New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Schools chief says communication with parents will improve
BRANFORD — Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez acknowledged what a growing chorus of parents have been saying for some time.
“Our ability to communicate with the public was not sufficient. In some people’s eyes, we fell short,” Hernandez said during the school board’s recent Communications Committee meeting.
The meeting, meant to jumpstart dialogue with the public about the handling of the pandemic and other issues, came as schools in the district completed the transition back to full inperson instruction.
Parents had filed a petition that led to the return. Petition organizers also sought a forum to allow two-way dialogue with the board since questions the public asks at board meetings typically go unanswered.
The board denied the forum request, but promised dialogue at the Communications Committee.
It took a change of the agenda at the start of the meeting to specify there would be a “dialogue” and not just public comments.
Hernandez attributed part of the communication problem to the pandemic.
“There is a lot of pent-up frustration,” he said. “We have been in a really uncomfortable and awkward position for learning for a very long time. That is incredibly taxing on families. Even now.”
Until March, schools were open for in-person learning for most students only two days per week, with no return to full in-person learning scheduled.
Hernandez blamed public health metrics that until the first week in April placed Branford’s infection rate consistently higher than the state’s rate.
Changes have been made to the COVID dashboard on the district website to give parents more information.
The superintendent vowed to use social media more effectively and reinstate a parent advisory group that would meet periodically to offer him feedback.
A new district letter on the website Thursday cautioned parents to be careful during spring break by continuing to wear face masks and practice social distancing guidelines.
“We are not telling people not to travel, but be careful,” Hernandez said.
It was more than an hour into the meeting when the public got their chance to speak. Some called the superintendent’s comments a step in the right direction.
“It is indicative of how far we are coming,” said parent Sonia Toche, though she said work remains to be done.
The district sends surveys to parents, Toche noted, but they don’t necessarily ask the questions that are on the minds of parents.
Gregg Jerolman, another parent, said board and district leadership, more than the pandemic, have led to parent frustration.
“The truth is it took a monumental effort from some parents to get somebody to do their job,” Jerolman said.
Parent Lori Greene, highly critical of Hernandez at previous meetings, said her mind was changed by something she saw him do on the first day back to full in-person learning.
Hernandez was approached by a fourth-grader who asked whether Hernandez remembered her name. The superintendent had read to her class when she was a preschooler.
“In the blink of an eye Hernandez said, ‘It’s Julia, isn’t it,’” Greene said. “It suddenly became clear to me how much Mr. Hernandez actually does care about children. … I saw a true educator in that moment.”
Greene faulted school board Chairman John Prins with dismissing parents and the concerns they raise.
Prins said he is made to be the villain because he follows the rules. School board meetings, he said, are held in public to conduct district business and could become too long with two-way public dialogue.
“This is not my rule,” Prins said. “I have a responsibility to conduct the business of the board.”
Speakers disagreed.
Parent Jen Alexander said the board has choices when it comes to interacting with the public.
Kate Marsland, a former board member, said the board has the power to be more transparent and make it easier for parents to participate.
“The posture toward the public has not been transparent or inclusive or respectful,” she said.
Parent Jennifer Orlando said she sensed some improvements being made on the communication front, and said she respected Hernandez for his admission that communication could be better.
The community, she added, wants more. She pledged to help the superintendent set up his parent advisory group.
“I am going to keep the pressure on,” Orlando said. “Keep it up. Do your job.”