Anthony J. Alvarado
Encyclopedia
Anthony John Alvarado is an American educator and administrator who served from 1983 to 1984 as New York City School Chancellor
, overseeing the operation of the largest public school district in the United States as the school system's first Hispanic Chancellor. He was forced to step down in the wake of charges of professional misconduct and financial irregularities.
Alvarado was born on June 10, 1942, in the South Bronx
, where he attended St. Anselm's Catholic School and Fordham Preparatory School
. He earned a bachelor's and master's degree in English from Fordham University
, and took additional education classwork at Hunter College
. He started in the New York City Public Schools in a school in the Bronx and spent a year teaching at James Monroe High School
. After a series of administrative positions and promotions at Board of Education headquarters on Livingston Street and in District 9, he was named in 1973 as superintendent of District 4, which covered the largely African American
and Hispanic
community of East Harlem in Manhattan
.
During a decade heading the 14,000-student District 4, Alvarado established school-within-a-school programs that allowed students to specialize in their preferred area of interest, a program that helped attract attendance from students living outside the district. During his tenure in the district, twice as many students were reading at grade level, growing from 25% to 48% from 1979 to 1982. In recognition of his accomplishments, he received a $5,000 award in 1981 from the Fund for the City of New York.
Alvarado replaced many of the supervisory positions in the district with Hispanic educators. A 1975 complaint against the district filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights
found that the district had discriminated when it replaced a white school principal and ordered that he be reinstated with back pay and full seniority. The president of the Council of Supervisors and Administrators, which represents supervisors told The New York Times
that there had been other conflicts with Alvarado regarding his staffing changes at the assistant principal and principal level. In 1977, then-Chancellor Irving Anker
criticized the number of highly paid administrators on the district's staff, though Alvarado argued that they were necessary to put into place the academic changes and improvements he implemented and that spending was in line with that of other districts.
Alvarado was named as New York City School Chancellor in April 1983. He committed himself to improving New York City's public high schools and sought to implement in the city's 32 school districts many of the innovations he had planned in District 4.
In a report issued in March 1984 by the New York City Department of Investigation
, Alvarado was charged with borrowing $88,000 from employees under his supervision "in a manner that was inherently coercive and frequently deceptive", that he allowed employees who had loaned him money to earn excessive amounts of overtime pay and had used school employees for personal purposes, including having his house painted by district employees. He was also charged with having made false statements on loan applications, failing to pay parking tickets and property taxes, and for a failure to report $128,000 in capital gains and tax refunds on filings with the Internal Revenue Service
. Alvarado said that many of the violations were of a technical nature and occurred because he was busy working 60 to 80 hours a week as Schools Chancellor. Citing the example of paying to have his office painted out of funds that had been designated for overtime pay, Alvarado argued that "in choosing whether to get work accomplished or not violate a technical procedure, I chose to get the job done". Alvarado told Time
magazine that he "never used public funds or the public system for personal gain".
Alvarado resigned as School Chancellor in May 1984 in the wake of professional misconduct charges and Nathan Quinones
was selected as Chancellor, having served in the position on an interim basis after Alvarado placed himself on leave two months earlier. While Quinones had been relegated to a minor role under Alvarado, once Quinones became acting Chancellor he removed several administrators tied to Alvarado and restored the structure of high school administration that Alvarado had eliminated.
His wife, Ellen Kirshbaum, led the East Harlem Performing Arts School and later worked as community liaison for Community School District 4. Alvarado lived with his wife and two children in Park Slope, Brooklyn
, together with two children from Alvarado's first marriage.
New York City School Chancellor
The New York City Schools Chancellor is the leader of the New York City Department of Education, the agency that handles New York City's public schools. The current Chancellor is Dennis M. Walcott, who began his tenure on April 18, 2011 after the resignation of Cathie Black on April 7, 2011...
, overseeing the operation of the largest public school district in the United States as the school system's first Hispanic Chancellor. He was forced to step down in the wake of charges of professional misconduct and financial irregularities.
Alvarado was born on June 10, 1942, in the South Bronx
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
, where he attended St. Anselm's Catholic School and Fordham Preparatory School
Fordham Preparatory School
Fordham Preparatory School is a private Jesuit all-boys high school located in the Bronx, New York City, with an enrollment of approximately 950 students. It is located on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University....
