Meisha Ross Porter will replace New York City Schools Chancellor, Richard Carranza, and become the first Black woman to lead the U.S. largest school system, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday. Porter is currently the executive superintendent of the Bronx. Porter will be over the school system on March 15th which as over 1 million students and 1,800 schools.

The 47-year-old a native of a New York City public school graduate has been working in education for two decades serving as a teacher, principal and superintendent in Bronx. In 2018, Carranza appointed her to oversee the borough’s 361 schools in the role of executive superintendent in the Bronx.

“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 in a statement. “Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza have laid an incredible foundation for me, and I am ready to hit the ground running and lead New York City schools to a full recovery.”

“Today is an historic day for New York City schools. Meisha Porter is a homegrown New Yorker who knows what it takes to give every kid the high-quality public school education they deserve,” de Blasio said. “Together, we care going to build on the work that Richard Carranza has led in guiding the nation’s largest school system through the COVID-19 pandemic, promoting social and emotional learning, and making unprecedented gains for equity in our schools.”

According to the press release, “as executive superintendent since 2018, Porter has overseen the largest gains in graduation rates of any borough in that time, from 67.4 in 2018 to 73.0 – a 5.7% point increase, as compared to a 2.8 point increase citywide. Postsecondary enrollment in the Bronx has also had a substantial increase under her tenure, with 54.9% of the 9th-grade cohort for the Class of 2019 enrolling in college, a 1.2 increase from the Class of 2018.”

“I’m so excited that Meisha Porter has been named the next chancellor of NYC Schools. Meisha is an incredible leader and visionary and has a deep love of our children, families, and communities,” U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman said in a statement. “She is a listener, a learner, and lives and breathes equity. I cannot wait to work with her to build a better education system for our kids.”

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