To The Editor:

After reading the nonsense in “The Politicization of Newtown’s Educational Model” posted last week, some perspective is needed. Our Board of Education, administration, and faculty have been focusing on our student’s social/emotional learning for years. Our Board of Education members, both Democrats and Republicans, have dedicated countless hours in asking how we, as a district, are addressing the social emotional wellness of our students as well as our faculty. Our graduates are succeeding in college and as community members; I am not sure where the writer invents the idea that our children cannot succeed with real life challenges. Education has greatly changed over the past decades and it is not easy for someone who has left the field to see how it has changed. The focus on our students’ mental health has dramatically shifted over the years as insurance companies continually cut back reimbursement in order to increase profits. Again, the writer does not show any understanding of what schools are facing. As a social worker, special education teacher, and administrator since the 1990s, I know first hand the challenges that families and educators face on a daily basis.

One person who clearly understands the challenge, though, is Rebekah Harriman-Stites, who the writer complains of her ambitions to seek state office. The misogyny here is obvious as we have another man complaining that a younger woman is committing the crime of having ambitions for herself. In this case, the ambitions are to bring her extensive knowledge of what is facing our youth, our teachers and faculty, our seniors, and our entire community to the State House of Representatives. The claim that the BOE, and therefore Rebekah, have failed our students’ mental health is ludicrous. Rebekah’s leadership in student mental health has led to increased grant funding for mental health staff in all of our schools when none was coming from Hartford. She has worked tirelessly with all members of the Board of Education in reviewing and updating policies that will move our schools forward. Being able to be bipartisan and reach across the aisle on issues demonstrates that she and the Board of Education are not a polarized political board and her mindset is what we need in Hartford.

Eric Paradis

85 Riverside Road, Sandy Hook July 15, 2020