. He earned a bachelor's and master's degree in English from Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
, and took additional education classwork at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
. He started in the New York City Public Schools in a school in the Bronx and spent a year teaching at James Monroe High School
James Monroe High School (New York)
For schools with a similar name, see James Monroe High School.James Monroe High School was a comprehensive high school located at 1300 Boynton Avenue and E 172nd Street in the Soundview section of the Bronx....
. After a series of administrative positions and promotions at Board of Education headquarters on Livingston Street and in District 9, he was named in 1973 as superintendent of District 4, which covered the largely African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
community of East Harlem in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
During a decade heading the 14,000-student District 4, Alvarado established school-within-a-school programs that allowed students to specialize in their preferred area of interest, a program that helped attract attendance from students living outside the district. During his tenure in the district, twice as many students were reading at grade level, growing from 25% to 48% from 1979 to 1982. In recognition of his accomplishments, he received a $5,000 award in 1981 from the Fund for the City of New York.
Alvarado replaced many of the supervisory positions in the district with Hispanic educators. A 1975 complaint against the district filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights
New York State Division of Human Rights
The New York State Division of Human Rights is a New York State agency created to enforce the state's Human Rights Law. The law prohibits discrimination in the provision of housing, employment, credit, and access to certain public places based on specified protected characteristics, which include...
found that the district had discriminated when it replaced a white school principal and ordered that he be reinstated with back pay and full seniority. The president of the Council of Supervisors and Administrators, which represents supervisors told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
that there had been other conflicts with Alvarado regarding his staffing changes at the assistant principal and principal level. In 1977, then-Chancellor Irving Anker
Irving Anker
Irving Anker was an American educator and administrator who served from 1973 to 1978 as New York City Schools Chancellor, overseeing the largest school district in the United States at a time when control of schools was being transferred to local community school districts and when the fiscal...
criticized the number of highly paid administrators on the district's staff, though Alvarado argued that they were necessary to put into place the academic changes and improvements he implemented and that spending was in line with that of other districts.
Alvarado was named as New York City School Chancellor in April 1983. He committed himself to improving New York City's public high schools and sought to implement in the city's 32 school districts many of the innovations he had planned in District 4.
In a report issued in March 1984 by the New York City Department of Investigation
New York City Department of Investigation
The New York City Department of Investigation is an agency of the New York City government. It serves as an independent and nonpartisan watchdog for New York City government. Major functions include investigating and referring for prosecution cases of fraud, corruption and unethical conduct by...
, Alvarado was charged with borrowing $88,000 from employees under his supervision "in a manner that was inherently coercive and frequently deceptive", that he allowed employees who had loaned him money to earn excessive amounts of overtime pay and had used school employees for personal purposes, including having his house painted by district employees. He was also charged with having made false statements on loan applications, failing to pay parking tickets and property taxes, and for a failure to report $128,000 in capital gains and tax refunds on filings with the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
. Alvarado said that many of the violations were of a technical nature and occurred because he was busy working 60 to 80 hours a week as Schools Chancellor. Citing the example of paying to have his office painted out of funds that had been designated for overtime pay, Alvarado argued that "in choosing whether to get work accomplished or not violate a technical procedure, I chose to get the job done". Alvarado told Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine that he "never used public funds or the public system for personal gain".
Alvarado resigned as School Chancellor in May 1984 in the wake of professional misconduct charges and Nathan Quinones
Nathan Quinones
Nathan Quinones was an American educator and administrator who served as the New York City School Chancellor from 1984 to 1987, where he led efforts to improve educational standards and cut the system's dropout rate.-Early life:Quinones was born on October 12, 1930, in East Harlem and attended the...
was selected as Chancellor, having served in the position on an interim basis after Alvarado placed himself on leave two months earlier. While Quinones had been relegated to a minor role under Alvarado, once Quinones became acting Chancellor he removed several administrators tied to Alvarado and restored the structure of high school administration that Alvarado had eliminated.
His wife, Ellen Kirshbaum, led the East Harlem Performing Arts School and later worked as community liaison for Community School District 4. Alvarado lived with his wife and two children in Park Slope, Brooklyn
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Park Slope is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn, New York City's most populous borough. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush Avenue to the north, and 15th Street to the south, though other definitions are sometimes offered. Generally...
, together with two children from Alvarado's first marriage.