The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Parents devastated over Giant Steps closing
Virus threat puts end to school, which had served students with disabilities
FAIRFIELD — The closing of a school in Southport last month was met with anguish and anger.
“The community was absolutely shocked and devastated — in disbelief,” said Tina Pappalardo, president of the school’s Executive Parent Board.
Giant Steps served 42 students with disabilities and provided programs such as speech, physical and occupation therapy, according to Kathy Roberts. Roberts, the school’s founder and president of the Board of Directors, said the decision to close the school was the most difficult choice they had ever made.
“It was heartbreaking, for all of us,” Roberts said. “There were people crying at the board meeting.”
Roberts said the Board of Directors never found a strategy that would keep students safe while providing them the education they deserve. She said the risk of people becoming infected with COVID-19 was too great to remain in operation, adding that the board feared the small school could become a hot spot.
“Any of the plans and any of the scenarios that we came up with were just not going to work,” Roberts said. “They all had holes in them. We did have our administrators involved . ... We realized we weren’t going to be able to accommodate what we needed to accommodate to keep our kids safe and our staff safe.”
She said a complaint they received from parents and staff was that it felt like a quick decision, but they had been discussing how to address the challenges the novel coronavirus posed since February.
Jennifer Iannuzzi, vice president of the parent board, said the school notified parents via an emailed and mailed letter. After parents met to discuss the sudden closure, she said they had one main question for the school: “What can we do to help you stay open?”
Iannuzzi said the parents wanted to be part of the solution, but “as the days went on, it became clear that there was nothing for us to do — this was a decision that was made.”
According to the Executive Parent Board, members of the community plead with the Board of Directors to keep the school open through letters and a petition, even offering to sign waivers if that made the Board of Directors more comfortable. They said the school did not budge.
“We don’t agree with (waiving safety protocols),” Roberts said. “When I started the school, my priority was to create a safe place for my own daughter.”
Elaine MacKenzie, secretary on the Board of Directors, said they would not feel comfortable putting the students or the staff at risk.
“There’s so much unknown about what’s going to happen in the future,” MacKenzie said. “If you listen to certain sources, things are going to get much worse. That’s in the back of my mind. If things are bad now, and things are going to get worse, how do we really keep these kids safe?”
According to Roberts, parents contacted Rep. Jim Himes, DConn., about the closure. She said the congressman met with her and two members of the Board of Directors via teleconference, where they explained their reasoning.
“Congressman Himes inquired about whether we were aware of some of the financial supports Congress made available, and offered to assist us if needed,” Roberts said, adding that Himes offered to bring in other members of the Connecticut congressional delegation to help. “We explained that it was the safety concerns that were the main drivers of our decision, and he understood.”
According to Patrick Malone, Himes’s communications director, the congressman’s aim was to keep lines of communication between the two groups open.
“It’s not anyone’s ideal situation to close down the school,” Malone said. “But, the people who want to keep it open have valid reasons and the people who want to close it have valid reasons. The more they can work it out internally, the better it’s going to be.”
The Executive Parent Board said they understand the reasoning for the closure, but do not agree with it.
Iannuzzi said the student population depended on the school for support, whether it was inperson or virtual learning. She said they have “challenging behaviors” and knowing the school was there would have helped them through this difficult time.
“In essence, it was a profound abandonment,” Iannuzzi said, adding that she did not want to belabor the Board of Directors’ reasoning. “What we are left with, is no place to go.”
Iannuzzi said the main reason parents sent their children to Giant Steps was because their home districts could not support them, but those school systems are now responsible for placing them. Iannuzzi said the students need help finding a place where they are comfortable.
“This is a very complicated population, and not easy to place,” said Iannuzzi, who lives in Wilton. “(They will be) even more complicated to place in the midst of a pandemic. I don’t think any of us are very hopeful that we are going to find a place any time soon for our kids to return to.”
The parents of former Giant Steps students, according to the parent board, are now looking for someone to either take over the facility or build and operate a new one.
Pappalardo said the only solution is a successor school that “looks just like the one” that they lost, adding that the parents found the school after navigating the entire system and finding nothing like it.
“All of us have traveled a journey that people can’t even imagine, just to get them here, so they can go to school like other kids,” said Pappalardo, a Colchester resident. “Myself, I (drove) 162 miles every day to bring my son to Giant Steps.”
Pappalardo said the parent board is in conversations with two individuals that are hoping to purchase and operate the school, but would not name them. She said the parent board thinks that would be the quickest and easiest remedy.
“To clarify, our first priority is to save that building and salvage as much staff as possible,” Iannuzzi said, adding that they hope to find new management comfortable running the school during the pandemic. She said the long-term is to pool resources and build a school from scratch.
Roberts said the social media flurry about the closure has resulted in multiple parties approaching the board to purchase the school. Right now, she said, the board is focused on closing it.
“People are interested in the property,” she said. “I’m keeping names on a list. If someone else wants to start a school, I’m happy for them. I hope they can come up with a great plan to keep the kids safe. I’d be thrilled if they could do a better job.”
Pappalardo pointed out that Giant Steps was founded by parents that did not have a place to educate their children. Now, she said, they are in the same position.