Heroes And Zeros

Mark Maguire questions the Westerly, RI school committee why the need for the expenditure for an outside firm to do an equity audit. He states that an equity audit implies the final goal is the impossibility of an equal outcome although the school committee chair says otherwise.

Gerard Capalbo wonders in amazement why any topics other than improving RICAS scores occupy the time of the Westerly school committee and the school curriculum. He adamantly opposes the availability of questionable materials in the school libraries that distract the young mind from learning educational skills to succeed in life.

Anthony Puscetta delivers an insightful message that children are naturally inquisitive when given options. He cites that providing inappropriate materials will only confuse the minds of children and serves no purpose in their educational development. Furthering his message, he reminds us that early discussion of the birds and the bees in 5th grade led to a broader discussion of sex in later grades. He brings up the jump from that segue to graphic discussion and gender questioning materials is harmful to a young child’s mind.

Fr. Giacomo Capoverde expresses gave concern to the opposition of over content of age inappropriate materials available in the school’s public libraries to the Westerly, RI school committee. He retells his explanation to his 82 year old mother why he felt a need to speak at the public forum portion of the school committee meeting on 10-19-22. After a sensitive and somewhat embarrassing explanation, his mother exclaimed “Isn’t that pornography?” Fr. Capoverde expresses surprise and shock regarding opposition to these questionable materials considering disconnect between the public sentiment and the school committee. The specific target of concern is sexual material regardless of homosexual or heterosexual content. As he further explains his objection to these materials, he stresses that topics of such a sensitive nature should be reserved strictly between the student and the parents. When such materials are available to the student without restriction, a young mind might receive the message as permission to explore their own sexual inquisitiveness and gender identity in diametrical opposition to normal development. He furthers states that pornographic materials confuses the young mind and denigrates women as they are often depicted as sexual objects of desire and not valued as human beings.

Bob Chiarado is a familiar and vocal figure during the open forum portion of the Westerly, RI school committee meetings. He fights passionately for education reforms needed to ensure students are armed with the best possible skills needed to survive and thrive in their future world as adults. During his two part presence at the mic, he lays out an itemized list of complaints against the school committee and the unnecessary wasted effort sidelining what’s important for a quality education. Below is an enumerated listing of those wasted efforts. 1. Lying of Facebook content regarding BLM postings of Alicia Storey 2. Implicit bias training of school teachers 3. Inordinate costs for APRA materials 4. Denials of teaching of racialized and radicalized curricula 5. Collusion of WTA and ARC to pack meeting and given notice of sign-up sheets 6. Violation of Parent Pupil Rights Act regarding opting out of certain surveys 7. Continued support of RIASC after DOJ targeted concerned parents as domestic terrorists 8. Probable collusion with NEARI that violated the Janus decision remedied after brought to light 9. Inappropriate TikTok videos by two teachers showing students faces violating FERPA laws 10. Allowance of in classroom age inappropriate books of suicide and gender sensitive materials 11. The reluctance to remove Gender Queer from school libraries in spite of public complaints 12. Guarded information of secret committee to review objectionable age inappropriate books 13. Policy changes for open forum intended to discourage public participation with limitations 14. Issuance of three raises for Superintendent within five years while teachers received crumbs 15. $26k per pupil spent while garnishing mediocre RICAS scores

Tiara Mack is a sitting Senate District 6 legislator in Providence, RI. Is this what RI needs, a circus sideshow?

Put on your seatbelts. You’re in for a bumpy ride. Description alone cannot properly convey the sentiment and accuracy of a discussion prior to approving an equity audit to Public Consulting Group for the Westerly school system. In twisted pretzel logic, Mr. Cilino gives a head spinning explanation why he felt there was a need to do an equity audit simply because the prior education audits didn’t show him the data he was trying to find. That is, he was looking for a racial component that audits did not show to be true. Confused? You should be. He’s proffering a possible need for solutions even though the audit has not even commenced. Chrisitine Cooke gives well thought out comments at the 5:06 and 12:52 timestamps. Rebecca Fowler has severe reservations about the need for a vote with not being able to discuss with Public Consulting Group at the 8:38 timestamp. Yet, votes Yea anyway. Guiseppe Gencarelli at 10:26. “We are nowhere close the middle.” Here’s how the Westerly school committee voted in a 4-3 decision. Note email addresses provided. Yeas: Michael Ober mober@westerly.k12.ri.us Robert Cilino rcillino@westerly.k12.ri.us Rebecca Fowler rfowler@westerly.k12.ri.us Diane Bowdy dbowdy@westerly.k12.ri.us Nays: Christine Cooke ccooke@westerly.k12.ri.us Guiseppe Gencarelli ggencarelli@westerly.k12.ri.us Marianne Nardone mnardone@westerly.k12.ri.us

