Carmen Fariña is the Chancellor of New York City schools. She is coauthor with longtime collaborator Laura Kotch of A School Leader’s Guide to Excellence, Updated Edition. Carmen and Laura have in-depth experience helping all schools make the changes they need to achieve excellence. As professional partners they have held numerous roles in the New York City public schools. In addition to her Chancellorship, Carmen was the Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning of the New York City Department of Education, while Laura was its Executive Director of Professional Development and Curriculum. Their vast experiences also include tenures as Superintendent and Deputy of District 15 (a thirty-two-school district) and Region 8 (154 schools), Principal and Staff Developer, college instructors, teacher leaders, and classroom teachers. Currently they work with principals to create structures that improve schoolwide teaching and learning. Laura Kotch is the coauthor, with her longtime collaborator Carmen Fariña, of A School Leader’s Guide to Excellence, Updated Edition. They have in-depth experience with helping all schools make the changes they need to achieve excellence. As professional partners they have held numerous roles in the New York City public schools. Laura was most recently its Executive Director of Professional Development and Curriculum, while Carmen is its current Chancellor. Their vast experiences also include tenures as Superintendent and Deputy of District 15 (a thirty-two-school district) and Region 8 (154 schools), Principal and Staff Developer, college instructors, teacher leaders, and classroom teachers. Currently they work with principals to create structures that improve schoolwide teaching and learning.