Richie Rathsack <rrathsack@record-journal.com>
Fwd: Comment request: Meeting with education group at St. Rose of Lima 3 messages Eric Cotton <ecotton@record-journal.com> To: David Wells <dwells@record-journal.com>, Richie Rathsack <rrathsack@record-journal.com>
Fri, Oct 27, 2023 at 4:09 PM
Benigni sent Lau the statement along with written correspondence with St. Rose. We should quote heavily from the statement in the story and I'm thinking maybe we run the whole thing online. ---------- Forwarded message --------From: Benigni, Mark <mark.benigni@meridenk12.org> Date: Fri, Oct 27, 2023 at 3:19 PM Subject: Re: Comment request: Meeting with education group at St. Rose of Lima To: Lau Guzman <lguzman@record-journal.com> Cc: ECOTTON@RECORD-JOURNAL.COM <ECOTTON@record-journal.com> Hello Lau, Thank you for reaching out. Please see my statement below. I also have attached earlier correspondences to provide you with some background information.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond to your question about the walkout staged last night by Father Manship and members of the St. Rose of Lima Education Committee. I am disappointed by the confrontational approach Father Manship has taken toward the Meriden Public Schools. I met with Father Manship on January 9, 2023, for approximately an hour in my office conference room. At this meeting, I shared the progress of our district, the goals that lie ahead, and offered open communication with key members of our staff who are directly connected to the work his members would like to discuss. Last evening was an example of this confrontational approach. Rather than attending the BOE public forum to learn about the candidates, the group led by Father Manship arrived late, remained standing, and then left shortly after being acknowledged, apparently in some sort of walkout in protest over my response to St. Rose of Lima Education Team Leaders request that I now meet personally with this group. The communication from this group made demands upon me, rather than offer to work collaboratively with the Meriden Public Schools. These actions by Father Manship are disappointing because they interfere with our common goal of supporting families and promoting the success of all students in the Meriden Public Schools. We value our longstanding, cordial relationship with the larger Latino community in Meriden, and we work diligently to reach out to all our families. Marissa Cardona is our College and Career Coordinator, and she has done great outreach to our families. Similarly, Michael Cardona works for us at Central Registration supporting new arrivals. We have also reached out directly to Father Manship and the Education Committee of St. Rose of Lima Church on numerous occasions to discuss the specific needs pertaining to their Latino group. By way of example, Dr. Evelyn Robles-Rivas is our Supervisor of Language and Community Partnerships. Dr. Robles-Rivas has offered to meet, and she continues to offer to meet with the members of the Committee at a time that works best for them. In addition, Dr. Robles-Rivas led the Back-to-School ESOL/Bilingual Forum on September 13, 2023, at Edison Middle School. Father Manship and the Committee requested that meeting, and I, along with the entire Central Office team attended that meeting, at which members of the Committee had opportunities to ask questions. Dr. Robles-Rivas is not alone in her efforts. Carlos Pina, our FSL Union President, met Father Manship at the Forum, and he offered to meet with him and his group at any time. Teachers Angela Fragoso, Bob Lorenzo, and Alicia Lorenzo all have offered to meet with the group as well. Finally, Dr. Lysette Torres is our Director of Equity and Instruction, and she is also willing to meet with Father Manship and the Committee. We greatly value our connections with the Latino community in Meriden. The issue here is Father Manship’s confrontational insistence that I meet with him and his group personally. As is evident, it would be more constructive for Father Manship and the Education Committee to meet with any of these individuals listed above because they are directly connected to the work. I hope that Father Manship and the Education Committee will accept these many offers to meet and collaborate. However, we will not be responding to ill-advised intimidation tactics such as the walk-out at the BOE Forum last evening. Thank you for this opportunity to explain the situation. Mark D. Benigni, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Meriden Public Schools 22 Liberty Street Meriden, CT 06450 203-630-4171
On Fri, Oct 27, 2023 at 12:36 PM Lau Guzmán <lguzman@record-journal.com> wrote: Dear Dr. Benigni,
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