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Richard Carranza Recognized as an Education Week Leader to Learn From

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Richard Carranza Recognized as an Education Week Leader to Learn From
Day
February 2015

An Education Week special report spotlights Richard Carranaza, San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Superintendent Richard Carranza as a Leader to Learn From in recognition of his advocacy for an equitable approach to bicultural education and biliteracy. Influenced by his background as an English learner (EL), Carranza’s commitment to ELs in the public school system goes beyond literacy in the classroom to providing EL families support through translated information and community resources. Fundamentally, Carranza’s work centers on supports for ELs as part of a broader agenda of equity that seeks to position students for success by respecting and leveraging their personal history. Carranza believes that language is an asset and should motivate the way the system meets the needs of students. This belief is evident in the district decision to cut central-office expenditures before cutting funds from school sites to concentrate funds in schools with high EL populations.  Education Week portrays Carranza’s work in SFUSD as an example of how districts can build systems of support from the district to the classroom for its most underserved populations.