Southeast Queens native Meisha Porter named NYC’s new schools chancellor

Meisha Ross Porter will become New York City’s new Schools chancellor on March 15. Photo via DOE

By David Brand

A veteran public school educator from Southeast Queens will become the first Black woman to lead the New York City Department of Education, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday.

Meisha Ross Porter, the executive superintendent in the Bronx, will take over as schools chancellor on March 15 following the resignation of current Chancellor Richard Carranza.

Carranza announced his decision to step down Friday, a day after middle schools reopened for in-person classes and in the midst of a pandemic that has transformed education in New York City. 

Carranza said he was resigning to “take care of me” following the death of family members and close friends as a result of the coronavirus. The New York Times reported Friday that Carranza decided to step down after disputes with de Blasio over school integration reached a breaking point. Carranza favored bolder steps to integrate schools and do away with gifted and talented screening and specialized high school testing; de Blasio has sought a more incremental approach.

Porter pledged to tackle segregation as she takes the helm of a school system with nearly 1 million students, most of whom are children of color. About a quarter of the city’s public school students are attending classes in-person, while the rest are continuing remote education that began in March 2020.

Porter was born in South Jamaica and attended New York City public schools. She began her career as a youth organizer in the Highbridge section of the Bronx and has worked as a Bronx teacher, principal and superintendent over the past 20 years. 

“As a lifelong New Yorker, a product of our City’s public schools, and a career educator, it is the honor of my lifetime to serve as Chancellor,” Porter said. “I am ready to hit the ground running and lead New York City schools to a full recovery.”

She noted the significance of her promotion during a press conference Friday. “For all the little girls out there, I’m saving this seat for you,” she said. 

In 2018, Carranza appointed Porter to oversee 361 public schools in the Bronx.

He praised Porter’s perspective as a lifelong New York City resident.

“She knows the streets, she knows the boroughs, she knows what the challenges are, but more importantly what the opportunities are,” Carranza said.