NYC School’s Chancellor Richard Carranza Steps Down

By on March 1, 2021 9:20 pm in 11201, Education, News, Schools

Chalkbeat and the New York Times, among others, have each reported NYC DOE School’s Chancellor Richard Carranza has resigned this past Friday. The embattled Chancellor has faced harsh criticism from parents and teachers alike over the DOE’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. But Chancellor Carranza is also widely reported to have clashed both privately and publicly with Mayor DeBlasio over best practices to desegregate NYC’s public schools.

The latest disputes centered around admissions testing for the city’s Gifted & Talented programs. Previous plans to reform the admissions to elite High Schools such as Hunter and Stuyvesant, faced severe backlash from the public as well. His departure has sparked further conversation about the validity of Bloomberg-era Mayoral Control over the DOE.
FireShot Capture 015 - Chancellor Richard A. Carranza on Twitter_ _I came to New York City 3_ - twitter.com

Carranza’s successor, Meisha Ross Porter, is a long-time DOE employee and has risen through the ranks from Teacher, Principal, Superintendent to Executive Superintendent of 361 schools in the Bronx. She is the first Black woman to helm our nation’s largest public school system and will take over on March, 15th. “I am ready to hit the ground running and lead New York City schools to a full recovery.” It is not clear how long her term will last after the next Mayoral election.

 

Share this Story:

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

  • Mike Suko

    Love the amazing departure from … more typical content on this blog to this. If only it would spark an interesting discussion.

    Alas, I have no kids at PS 8 … or at whatever middle school serves what I’m guessing is a much smaller number of Heights kids who attend public schools after PS 8 ends for them.

    But I’ll guess that there ARE some Moms and Dads out there. Given that PS 8 only had SOME limited control over the way ’20-21 has gone in terms of their functioning, what’s your take? Is it “better than you expected” or what? (Sorry for what looks like a leading question. Truly, I haven’t a clue as to many parents’ and children’s realities.)

  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    Hi Mike—I’m a parent of a PS8 student and I’m also a teacher at a public school in another district.

    As a teacher I’ll say that we often feel like we’re working to clean up much bigger socioeconomic messes, hoping to ignite a light behind our students’ eyes that the economic and environmental reality they’re going to inherit won’t extinguish right away. I got the sense from Carranza that somewhere deep beneath the pompadour and obscenely platitudinous emails he was also deeply rooted in that mission.

    https://youtu.be/ydGPdQzfbsw

  • Slyone

    I’m parent to an MS915, aka the former MS8, 8th grader and a high school student, who long ago also went to PS8/MS8. Getting back to the school building this week was great for my 8th grader. It’s not that teens like her can’t manage remote learning, it’s just hard — unrelenting basically-sameness on a screen, which is hard to sustain for most . . .and that’s a best case scenario; many are in situations that make remote learning essentially unworkable . . . but the COVID risks remain real and there’s a lot to be balanced. From what I have seen, the kids have split screens on their computers on which they maintain discord chats or video games with friends, they have simultaneous Facetime chats on their phones; they are looking for ways to connect . . . it hurts school focus, and as an adult, I’m managing my job and managing my kid, so it’s imperfect — my high schooler is more focused on his classes when he is in in them, which I think is a fuction of age, but he also is suffering the lack of regular daily time with peers and says he learns less remotely just bc it’s harder to stay focused in our home.

    I think my 8th grader’s teachers are trying a variety of things to keep work engaging and being understanding and creating opportunities to make up work, etc., but remote learning is just really hard. When the kids are in the building, they stay in PODs and their subject matter teachers rotate to them, which is nice because it means they learn ALgebra from Algebra teacher in person, history from History teacher in person, etc. They get that 2.5 days/per week. Teacher teams coordinate well for 8th grade, and different but still subject-specific teachers teach the blended kids on their remote days. In person PODs are about 10-14 kids in 8th; remote days for blended groups are about 25 — 2 PODs in one remote classroom.

    The school is increasing outreach to ensure kids are attending remote classes and getting what they need to succeed, but it is really hard and takes a ot of work and outreach.

  • Mike Suko

    Thank you so much for that detailed reply. Obviously, “difficult” – and it’s pretty clear you’ve filtered out most of the “angst” that is probably more like it on some days – is the one word that comes through.

    But – and I’m aware that communications always entails the actuality or potentiality of the hearer refracting the message – you do more than hint at a lot of HARD WORK on the part of some teachers, trying to keep educating a year into what I now realize is approximately as tough for them as it is for NYC kids and their parents.

  • Slyone

    Yes, absolutely, at least among the 8th grade team and also the school admin team — what I have direct experience with this year.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com/ Claude Scales

    Mike Suko; I’m sorry we’re not providing what you want here. Part of the problem is, we’re all unpaid and have day jobs and other responsibilities that keep us from devoting more time to BHB. Still, if you let me know what you would like to see more of, that would be helpful.

  • Nomcebo Manzini

    CLAUDE – how very kind of you to write. I totally get it … and some of the volunteers are doing a great job. There’s obviously little point in competing with Gothamist, but if you looked at the story list for the past year or 5, I think you’d have to admit that it’s beyond stale. I continue to think that you could probably reach out to Columbia Journalism school or the large community of retirees in B.H. and either suggest a new direction or let them come up with one. And that same talent pool COULD get advertising implemented.

    For one of the local realtors, say, a prominent ad would be a negligible expense for them but give you enough money to pay a freelancer, offer a nominal stipend, etc.

    But mostly, my comment came from APPRECIATION that someone DID think outside the box. To say that “more would be better” is not a put-down!

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Perhaps You could write a regular column here, you could call it “Syn-taxing”

  • Mike Suko

    Huh? Really. I love wordplay, but I just don’t get this one. [How’s it connect to me or what I wrote?] And – altogether seriously, I’ve read posts of yours that make me think YOU!! should have a byline – or at least put some of your thoughts “on paper.” I know you have some R.E. savvy – what’s YOUR take on Montague Street?

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    It was directed at Nomcebo Manzini, as their Syntax is Taxing to read, sometimes.

    Montague street is probably screwed on the retail front, until the city lowers commercial property taxes.

  • CassieVonMontague

    They are the same person.