Where do I begin? In the words of one Hartford Board of Education official, they "dropped the ball" on this one. That is putting it lightly to say the least.
I can not think of any greater trust than that placed in those responsible for the care of children and the children they care for..
Hartford Assistant Superintendent of Schools Eduardo Genoa is innocent until proven guilty, but if our system really works, that Justice will come swiftly and be severe. My phone and e-mail have been swamped today with people that are claiming to be victims of Genao as well as others that have outlined a pattern of deception by those in power at the Board of Education that have been complicit in the cover-up of Genao's behavior.
At least two callers depicted a pattern of abuse that had allegedly begun when Genao was in the New York City Schools and apparently some in Hartford were aware of this when he departed NYC and landed in his new hunting ground of Hartford, Connecticut. According to sources that behavior continued in the Hartford Schools. and first manifested itself at the Sports Sciences Academy when it was on Asylum Street in downtown Hartford. Genao's activities there apparently continued and after a complaint by a student's parent he was taken away from Children and moved into the Adult Education program on Washington Street.
Similar to a heroin addict craving their next fix, Genao continued his behavior there and was accused of improper behavior with a staff person. He was then shuffled off to the Superintendents Office. Unfortunately, even being buried away in the Super's Office did not curtail his activities. He still found a way to continue his predatory behavior until that behavior was revealed publicly yesterday. Does any of this sound like another organization that had a history of shuffling their pedophiles around to avoid detection?
Why? Why is it so difficult to hold pedophiles accountable and bring them to justice. Is it because they are in positions of authority? Is it because they wear clerical garb and collars or hold the title of Superintendent of Schools ? Is it because we want to believe that they could never prey on the same children they are entrusted to protect and nurture?
I don't need to pat myself on the back here, but when I received the call last Monday about Genao's behavior, I dropped everything. The sense of urgency to stop the potential abuse of a child was my first priority. My phone call to Deputy Chief Foley was made within minutes, if not seconds. Chief Foley's response was very similar I am sure. The wheels of Justice were set in motion immediately
I guess as I found out more facts my discomfort with the situation increased, as well as my disgust with the hierarchy of the Hartford Board of Education, specifically the Superintendents Office.. I have said for a very long time that the Hartford Schools are not about educating children, it is clearly more about making very good salaries for the people at the top. This incident proves that.
Doctor Aaron Lewis , who first attempted to bring this situation to light, probably could have been more aggressive in his reporting attempts. Without making excuses for his actions, it is an are none of us have much experience in and hopefully never will have. How do you report and stop a predator.
My real disgust begins with Doctor Gislaine Ngounou a Hartford Assistant Superintendent of Schools who proves my earlier theory about the Hartford Schools being more about high salaries than about children and education. From a webpage on the University of Hartford website describing Dr .Ngounou, she is quoted as saying "Through her work with the Children’s Defense Fund’s Freedom Schools, she discovered her true calling: to dedicate her life’s work to improving opportunities and outcomes for young people and communities, especially those that have been marginalized and under served. Ngounou believes in the power of education, organizing, teamwork, narrative and self-empowerment—to help individuals and communities transform themselves, and to bring about a more socially just world.
This is the same person who was having a "hectic" day and was too busy to act when confronted by the allegations of improper contact with a student that Dr. Lewis tried to inform her of on March 22, 2016. To see more of Dr. Ngounou's profile, click here
Even more troubling is the fact that Ngounou also functions as the Chief of Staff for Hartford's Superintendent of Schools Dr. Beth Schiavino-Narvaez Apparently Ngounou never notified Narvaez of the allegations against Genao. That seems to be the height of irresponsible behavior and makes me wonder why Ngounou is even there. Clearly it is not to protect the children and definitely not to assist the Superintendent. There is a $180,000 budget cut I could recommend immediately and Ngounou should do the right thing and resign today and join Eddie Genao in the unemployment line and quite possibly in court as a defendant for their behavior.
There needs to be a wholesale investigation as to what happened and who swept what under the rug and a complete housecleaning of the people at 960 Main Street that need to understand that they are there for the children, not the salaries.
And it appears that the arrest of Eddie is imminent. Justice for the child victims.
16 comments:
I can understand your frustration and I share in that frustration. there are some very dedicated and capable leaders and staff that make up the Hartford schools and within the central office. Why is everyone a target for the acts of some? Lets refocus our anger where it is due and not sterotype the entire system here. Aren't we beyond that as a community and isn't stereotyping all for the acts of some what we are fighting nationally to eliminate? Let's do our part here to hold those that are accountable, accountable, without blaming everyone.
I am not trying to paint everyone with a wide brush, I have tried to be specific with my disgust and name the people I am disgusted with. How many people in the Superintendent's office are making over $100,000 a year. Probably all of them/ How many teachers are making over $100,000 a year? Probably none of them. If a teacher failed to protect a student like Ngoudou, did they probably would have been fired (and arrested) by now. The accountability tone needs to be set from the top down. Any bets on anyone at the top losing their jobs?
How are you so bias?? You leave Rich Wareing out of this? In everyone's opunion- he is more culpable. C'mon Kevin. We know he is your friend but be honest. Show his email.
eyebrowski,
look again, his e-mail was in the first posting
Why hast Mayor Bronin said anything about this scandal? Does he think that sex between a 60 year old man and a 13 year old girl is ok? Will Bronin buy the argument that the girl came onto Mr Genao?
