Meriden Public Schools response to complain findings

BOARD OF EDUCATION Sheri L. Amechi Kim A. Carbone-Pandiani Robert E. Kosienski, Jr. Siobhan K. Maloney-Bazinet Dr. Steven J. O'Donnell Ray R. Ouellet Allan E. Pronovost Michael P. Reynolds Rebecca L. Wronski ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES 22 Liberty Street P.O. Box 848 Meriden, Connecticut 06450-0848 Phone: 203-379-2601 Fax: 203-630-0110 www.meridenk12.org Mark D. Benigni, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Michael S. Grove Assistant Superintendent for Technology and Operations Louis Bronk Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Talent Development Patricia L. Sullivan-Kowalski Assistant Superintendent of Student Supports Barbara A. Haeffner Director of Teaching & Innovation Alvin F. Larson, Ph.D. Research & Evaluation Specialist

Mailed and Emailed to Sarah.Eagan@ct.gov

September 3, 2021

Sarah Healy Eagan, J.D. Child Advocate Office of the Child Advocate 165 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT. 06106 Dear Attorney Eagan: On behalf of the Meriden Public Schools, I thank you for sharing the draft report setting forth the findings of your office in response to the complaints filed by certain parents over the exclusion of their children from in-person instruction for a period of time at the height of a pandemic during the 2020-2021 school year. We appreciate the opportunity to offer our comments concerning the report, and Assistant Superintendent Sullivan-Kowalski and Attorney Wilde will be providing those comments. However, I am concerned that you have unfairly targeted the Meriden Public Schools, neither acknowledging our commitment to the education of all children, nor recognizing our success as an urban district in providing in-person instruction to our students to a much greater degree than other urban school districts. Moreover, the number of PPTs OCA representatives have attended in Meriden also calls into question whether the OCA is acting here as an advocate for certain parents rather than an independent fact-finding body.

In its current form, the draft report ignores the practical reality we confronted in relying on the medical expertise of our public health officials to keep our schools open. While you provide much qualitative analysis, the quantitative results in Meriden showed our health officials got it right, as we did not close down a school and our students continued to make positive academic gains. The report unfairly denigrates the good work of the Meriden Public Schools during a most challenging time, and does not recognize how appreciative and supportive our families were to have in-person learning and a full complement of music and sports programs as an option for their children.

As an example of the apparent bias against the Meriden Public Schools, I note that you have quoted in your report an article in the Hartford Courant, which quotation ends with the statement: But Yazbak says the Department of Education and the Meriden Public Schools weren't in contact about this situation until after the district pushed some of its students out the door.

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September 3, 2021

I have addressed my concerns about Mr. Yazbak's statement with the Connecticut State Department of Education, and I have accepted their sincere apology. That the Office of the Child Advocate would include that irresponsible characterization of the dedicated professionals in the Meriden Public Schools in its report shows bias against the Meriden Public Schools that calls into question the conclusions you draw.

The Meriden Public Schools were uniquely successful among urban districts in maximizing in-person learning opportunities for our students. In accordance with medical directives, we were not able to provide in-person instruction to some students for a portion of the year, and I recognize the difficulties that those limitations imposed on certain families. However, the Meriden special services staff gave their all in working with all families, including the families of the complainants, to provide educational services to all students throughout the year. Thankfully, we have increased our in-district special education programs, as outplacement facilities offered much more remote learning due to quarantine and health concerns.

You will issue your report, and we will respond. I respect the right and responsibility of the Office of the Child Advocate to make your independent findings. However, the way in which you have expressed those conclusions, and your failure adequately to acknowledge the successes of the Meriden Public Schools during the pandemic, minimizes the hard work of the Meriden Public Schools and is unfair to our students, staff, and families. Working closely with our public health officials, we educated all students to the maximum extent practicable during a pandemic unprecedented in our collective experience. I welcome review of our actions by the Connecticut State Department of Education, and I hope and expect to receive a more balanced consideration from the Department on the actions we took last year on behalf of all of the students we serve.

Sincerely,

Mark Benigni, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools cc: Patricia Sullivan-Kowalski, Assistant Superintendent of Student Supports Attorney Thomas Mooney Attorney Julia Wilde