Education activists hold rally to press new chancellor

Richard Carranza

More than 200 parents and activists massed at City Hall onTuesday to press new schools Chancellor Richard Carranza to fixMayor de Blasio』s 「failing education agenda.」

Organized by charter backer StudentsFirstNY, the group called onCarranza to shake up the status quo with new initiatives.

Parents took de Blasio to task for persistent achievement gapsbetween ethnic groups and scant options for parents in poorneighborhoods with struggling schools.

「This is a crisis and we need a chancellor who will fight forkids to have real options at such a sensitive, critical time intheir lives,」 said parent Karen Spencer.

Charter advocate Derrell Bradford urged Carranza to fostercharter school growth as an option for otherwise educationallymarooned parents.

DOE spokeswoman Toya Holness responded by saying, 「Attackingpublic education is far less effective than the hard work thatdedicated educators undertake every day to support students andfamilies.」