14 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 4, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Far Rockaway native Meisha Porter will become the fi rst
Black woman to lead New York City’s public school system
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Southeast Queens native Meisha Porter
will become the fi rst Black woman to lead
the largest public school system in the
nation, as current New York City Schools
Chancellor Richard Carranza announced
his resignation on Friday, Feb. 26.
Aft er serving as the helm of New York
City’s public school system for three years,
Carranza’s surprise announcement comes
a day aft er middle schools reopened for
in-person classes and high schools remain
closed in the midst of a pandemic that
has upended education in New York City
since March 2020. Carranza said one of
the reasons for his departure is due to
“personal challenges” he has faced, such
as losing 11 family members or close
friends to COVID-19.
As Porter is set to oversee New York
City schools on March 15, Carranza said
she is an “unparalleled warrior for our
students and our schools.”
“Meisha will break the mold, bringing
all of her experience, past and present, to
support you and your children,” Carranza
said during the Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
daily press conference on Friday. “You
need someone who knows fi rsthand the
reality on the ground at our schools, and
has the talent and leadership to fi nish the
school year out strong and drive towards
bringing every child back to buildings in
September.”
Porter was born in Far Rockaway and
raised in Jamaica by a family of educators.
During her upbringing, Porter learned
from her mother, who returned to school
to fi nish her degree and became an educator
herself, about the diff erence one teacher
can make in a student’s life.
Porter is a 20-year veteran of New York
City public schools. She was a teacher
and principal for 18 years, and currently
serves as executive superintendent of
the Bronx school districts 7-12, covering
the entire borough and its 361 schools
and 235,000 students.For Porter, it is an
honor and privilege to serve as the next
schools chancellor, as she is ready to “hit
the ground running” and lead New York
City schools to a full recovery, she said.
“We are going to build up communities
together and bring people together to
serve our students,” Porter said. “To our
many advocates and community leaders,
we will partner with you to keep making
New York City a better place for all
children. Th is moment is not about what
the school system will do alone, it’s about
what New York City will do together to
invest in our children.”
As chancellor, Porter said she will
remove barriers and direct resources
where they are needed the most, and to
communicate clearly around their shared
goals and commitments at every school,
in every neighborhood and in every borough.
“We have come so far since March and
Chancellor Carranza and the mayor have
laid an incredible foundation and the cabinet
at the central offi ce are ready to go,”
Porter said. “I pledge to our students that
I am indebted to you as a leader, teacher
and principal, promising to do everything
to reopen high schools, and address trauma
and academic needs.”
A proud product of New York City public
schools, Porter graduated from Queens
Vocational and Technical High School in
Long Island City, and went on to receive
her bachelor of arts in English concentrating
in cross cultural literature and
Black and Puerto Rican studies at Hunter
College, according to her biography on
Deeper Learning Equity Fellowship.
Porter later received her master’s degree
in administration and supervision from
Mercy College and completed her school
district leader certifi cation through the
NYC Advanced Leadership Institute. She
pursued her EdD at Fordham University
in the Bronx.
Porter fi rst joined the Department
of Education as a teacher at the Bronx
School for Law, Government, and Justice
— a school she helped conceive that sits
on a court campus creating an opportunity
for young people to learn about
the inner workings of the court system.
Aft er 18 years at the school, where she
became principal, Porter spent three years
as superintendent of District 11, serving
the Pelham Parkway, Eastchester and
Woodlawn neighborhoods of the Bronx.
During Porter’s tenure as executive superintendent
of the Bronx school districts,
the students of the Bronx have achieved
signifi cant academic gains, and schools
have become stronger.
In addition to previous roles within
the DOE, Porter has also taught at
CUNY as an adjunct professor and has
been a Columbia University Cahn fellow,
an Aspen Institute fellow, and a member
of the Harvard University National
Institute for Urban School Leaders and
a member of the Fordham University-
Carnegie Foundation iLead team. Porter
has also received the National Association
of Negro Women Sojourner Truth Award,
Mercy College honorary degree and multiple
state and local recognitions.
Dedicated to her service to education
in the Bronx, Porter said she will never
forget what it means to be in a classroom
with students, planning lessons and
thinking about what is important to students,
especially during this unprecedented
time for teachers who are grappling
with remote learning and in-person
classes.
“For school leaders who are managing
so many multiple tasks, but are centering
children fi rst, and district leaders who
are ensuring that support and resources
are being poured into schools every day, I
will never forget,” Porter said. “I am ready
to get to work, and I am so honored to
serve in this role and I understand greatly
what it means for it to be me, and to
all of the little girls out there, I’m saving a
seat for you.”
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards congratulated Porter on her new
role.
“Th e challenges facing our students,
families and the entire school system
amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
are unprecedented but Queens has
full confi dence in the immense ability
of Queens-born trailblazer Meisha
Porter, the fi rst Black woman to lead the
Department of Education,” said Queens
Borough President Donovan Richards.
“Queens thanks Chancellor Richard
Carranza for his leadership both before
and during this devastating public health
crisis, and we wish him well in his future
endeavors.”
I pledge to our students that I am indebted to
you as a leader, teacher and principal, promising
to do everything to reopen high schools,
and address trauma and academic needs.
— Meisha Porter
Photo courtesy of DOE
Southeast Queens native Meisha Porter, the fi rst Black woman to oversee NYC Schools, will start her new role March 15.
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