‘A willingness to start with ‘yes’’: How one Catholic school graduated its first student with Down syndrome
Pastor of St. Augustine's, Fr. Peter Gori
O.S.A. (right) and admissions director Paula O'dea (left) hand Abby Aguedelo her diploma on graduation day. /
Wendy Agudelo Washington D.C., Sep 13, 2021 / 15:01 pm (CNA). Tears flowed down the faces of Abigail “Abby” Agudelo’s classmates, as earlier this year she became the first student with Down syndrome to graduate from St. Augustine’s School in Andover, Massachusetts. “We know other parochial schools in Massachusetts are striving to do the same today,” Abby’s mother, Wendy Agudelo, told CNA in an interview in August. “And because of Abby’s experience, other families who desire a Catholic school education for all of their children, including those containing a family member with special needs, are now looking at parochial school education
as opportunistic.”because of her own mother’s strong Catholic faith, Wendy Agudelo had always wanted a Catholic education for all of her children. She also hoped Abby would have an academic path with “full inclusion,” and would not be placed in a classroom separate from other students. After Abby’s time in public preschool, however, her mother was not certain of a combination of Catholic education and full classroom inclusion.“we noticed a divide between what we wanted for Abigail and what the school felt she should receive given her diagnosis,” she said in an email to CNA. It was during Agudelo’s search for a school that then-st. Augustine principal Paula O’dea and pastor Fr. Peter Gori O.S.A. stepped into the breach, and decided that St. Augustine’s would accommodate Abby's needs. “When Abby and her wonderful parents first made their inquiry to us at St. Augustine School about enrolling, the principal and I were concerned that we might not have available all that Abby would need for a successful experience,” Gori told CNA in an email. “We and Abby's parents all agreed to give it a try and that there would be no hard feelings if things didn't work out.” Gori said that Abby’s parents were “right all along” in believing that Abby would thrive at St. Augustine’s. “We received from her as much or more than she did from us,” Gori said. “It was a delight and a blessing every day and every year to have Abby at St. Augustine School.” Wendy Agudelo told CNA that, in general, parochial schools may not have a significant amount of resources. She noted organizations that exist to educate and support parochial schools interested in broadening their demographics. She named the National Catholic Board on Full Inclusion and the FIRE Foundation as a few examples of these groups.“not every parochial school, or administrator for that matter, is interested in this path,” Wendy Agudelo said. “It comes with its set of challenges, but also great reward.”she said that those who choose the path that St. Augustine’s
School chose “ultimately earn the greatest return on investment.” “Nine years ago,” Paula O’dea told CNA, “we didn't have any teachers with a moderate disabilities certification. Now, we have a lot of teachers with that as their second degree, and we'll have two full-time special ed teachers on site.” O’dea is currently admissions director for St. Augustine’s.o’dea, who was the school’s principal at the time of Abby’s entrance, believes that St. Augustine’s was the only elementary school in the Archdiocese of Boston to accept a student with Down syndrome.she told CNA that in Abby’s time at public school, her parents observed her in the corner of the classroom with a special education teacher, “not really being included in anything in the classroom.”when Abby first arrived at the school, O’dea said the school decided that, in order to properly live out its Catholic mission, it needed to find ways to support any student who wanted to attend. The school partnered with local Merrimack College to hire a student studying moderate disabilities as a subsidized, full-time teacher to support Abby. O’dea said the school’s decision was a success, because it was affordable and effective for Abby. St. Augustine continues to have a “Merrimack Fellow” today.o’dea said that hiring the Merrimack Fellow was “a very small investment financially for us to have such a great outcome in the end.” She says she would recommend it as an alternative to hiring a full-time special education teacher for the classroom. Abby’s parents said that they stood “shoulder to shoulder” with the administration and staff throughout Abby’s schooling. They encouraged teachers at every grade level to gain more professional development and experience with special needs through local conferences and workshops. While working full time, both of Abby’s parents spent much of their time at St. Augustine’s volunteering at Kindergarten centers, the lunchroom, as a chaperone on numerous field trips, and as active guild members helping to run events and fundraisers.wendy Agudelo said that partnering and collaborating with the school “every step of the way” bore amazing results. “In my opinion,” Agudelo said, “it’s not about available resources as much as it is a willingness to start with ‘yes’ and work together towards a shared goal.” “We’re not alone and believe that the more families know, the more armed with opportunity they become,” she said. “We’re very, very fortunate to have found such great academic partners for our children, but pepper in some serious faith and a sprinkling of compassion, and nothing is impossible!” “Abby’s achievement is very impressive,” said Thomas Carroll, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Boston, to CNA. “But the biggest impact is the effect she had on the entire school community. They all were blessed to have her as a classmate or student.”
