Education

Alberto Carvalho, the man who upended NYC school politics

Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida who was named New York City’s next schools chancellor, shocked the people of Miami and New York City when he publicly declined the job during a televised school board hearing on Thursday.

Alberto Carvalho

Alberto Carvalho Elliot Haney/City Year

Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida who was named New York City’s next schools chancellor, shocked the people of Miami and New York City when he publicly declined the job during a televised school board hearing on Thursday.

He said that he was “breaking a promise to an adult” – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, that is – to keep his promise to the children of Miami.

Carvalho had accepted the position over a week ago and made the decision to decline it suddenly, according to a tweet by de Blasio’s spokesman, Eric Phillips.

Carvalho is considered a rising political star in Florida, and this change of mind comes as a shock for the people of Miami and of New York. He would have snagged a $353,000 salary, over $100,000 more than the current schools chancellor, Carmen Farina.

Carvalho, whose appointment was first reported by Politico New York, rose from undocumented immigrant to leader of the nation’s fourth largest school district, and has overseen significant advancement in Miami’s schools. Here is an overview of the five things to know about Carvalho – including why he may have chosen to stay where he was – now that he has upended New York City politics from 1,000 miles away.

No stranger to politics

Carvalho’s success has made him popular in his school district – and in his congressional district. He publicly mulled a congressional bid for Florida’s 27th District, and has been named as a contender for various political positions around the state. He is a registered voter but unaffiliated with any party. Had Hillary Clinton won the 2016 presidential election, Carvalho’s name was thought to be on the short list for a U.S. Education Department appointment. Carvalho made an extremely public declaration of dedication to his district when he turned down the New York City chancellor position, and this perhaps will not be forgotten at the polls if he chooses to seek higher office in the future.

A history of success

Although New York’s public school system is significantly larger than that of Miami, there are some parallels, and Carvalho might have been able to implement some of the successful practices he employed as superintendent. Miami’s public school system has over 350,000 students, and as in New York, the majority of students are black or Latino and live in poverty. During his time in Miami, Carvalho has focused on eliminating the achievement gap between poorer and wealthier students, and the Education Equality Index has rated Miami schools as having some of the lowest achievement gaps in the country. Carvalho has also pushed for more advanced placement classes, teachers’ professional development and parent interaction in schools, and expanded a program that encouraged parents’ engagement in the classroom. He has also been critical of standardized testing and reduced testing for middle school and high school students. During his tenure, Miami’s graduation rates jumped from 60 percent to 80 percent. New York’s graduation rates are currently hovering above 70 percent, and the city has been criticized for its extremely segregated schools.

A charter school advocate?

Carvalho might have been able to calm the waters in the intensifying feud between de Blasio and charter school advocates. Carvalho expanded the number of magnet schools and district-run charter schools, and was listed as Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz as a candidate to consider for chancellor. His support of charter schools may have been difficult for the mayor to navigate. He also has a history of dealing with unions. He instituted a merit pay system in 2011, which was opposed by teachers unions, but later earned plaudits for implementing a $2 billion cut without firing any teachers.

From undocumented immigrant to national education leader

Carvalho was raised in Portugal in what he has described as “dramatic poverty,” and was the first in his family to graduate from high school. He came to the United States when he was 17 and overstayed his visa, and worked as a waiter and in construction. He also spent some time homeless before a local congressman in Florida sponsored him for a student visa. He attended Broward College and Barry University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. He began his career in education as a science teacher at Miami Jackson Senior High, and then worked his way through the administrative ranks until he was named district superintendent in 2008. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. Under Carvalho’s leadership, the Miami-Dade school district earned the Broad Prize for Urban Education in 2012. He was named the national Superintendent of the Year in 2014, was named by then-U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to the National Assessment for Education Progress governing board in 2015, and won the Harold W. McGraw Jr. prize for K-12 education in 2016.

A hint of scandal

Just after being tapped as superintendent, leaked emails revealed that the married Carvalho may have had an affair with a former education reporter for the Miami Herald, Tania deLuzuriaga. Carvalho denied the affair, and deLuzuriaga declined to comment, although she resigned from her job at the Boston Globe shortly after the affair broke.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.