1st Black woman to lead schools

New York City’s Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza announced Friday that he will step down, citing the coronavirus pandemic’s personal toll on his family.

He will be replaced by Bronx Executive Superintendent Meisha Ross Porter, who will become the first Black woman to lead the nation’s largest public school district.

Carranza, who has spent three years on the job, choked back tears at a news conference as he announced his decision.

“I know the pandemic has not been easy for you or for any New Yorker,” he said. “And make no mistake, I am a New Yorker — well, not by birth, but by choice — a New Yorker who has lost 11 family and close childhood friends to this pandemic. And a New Yorker who, quite frankly, needs to take time to grieve.”

Porter is set to take over March 15, ready to “hit the ground running and lead New York City schools to a full recovery,” she said. “We’ll do everything to reopen schools, starting with high schools.”

Tens of thousands of New York City middle school students returned to their school buildings on Thursday for the first time since city schools were closed in November amid a surge in coronavirus infections. Some city elementary school students returned to inperson schooling in December, but uppergrade classrooms have remained closed except for some specialneeds students.

Carranza, previously San Francisco’s superintendent, came to New York in 2018 with a top priority of addressing racial injustice in the schools. He shared that goal with Mayor Bill de Blasio, but the two sometimes disagreed on how to address the issue.