New York City's newly appointed Chancellor of Schools, Carmen Fariña, knows what it takes to build a solid foundation for the classroom, as well as the importance of being bilingual. The veteran teacher and principal and the daughter of Spanish immigrants also knows what it's like to face discrimination.

On Monday, Fariña's address tugged on the public's heartstrings when she recalled entering city public schools speaking only Spanish and facing discrimination from a teacher who refused to learn to pronounce her name.

"With Latinos now making up more than 40 percent of our school population, thousands of pupils from Latin America and other parts of the world continue to face the same kind of problem today," Fariña said. "Too often, teachers pressure those children to Anglicize their names."

"Your children will be spoken to by the name you gave them," Fariña promised, according to the New York Daily News.

Yesterday, Fariña reacquainted herself with the classroom, a place that she has pioneered, and made her first stop this year at M.S. 223 Laboratory School of Finance and Technology in the Bronx.

"The former teacher and principal met with students in two English classes and a dual-language social studies class. She spoke about the importance of knowing a second language and placed great importance on parents' involvement in their children's education," according to News 12 The Bronx.

"Farina says one of her goals as chancellor is to make sure parents become more involved in the school system. She chose M.S. 223 as her first stop because of her relationship with the principals and the fact that she says middle schools are key to a student's success in later life."

Many were thrilled with Fariña's appointment and the change in leadership. 

"The Mayor-elect's decision to put a veteran educator and daughter of Spanish immigrants in charge of the New York City's public schools speaks volumes about his intention to break away from the policies of the Bloomberg era," according to New York Daily News' Juan Gonzalez.

"In naming Carmen Fariña -- a veteran teacher and principal and the daughter of Spanish immigrants -- as the next chancellor of New York City public schools, Bill de Blasio has officially ended the era of beating up on teachers and public school parents," he added.

Gonzalez points out that for 14 years, New York chancellors have been either business executives or political aides from City Hall, including: Harold Levy, Joel Klein,Cathie Black, and Dennis Walcott.

"All may have been well-intentioned, but none was qualified for the post. They had virtually zero experience with a classroom of children. They had never run a single school or even a mid-size district someplace else," he said.

During Bloomberg's time in office, Fariña worked as deputy chancellor, but she eventually resigned because of "philosophical differences," she reportedly said. "The department of teaching and learning that she headed was dismantled soon after she left, its work farmed out to an army of private consultants," the New York Daily News adds.

"She actually sees parents as allies in making the schools better, not as a nuisance to be kept out," said Javier Valdes, executive director of Make the Road New York, a Brooklyn community group that hailed her appointment.