Joseph A. Fernandez
{{Short description|School system chancellor}}
{{use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{use American English|date=June 2021}}
Joseph Anthony Fernandez{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/21/nyregion/man-in-the-news-joseph-anthony-fernandez-from-dropout-to-chancellor.html
|title=Man in the News: Joseph Anthony Fernandez; From Dropout to Chancellor
|author=Neil A. Lewis |date=September 21, 1989}} was the Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education, "the nation's largest school," 1990–1993.
{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/30/nyregion/legacy-schools-chancellor-fernandez-s-changes-may-not-live-after-his-departure.html
|title=Legacy of a Schools Chancellor; Fernandez's Changes May Not Live On After His Departure
|author=Josh Barbanel |date=June 30, 1993}}
Early life and education
Fernandez was born in Harlem, grew up there, joined the U.S. Air Force, and "earned a high school equivalency diploma;" he then went to Columbia University. Before graduating, he and his wife moved to Florida to alleviate a son's health problem. Fernandez transferred to and graduated from University of Miami.
Career
=Florida=
Fernandez began his teaching career in 1963 in Florida.
He eventually reached "superintendent of schools in Miami"{{cite news
|newspaper=The New York Times
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/17/magazine/fernandez-takes-charge.html
|title=Fernandez Takes charge
|author=James Traub |date=June 17, 1990}} ("head of the schools in Dade County, Florida"), a position he held for two years{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/25/nyregion/new-schools-chief-an-innovator-and-taker-of-risks.html
|title=New Schools Chief: An Innovator and Taker of Risks
|author=Felicia R. Lee |date=September 25, 1989}} prior to coming to New York City.
=New York City=
Fernandez had a "stormy three-and-a-half-year tenure as one of the highest-paid school officials in the country." Fernandez's support of the 1991 Rainbow Curriculum{{Cite web |last=New York City Public Schools |date=1991 |title=Children of the Rainbow: First Grade |url=https://www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu/pages/FileBrowser.aspx?LinkToFile=FILES_DOC/LGBTQ_FILES/HIGHLIGHTS/03.013.0000.030001DIG.001991.PDF |website=LaGuardia & Wagner Archives}} for first grade multicultural education, and his support of AIDS education in public schools, were controversies that led to his contract not being renewed in 1993.{{Cite web |last=LaGuardia & Wagner Archives |date=2022 |title=First Grade Culture Wars: The Children of the Rainbow Curriculum Controversy of 1992 |url=https://www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu/EdPrograms/LGBTQ_Exhibits.aspx?Exhibit=Children-Of-The-Rainbow |access-date=2022-07-05 |website=www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu |language=en}} His successor was the city's "sixth schools chancellor in a decade."{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/11/nyregion/board-removes-fernandez-as-new-york-schools-chief-after-stormy-3-year-term.html
|title=Board Removes Fernandez As New York Schools Chief After Stormy 3-year Term
|author=Sam Dillon |date=February 11, 1993}}
His suspending of an entire school board in Queens was reversed by the city's Board of Education.{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/13/weekinreview/ideas-trends-how-a-rainbow-curriculum-turned-into-fighting-words.html
|title=How a 'Rainbow Curriculum' Turned Into Fighting Words
|quote=Heather Has Two Mommies
|author=Steven Lee Myers |date=December 13, 1992}}
=Back to Florida=
Personal
Fernandez is "a native New Yorker" who spent "a quarter of a century in Miami." His wife's name is Lily; they have four children. The son with the health problem benefited from the move to Florida.
References
{{reflist|31em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Joseph A.}}
Category:University of Miami alumni
Category:Columbia University alumni
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