Governor Desantis signed SB 2006 which, among other provisions, bans governmental entities in Florida from requiring proof of vaccination or post infection recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from their operations. Additionally, the law imposes a $5,000 fine per violation for any entity, including government entities, that asks to see proof of vaccination in Florida. “What we are seeing out of Washington D.C. and local governments like the City of Gainesville and Orange County should alarm Floridians, and raises important questions – if you can have people like firefighters who put lives on the line every day forced to either lose their jobs or get the vaccine regardless of immunity, how does that protect our community or keep us safer? It doesn’t. This is political, it’s about using government power to control. We’re going to protect these jobs, we’re going to protect livelihoods and we’re going to protect families,” said
“These big government mandates strip away people’s rights to make the best decision for themselves, but we are going to protect Floridians from federal and local government overreach. That is why I signed SB 2006 in May, because Floridians, not any governmental entity, are responsible for taking charge of their personal health.” “Seeking a vaccine is a decision based on personal medical history and individual circumstances,”
Desantis. General Governor Ron
said
Ashley Moody. Attorney
“It’s a decision I made earlier this year after consulting with my family and medical professionals. I want more eligible Floridians to seek out information about the vaccine and make a deliberate, informed decision about their health. However, the government forcing compliance by our first responders is wrong. I am proud to stand with Governor Desantis against this localgovernment overreach and in support of our law enforcement officers.” “I was proud to join Governor Ron Desantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody today to fight for the rights of
Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis.
Florida’s first responders,” said
“These heroes have been on the frontlines of the COVID fight since day one and we cannot stand by while their livelihoods are threatened by over-reaching vaccine mandates. I’m vaccinated, but I’m also ANTIMANDATE. We cannot allow DC bureaucrats to strong-arm these heroes and mandate what’s best for their health from their offices in Washington. I stand by our firefighters and trust our first responders to keep our communities safe and I will fight for their freedom and their jobs.” “Our first responders are heroes, running toward danger and risking their lives to save others’. Their selfless service ensures our communities’ safety but requiring vaccinations or forcing our first responders out of their jobs does the exact opposite of protecting our citizens; instead, it disregards the very sacrifices these heroes make every single day,” said
Congresswoman (FL-03). Kat Cammack
“I’m proud to stand beside Governor Desantis, AG Moody, CFO Patronis, and other local leaders in standing up to these unconstitutional, tyrannical government mandates. We will keep fighting to ensure every Floridian has the right to their own health decisions.” “Through the pandemic, we served, but now we’re being told that we don’t know what’s right for us and that we cannot make our own personal health choices. We had commissioner that sat behind a Zoom screen, and now they’re telling us about it – we know, we’ve been there. Many of us have gotten COVID, or have immunity and many still have gotten the vaccine,” said
Jonathan Cicio, Gainesville Fire Rescue.
“We are not anti-vaccine. We are antimandate…. So friends, do not be fooled to think through it, do not be fooled into thinking you’re crazy or extreme from wanting to make your own health choices, you’re not the problem. Let’s stand for what’s right. Stay in the fight.” “Losing potentially hundreds of firefighters will directly affect the safety of our citizens and our community. It won’t just be the unvaccinated that are affected. This is why we will fight this mandate and fight for our freedoms. The Orange County Mayor recently stated, and I quote, ‘The goal of the government is sometimes to protect individuals, even from themselves.’ This quote stuck with me. I am a firefighter and paramedic of 17 years treating patients and making life-saving decisions for them, and am trusted with that responsibility,” said
Maria Bernard, Firefighter, Orange County Fire Rescue.
“This statement implies that I must be incompetent because I need the government to protect me from myself. If someone in this audience was to collapse right now, I would hope you would have faith in knowing that any one of us firefighters that are here would immediately act without knowing if you are vaccinated or unvaccinated. We would put our skillsets and years of knowledge to work and do everything possible to save your life. If we can make those decisions, then I can assure you, we know how to protect ourselves. We know what is right for our bodies, we know how to weigh the risk versus the benefits for ourselves and do not need the overreach of government that is being imposed not only on us, but employees across Florida and the entire United States.” “If you need help, the people employed by the City of Gainesville will come help you. We are smart, educated, and easily employable individuals, many of whom have standing job offers, but are waiting to see what happens. Many of whom have already left at the city’s detriment. We just want to do our jobs. We want to show up and do our jobs to make medical decisions without our employer dictating to us what to do,” said
Christine Damm, City of Gainesville Employee.
“We do not want to be required to share our medical decisions with our employer or openly with other employees. We are your neighbors. We are just like you. We live or work in the City of Gainesville and we love Gainesville and we love Florida.”