Family equity liaison criticized over an old Facebook post

In his new role, Harrison will make himself available to speak with individuals about their concerns and give advice to those who seek his assistance on school operations, and ways to self-advocate within the system.

GUILFORD — The educator hired as Guilford Public Schools’ part-time family equity liaison is being criticized on social media.

Hours later, he began getting harsh comments about a Facebook post dealing with the Confederate flag.

Rydell Harrison was introduced to the community at a Sept. 13 Board of Education meeting, according to the video recording.

He is a program coordinator for the Connecticut

Center for School Change, a nonprofit organization whose aim is improving teaching and learning, reducing achievement gaps, and promoting equity in schools.

The family equity liaison is tasked with advocating for students, parents and guardians who feel they have been treated unfairly or inequitably within the school system due to an identity or affiliation to race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexuality or religion, according to the district.

In his new role, Harrison

will make himself available to speak with individuals about their concerns and give advice to those who seek his assistance on school operations, and

ways to self-advocate within the system. He will also work with principals to help them resolve these concerns and coach them to develop skills supporting children and families, he said at the meeting.

Harrison is also tasked with consulting with, and advising, Superintendent Paul Freeman.

“I am enormously excited that we had the opportunity to bring Dr. Harrison into this position,” Freeman said, according to the video.

Harrison said he was excited to be a part of the district’s work.

“The piece that I think is most important for this particular position is the fact that I’m a parent,” Harrison said. “I think like a parent first. I try to think like a dad. What would I want for my children, how would I want someone to support me as a parent and my family as we try to do the best that we can for our children.”

Harrison has five sons, ages 8 to 23. Freeman said in an email Friday that Harrison was selected because of his background.

“Dr. Harrison has worked with equity concerns since his time in North Carolina and as a Superintendent in Connecticut,” Freeman wrote. “Dr Harrison’s decision to move from the superintendent position to the Connecticut Center for School Change (where he will continue to focus on equity as well as other instructional topics) afforded us the opportunity to bring him and his talents into Guilford through this contracted, consultant position.”

Old social media post revived

Harrison’s former role as superintendent of Easton-Redding-Region 9 is what led to the social media backlash.

During his time as superintendent, Harrison posted to his personal Facebook page following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

It says, in part, that “Trump is not

the only person who should take responsibility for today’s events. Please search your soul and ask if your words, your silence, actions or inactions helped in any way pave the way for Confederate flags to be waved in our nation’s Capitol.”

Harrison apologized for the post during a January Board of Education meeting, but some in the community say they were offended. In comments on the page, a few questioned if Harrison’s remarks affect his ability to lead the district in teaching diversity, equity and inclusion. Otherwise, he enjoyed a lot of support from the community, Hearst Connecticut has reported.

“While my intention was not to be divisive, it has become clear to me that my post has offended some members of our community, and, for that, I am truly sorry. One of our aspirational goals for our students is to build a caring community, and I want to make sure my actions reflect that desire as well,” Harrison said in January.

A request for comment from Harrison Friday was not returned.

Superintendent denies CRT accusations

After the announcement of his hiring in Guilford, social media posts, including a mailer featuring Harrison’s January Facebook post, circulated in private groups and included a post by Republican BOE candidate Aly Passarelli.

The mailer discussed critical race theory, stating the ideology had come to Redding and Easton and that “no parent should fear that his or her child is being politically influenced or victimized by one-sided partisanship as blatantly expressed in his Facebook post,” Passarelli said.

The document was signed by Redding First Selectwoman Julie Pemberton, Easton First Selectman David Bindlegrass, Redding Board of Education Chairman Christopher Parkin, Easton Region 9 Chairperson Vance Handcock, and Redding Region 9 Vice Chairperson Michael D’Agostino.

Harrison resigned as superintendent

in June 2021 after 10 months in the position, stating he decided to pursue other opportunities that would allow him to engage in his commitment to improving outcomes for all students without the burdens of district administration.

The Republican Board of Education candidates also shared on their Facebook page a Hearst Connecticut Media article about Harrison’s resignation on Sept. 14, just hours into his first day on the job.

Passarelli spoke about Harrison after her slate won the Republican nomination on Sept. 14. She said that the district says it is not teaching critical race theory and asked what Harrison’s purpose is in the district.

“Any last hope there wasn’t critical race theory being woven into the Guilford school system has been squashed,” Passarelli said.

When asked about these claims on Friday, Freeman said that critical race theory was not taught in Harrison’s old district, has never been taught in Guilford, and, to his knowledge, in any K-12 setting in Connecticut.

Similar issues happening across CT

The resistance to Harrison’s equity work is not unusual in the state right now, and the misrepresentation of his and Guilford’s work as critical race theory is not an accurate representation of the facts, the superintendent said.

“These CRT accusations are being used as a way to exaggerate and attack any efforts that are made within schools to build critical thinking skills or to address concerns related to race, equity and support of all our students,” Freeman said in an email.

“Dr. Harrison is here to work directly with families of children and principals to make sure that all students know they are safe, welcomed and supported.

“The presentation and discussion of this topic on social media is often incomplete, inaccurate or just plain wrong,” Freeman added.

Harrison