Carmen Fariña (née Guillén; born April 5, 1943) is a former
New York City Schools Chancellor
The New York City Schools Chancellor (formally the "Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education") is the head of the New York City Department of Education. The Chancellor is appointed by the mayor, and serves at the mayor's pleasure ...
and head of the
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...
. Announced by Mayor-elect
Bill de Blasio
Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...
on December 30, 2013,
she was the first New York City chancellor to have had schools supervision training and experience since Board of Education chancellor
Rudy Crew.
Fariña had been a teacher, principal, superintendent, and the Deputy Chancellor of Teaching and Learning from 2004 to 2006. In December 2017, Farina announced she would leave her position after a replacement was named. She finished her term alongside the new Chancellor,
Richard Carranza.
Early life and education
Fariña was born in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, to
Galician parents who fled Spain during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, 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 surnamed Guillén, did not answer when the teacher, who was unfamiliar with Spanish, called ''Quillan'' during roll call."
[
She was the first person in her family to attend college. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from ]New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
and three master's degrees from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...
(bilingual education), Fordham University
Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
(gifted/arts education), and Pace University
Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...
(administration and supervision).
Career
Fariña started her career at P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Cobble Hill is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. A small neighborhood comprising 40 blocks,Kenneth T. Jackson, Jackson, Kenneth T., and Kasinitz, Philip. "Cobble Hil ...
, 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." One of her students there was future novelist and professor Jonathan Lethem
Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His Debut novel, first novel, ''Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, ...
, who called her the "perfect" teacher and dedicated his first novel, '' Gun, with Occasional Music'', to her.
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.
From 1991 to 2001, Fariña served 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 to 1997, with 91.8 percent of students classified as reading at grade level.
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.[ She left P.S. 6 in 2001 after being elected community superintendent of Brooklyn's District 15.] She later served as superintendent of Region 8.[ From 2004 to 2006, Fariña served as Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the New York City 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.][ 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.
]
School Chancellor
In March 2018, after Alberto M. Carvalho publicly turned down the job, Mayor de Blasio announced Richard Carranza would succeed Fariña as the next chancellor, with Fariña departing at the end of April.
Reception
''The New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' condemned Farina in 2017 for restoring levels of bureaucracy that her predecessor, Joel Klein, under Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
, 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 igh school'graduates' are ready for college."
StudentsFirstNY, an independent pro-student public advocacy group, determined that “Diploma Mills are a serious problem”, that “College remediation in New York City is off the Charts”, and that the “de Blasio administration has no clear plan for schools with the worst college readiness rates”.
Fariña was roundly criticized by New York media for a February 13, 2014 press conference alongside Mayor Bill de Blasio
Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...
during a snowstorm
A winter storm (also known as snow storm) is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, Rain and snow mixed, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In Continental cl ...
, in which she stated, on a day which produced 10 inches of snow, "It's absolutely a beautiful day out here." Total snowfall for the storm was 13 inches in Manhattan; local schools remained open during the snow event.
Personal life
Carmen Guillén married Antonio Fariña Jr., an accountant, in 1965, in New York City. They have two daughters.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Farina, Carmen
New York City School Chancellors
Schoolteachers from New York (state)
Hispanic and Latino American women educators
Living people
1943 births
American people of Galician descent
Educators from Brooklyn
Fordham University alumni
Brooklyn College alumni
21st-century American women educators
21st-century American educators