A GREAT BIG DITTO FROM ME - a first for Richard Wareing having nothing to say. I am betting he will not be at the next BOE meeting. He probably will not see the event on his calendar. In November I was at a BOE meeting where an Asst. Supt. put stickers on students and Richard was the first to call for his resignation. Let's see if he will be tendering his resignation or insisting the Chief of Staff tender her resignation.
Let me first say to be clear, there are NO excuses for the actions of Mr Genao and he should get his just punishment. I also am not trying to blame anyone other than Mr Genao. Having said that, as a mother to a young daughter, I am troubled by something and hoping other points, including yours Kevin, may be able to open my eyes. It is reported the mom found the texts from Mr Genao to her 13 yr old daughter on March 22 and brought those texts forward to Dr Lewis for help. The texts at that point were "inappropriate" as reported but not yet the disgusting filth that followed soon thereafter. Where I am stuck, is why the mom did not immediately go into mom protection mode to help protect her daughter from continuing to be Mr Genao's victim? She asked for other to be held accountable but as a mom, what about you and your responsibilities first and foremost to your child? When my daughter got her first "smart" phone we found her in a similar situation (there are disgusting and perverted people in this world!). We immediately contacted the police with the texts, we blocked the number so my daughter could not be contacted again by the sicko, and we took the phone away for a period until we felt safe that it was over. my husband contacted the person and let him know he was turned over to the police (In hindsight that last part was probably foolish given he could have escaped justice). Children are too precious to WAIT for someone else to respond. i know if I were faced with a similar situation again, I would not wait for someone else to take action but do all I could to stop it and protect my child.
I know this is very frustrating, and that many people have let, and keep letting children down. I just think that it's easy to place blame when you don't know the whole story. I agree with some previous comments that Dr. Lewis should have called the police himself immediately, instead of waiting. Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing, fine, I get that...
I also am highly disappointed and angry at the HPS Administration, but what really worries me is the fact that he has done this for years, and nothing was done. I know you want to pin this on the current Chief of Staff, but where were the adults when he was at SMSA? Adult Ed? This should NEVER have gotten this far. Sigh.... yes they can resign, but the problem remains. Transparency. Unfortunately this, or something similar will happen again, until the system itself changes.
the subject and focus of this scenario is either a child predator/pedophile. Dr. Lewis was obligated to report what was happening, but he is supposed to report to either DCF or the police! I’m trying to understand why he felt it more urgent to report the matter to the predator’s employer…instead of going straight to the police? Why did he need approval or consensus from the Chief of Staff or Board President??? Furthermore, if it was as serious and urgent as he makes it sound, why TEXT? Why not CALL? We all know that text and email transmission facilitates delays in urgency and fosters miscommunication. It’s borderline informal and realistically, when in meetings and presentations, etc—texting is rude, and a distraction!! If you had her cell to text her, why not just call her? The COS has a secretary who is paid to support her. Had Dr. Lewis called and left a message, or continued to call to check in, he could have better detailed the situation highlighting its urgency. Emailing the Board Pres? Again, where was the urgency? Why not call??
As a mom, if I am having a situation with my child that involves someone interacting with my child inappropriately, and I confide in you for help and guidance, you better NOT text or email anyone on my behalf without calling FIRST. I could have done that (text/email) myself! So, now, unfortunately, Dr. Ngounou is the focus of the displacement of blame. I do agree that no matter what, she should have called in response to Dr. Lewis’ initial communication, no matter what—because of the message she received. I also want us to take a look at the fact that Wareing is quiet on this one…I’m sure I’ll sit back and watch “us” drag ourselves through the mud…
10:59am,
I did a search for previous reports and I did not find anything in regards to SMSA or Adult Education. You posted that Mr Genao has been doing this for years and HPS has done nothing. Where is the reporting, the police reports? it appears you have direct knowledge of this, so I ask why YOU didn't report this to the police? For all those that claim to have known something, and for all those that stood quiet, YOU are part of the problem! If you had taken action back then, maybe this child would not be the victim today!!!!!!
I agree with all previous comments about Dr. Lewis being a mandated reporter, why did he wait two weeks? A text? Come on! Also, isn’t his girlfriend a high level executive official at the Board? What is the real reason behind all of this pointing of fingers and not addressing the issue with the urgency it demanded?!
The issue that has not been raised is the privacy issue of former employment. Under penalty of law as well as litigation, a person's previous employment history is either expunged from the record or reasons for dismissal are never included for perspective employers. In this day of almost full exposure of our background, this is atrocious.
No doubt Dr. Lewis should have went to the police much sooner. Having said this, by first going to Wareing and Ngounou he was able to document their lack of response. HPS is controlled by corrupt people who protect their own at the cost students and the community. I hope this finally will bring light to just how corrupt HPS is.
Speaking of protecting their own, why is the Courant avoiding this story?
Great work Kevin.
And let's not forget Hartford wants to "ban the box".
There is no "SHOULD" about any of these administrators going to the police, "sooner". All professional educators are MANDATORY REPORTERS. They MUST, BY LAW, report all allegations of abuse IMMEDIATELY. Since we all have to be background checked as a condition of employment, it goes to show that his behavior has been covered up by multiple administrations over many years.
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