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De Blasio Set To Name New Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 30, 2013
Modified Dec 30, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 30, 2013
Modified Dec 30, 2013
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Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio is holding an 11:30 a.m. press conference at William Alexander Middle School in Park Slope, but it's a formality because word leaked that he'll be announced his new schools chancellor—Department of Education veteran Carmen Farina.
According to Capital New York, "Friends and colleagues of Farina and de Blasio say they share a single educational philosophy, with a focus on progressive education, a skepticism of standardized testing and charter schools, and a focus on racially and economically integrated public schools."
The NY Times reports, "Ms. Fariña, 70, the daughter of immigrants from Spain who fled the Franco regime, is a veteran of the city’s school system, having served as a teacher, principal and superintendent of a Brooklyn school district. She retired as a deputy chancellor in 2006. The choice reflected Mr. de Blasio’s desire to depart radically from the educational policies of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, including his emphasis on data and his policy of shuttering low-performing schools. The choice is also in keeping with Mr. de Blasio’s pattern of appointing people with deep governmental experience."
The Observer, however, did not like the idea of Farina, with an editorial that stated, "While Ms. Farina has an impressive record, she shares with the mayor-elect an unfounded suspicion of test scores and is not quite convinced that graduation rates are an important tool for measuring a secondary school’s performance. After she retired as Mr. Klein’s top assistant, she was critical of the administration’s reliance on report cards to hold principals accountable for their school’s performance. The union no doubt would love to see Ms. Farina, or somebody like her, in charge of the sprawling school system. Parents and students, however, deserve better."
Farina used to teach at PS 29 in Brooklyn and was principal of PS 6 in Manhattan. Also, for de Blasio fan boys and girls, his children Dante and Chiara attended William Alexander Middle School.
Tagged
bill de blasio
brooklyn
carmen farina
schools chancellor
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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