What to Know
- Richard A. Carranza has served as schools superintendent in Houston, Texas, since August 2016
- Carranza "has a proven record of strengthening public schools and lifting up students and families," Mayor de Blasio said
- The mayor's first choice to lead NYC schools, Miami superintendent Alberto Carvalho, turned down the job after first accepting it
Houston schools superintendent Richard A. Carranza has been named the schools chancellor in New York City.
Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement at City Hall Monday afternoon alongside outgoing chancellor Carmen Fariña, who is retiring. It comes less than a week after de Blasio's first choice, Miami schools superintendent Alberto Calvalho, backed out of the job in an unusual, on-camera school board session the day after his hiring was announced.
"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 said in a statement, calling Carranza the "right person to lead our school system forward."
Carranza has served as schools superintendent in Houston, Texas, since August 2016; before that, he served as superintendent in San Francisco for four years, according to a biography on the Houston schools website.
Carranza said it will be an "honor" to serve the city's 1.1 million children in the public schools: "I will work every day to further the progress Chancellor Fariña has made in strengthening our public schools for generations to come."
Fariña said she was "thrilled" Carranza will be the new 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," 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."
Carranza led the successful effort to re-open Houston schools two weeks after Hurricane Harvey, coordinating transportation for students living in shelter and providing counseling for all students and staff, according to the mayor's office.
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In San Francisco, 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.
Fariña took the top schools job in 2014 after a long career as a teacher, principal and superintendent.
