Carmen Fariña has been a public school educator for over 40 years. During her time in education she spent over 20 years as a classroom teacher. As a curriculum coordinator in District 15, she authored Making Connections, a multicultural/interdisciplinary program which was later published by the New York City Board of Education and replicated in each school district. Making Connections focused on using social studies as a vehicle for learning all curriculum disciplines. Mrs. Fariña served for 10 years as Principal of P.S. 6 in District 2. During this principalship she created numerous models for staff development and school-wide improvements that have been documented and visited by educators nationwide. She was one of the first principals to receive early tenure. While she was principal of P.S. 6, the school consistently ranked in the top ten schools citywide in both reading and math.

Mrs. Fariña then became Superintendent of Community School District 15 where she taught, now lives, and where her two daughters went to school. Under Children First, she served as the Regional Superintendent in Region 8, which encompasses former Community School Districts 13, 14, 15, 16, and 27 high schools. Mrs. Fariña then became Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, thus inheriting responsibility for curriculum, instruction and interventions for a system of more than 1,200 hundred schools and over one million students. She brought to this position the same focus she brought to her job as a teacher, principal and superintendent: a commitment to building communities of learners and developing sytem-wide structures to improve instruction and professional sharing of expertise.

Mrs. Fariña has not only served New York City’s public school children for over thirty years, but she has also served as Associate Professor at Bank Street College’s Principals’ Institute. There she developed a policy course as well as a curriculum course that focused on developing citywide leaders, with a special emphasis on instructional leadership—adding to the learning of many of the principals and administrators that now lead our schools.

Mrs. Fariña is presently enjoying semi-retirement as a consultant to Teachers College, Reading and Writing Institute, and being a grandmother.