On April 2, Richard Carranza will add another line to his résumé when he becomes chancellor of New York City, leading the country’s largest school system.
But before that, he was a mariachi and bilingual social studies teacher in his native Arizona, where he worked his way up into district leadership before becoming head of schools in San Francisco and then, briefly, in Houston. It’s a trajectory laid out in a 10-page résumé that the city education department provided to Chalkbeat on Monday.
His work history highlights just how closely Carranza’s education philosophy aligns with his new boss, Mayor Bill de Blasio. From reducing suspensions to coming out strongly in support of undocumented students and pouring extra resources and attention into long-struggling schools, Carranza’s résumé lays out a host of priorities that New York City has also pursued.
Also detailed: His contribution to a mariachi education textbook — a chapter called “Mariachi Instruction in Support of Literacy.” Carranza is an accomplished musician (he’s in the Tucson Mariachi Hall of Fame) and has used his love of music to draw attention to the arts in schools.
You can read his résumé for yourself here.