District 9 Team Member Spotlight

Francisco De La Rosa, Districtwide Attendance Liason

“I am an Afri-Domini-Rican-York”

Francisco arrived in New York City in 1989, after completing his Bachelors Degree at the University of Puerto Rico, Recinto de Rio Piedras.

He began his career in the New York City Department of Education in 1991 as a day-to-day substitute teacher in District 6. Since 1993, he has served the children, their families, and the District 9 School Community at the middle school level, in various capacities across 30 years.

Currently, he is a member of the District 9 Attendance Team. One of the biggest challenges that Francisco has faced in his career, since addressing school attendance, is how critical attendance is as a determining factor in children’s lives, which is directly connected to academic learning, staying on track for graduation, earning their degree, and ultimately, succeeding in their careers/jobs.

His vision is to become a link of school attendance support and resources among all D9 students, their families, school leaders, educators, and community members. Working as one, we will identify and eliminate barriers that prevent approximately 38% of District 9 children from achieving 95% and above in daily school attendance.