4][8]

During this time, she was also an adjunct professor at Bank Street College: P.S. 6 served as a model site for prospective principals, hosting more than 500 visitors a year.[8] She left P.S. 6 in 2001 after being elected Community Superintendent of Brooklyn's District 15.[9] She later served as Superintendent of Region 8.[9] From 2004-06, Fariña served as Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the NYC Department of Education, where she invested $40 million to expand programs for middle school students, including Saturday classes, organizational and study skills workshops, and parent counseling. She also improved services for students with disabilities.[8]

In the summer of 2014, she announced her support of "balanced literacy", an English curriculum that emphasizes free reading and writing at the expense of teacher-led instruction.[10]

In March 2018, after Alberto M. Carvalho publicly turned down the job, Mayor de Blasio announced Richard Carranza would replace Fariña as the next Chancellor, with Fariña departing at the end of April.[11]

Criticisms of Fariña

Philip Nobile authored a critique of Fariña, an opponent of charter schools, The Carmen Farina Nobody Knows, criticizing Farina's "amnesia regarding what she knew" about a cover-up of Regents cheating allegations. He goes on to accuse her of "then lying about [her] role to both OSI and SCI."[12]

The New York Post condemned Farina in 2017 for restoring levels of bureaucracy that her predecessor, Joel Klein, under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, had eliminated, and for presiding over "diploma mills", referring to her "proudest achievement, boosting city high-school graduation rates to 72 percent" as "hollow" as "only 37 percent of those [high school] 'graduates' are ready for college."[13]

Personal life

She married Antonio Fariña Jr., an accountant, in 1965, in New York City.[14] They have two daughters.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Hernández, Javier C. (December 29, 2013). "Veteran of City School System Is Said to Be Next Chancellor". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ "How Carmen Fariña sought to change America's largest school system one school at a time". Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  3. ↑ Harris, Elizabeth A.; Fernandez, Manny (March 18, 2018). "Is Richard Carranza Ready to Run America's Biggest School System?". Retrieved March 23, 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
  4. 1 2 Hartocollis, Anemona (February 24, 1999). "In School; A principal with a will of steel makes a public school as prestigious as a private one". The New York Times. New York: The New York Times Company. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  5. ↑ Hernández, Javier C. (January 14, 2014). "New York Schools Chancellor Honed Blunt Style Over 40 Years". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Jonathan Lethem says Fariña was a 'perfect' teacher". Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  7. ↑ Colvin, Jill (December 30, 2013). "Carmen Fariña Named Schools Chancellor". New York Observer. New York City: Observer Media. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Chancellor Fariña and the Leadership Team: Chancellor Fariña". New York City Department of Education. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Herszenhorn, David M. (March 12, 2004). "A Troubleshooter With a Passion for Schools". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  10. ↑ "The perils of the American education reform movement". August 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ "The Carmen Farina Nobody Knows - Test (Assessment) - Prosecution". Scribd.
  13. ↑ "Carmen Fariña shouldn't wait to quit". Nypost.com. February 7, 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "Ancestry Library Edition". Search.ancestrylibrary.com. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  15. ↑ Hernández, Javier C.; Baker, Al (April 18, 2018). "New York Schools Chancellor Honed Blunt Style Over 40 Years". NYTimes.com.
  • Paybarah, Azi. "Playbook: New school chief a testing skeptic". Capitalnewyork.com. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  • Decker, Geoff (2013-11-12). "Ex-DOE official with de Blasio ties offers a NYC schools vision". Gothamschools.org. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  • Shapiro, Eliza (2013-12-19). "Carmen Fariña to head D.O.E." Capitalnewyork.com. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  • "Mayor Elect De Blasio Appoints Carmen Fariña As Schools Chancellor - 2013-2014 - New York City Department of Education". Schools.nyc.gov. 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
Educational offices
Preceded by
Dennis Walcott		 New York City
Schools Chancellor
2014–2018		 Succeeded by
Richard Carranza
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