Educators, parents react to Chancellor Carranza's resignation

NEW YORK - The news of New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza's resignation came as a shock to many parents and educators.

Carranza oversaw a historic shift to all-remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The head of the United Federation of Teachers applauded his efforts.

"Richard Carranza was a real partner in our efforts to open school safely," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in a statement. "Too often he had to fight behind the scenes to keep the needs of students, staff, and their families ahead of politics."

RELATED: NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza stepping down

Yiatin Chu, who is the co-president of PLACE NYC, a group of parent leaders, called the sudden switch to a "virtual classroom" an upheaval for families.

Roughly 250,000 of the city's 1 million public school students are back in the building. However, parents whose children are enrolled in all-remote learning say their kids are still struggling to get by.

Jennifer Almeida hopes Carranza's successor, Meisha Ross Porter, will pay more attention to kids with special needs like her 9-year-old son, Kyle.

"He has a whole lot of Zoom meetings that they're trying to cram in all in one day," she said.

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Mark Cannizzaro, the president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, said taking over the job mid-pandemic won't be easy.

"She's walking in at a very difficult and challenging time so I give her a lot of credit for taking this role on at this time," Cannizzaro said.