Carmen Fariña at PS 29 in Brooklyn, where she once taught third grade. Later in her career she became the Head of the NYC Department of Education (Photo Credit: Michael Appleton, The New York Times)

Many fine classroom teachers have advanced to lofty positions within their local Department of Education. This is certainly true of Carmen Farina, an elementary school teacher who eventually became the Head of the New York City Department of Education.

Camen was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 5, 1943. Her parents had emigrated from Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Carmen overcame language and cultural barriers to succeed in school. She became the first person in her family to go to college. The ambitious young woman earned her Bachelor’s degree from New York University. She also earned three Master’s degrees. She earned a Master’s in Bilingual Education from Brooklyn College, another from Fordham University in Gifted/Arts Education, and her third from Pace University in Administration and Supervision.

Carmen inaugurated her career as an educator at PS 29 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. There she earned a reputation as an exceptionally talented teacher, particularly in the social sciences. In fact, one of her students, novelist and professor Jonathan Lethem, once described her as the “perfect” teacher. He even dedicated his first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, to his former teacher. Her career at PS 29 spanned 22 years.

From 1991 to 2001, Carmen served as principal of PS 6. Under her leadership there, the school’s improved its ranking on the citywide reading test from 76th to 4th, and nearly 92% of the school’s students were classified as reading at grade level.

Eventually, Carmen was selected to serve as the Core Curriculum Coordinator for Brooklyn’s District 15. While in this role, she published her multi-cultural and interdisciplinary program Making Connections. The program became the model for similar programs in districts throughout the city. Later, she was elected Community Superintendent of District 15, and then she was selected Superintendent of Region 8. She also accepted a position as an adjunct professor at Bank Street College.

From 2004 to 2006, Carmen served the New York City Department of Education as the Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning. There she expanded programs for middle school students, including increased services for special needs students, Saturday school classes, workshops to improve study skills, and parent counseling.

In January, 2013, Carmen began her tenure as Head Chancellor for New York City Department of Education. Carmen served in that capacity until her retirement in April, 2018.

To read more about this amazing educator, see this story published in the New York Times.