Jane Brockman speaks with a resounding negative on the need for an equity audit that is a solution in search of a problem. She points out that equity audits are nothing more than pseudo-science that will turn over every rock and will find every evils they are seeking. ESSER funds should be used to help children with real needs instead of funding the pseudo-science that will cause nothing but division. Benchmarks for students have been routinely performed with scholastic scores at their core. Equity audits will do nothing but harm children with social issues not related to teaching reading, writing or arithmetic.

0:00 Nicole Solas kicks off the RI Chapter of the Independent Women's Network 13:00 Chris Elston aka, Billboardchris, brings awareness to gender ideology and the harm to children. 01:03:14 Attorney Candice Jackson speaks on possible legal avenues for parents who believe their children are being compelled to align with gender ideology without the parents knowledge or consent.

Bob Chiarado expounds on his position that he appears at Westerly, RI school committee meetings for the safety of students and educational gains and not for personal or group gains. He continues on compliance of surveys with respect to PPRA (Protection of Pupils Rights Act) given to students as they pertain to the eight specific categories where active consent of parents prior to a student taking the survey. Upon request, parents are to be given copies of the surveys prior. Curriculum guidance in the PPRA must be observed. He also questions the vote taken by the school committee as it was confusing whether it was to approve and equity audit of have Public Consulting Group come in to explain their methods.

Bob Chiaradio strongly opposes the vote & need for an equity audit in the town of Westerly, RI. He points out the choice of a Public Consulting Group was done in a secret subcommittee unbeknownst to other members of the Westerly School Committee. In 2019, XQ+RI in partnership with Rhode Island Department of Education created a form called an Education Opportunity Audit. The 2019 equity audit-lite did not take in the look through a racial lens because it would not be found to be a significant sample size. This audit proved race was not a factor. So, the question remains, why in 2022 does Westerly need an equity audit? Perhaps under the pressure of Rhode Island Department of Education?

Equity audits might seem like a fair venture to do in the name of equality for all. However, it could not be further from the truth. Equity audits are Marxist ideas that seeks to divide and separate Americans in group each seeking to further their own agendas. Read the article below from AMAC for a better understanding. https://amac.us/equity-is-dangerous-marxism-is-not-american/

Bob Chiaradio exposes attempts to silence his testimony and that of others because the truth and facts are being brought to light in contrast to the sugary coating applied to the school department’s direction to separate the child from the parent. Mr. Chiaradio also discusses the ACTIVE CONSENT component of the U.S Department of Education’s PPRA (Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment) which states student surveys will have the opt-in (parent must give consent) vs. opt-out (parent not notified) prior consent to the student taking the survey. This would hinder and possibly negate any attempts by the NEA, RIASC or NEARI to collect data on students. The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) applies to the programs and activities of a state education agency (SEA), local education agency (LEA), or other recipient of funds under any program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It governs the administration to students of a survey, analysis, or evaluation that concerns one or more of the following eight protected areas: 1. political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent; 2. mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family; 3. sex behavior or attitudes; 4. illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior; 5. critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships; 6. legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers; 7. religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent; or 8. income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program). PPRA also concerns marketing surveys and other areas of student privacy, parental access to information, and the administration of certain physical examinations to minors. The rights under PPRA transfer from the parents to a student who is 18 years old or an emancipated minor under state law.

Bob Chiaradio attends Westerly, RI school committee meetings to fight for the protection of children in the while in the care of the schools. He explains that Westerly taxpayers and parents do not trust the school committee because of the lack of transparency or a clandestine agenda of progressive intent that further separates the student from the parent. He is still waiting for APRA response for the location and purpose of nine copies of the controversial book Gender Queer that is supposed to be read by the school committee.

Robert Chiaradio is a familiar voice during the Westerly, RI school committee meetings. There is a public comment portion of the meeting where people are allowed to speak freely of what’s on their minds. Mr. Chiaradio is a frequent speaker for the protection of students from indoctrination that includes materials unsuitable in a classroom setting funded by taxpayers. A few members of the school committee, including superintendent Garceau, and a Westerly school teacher volleyed a series of attacks on him expressing their displeasure over his content. Sadly, the Westerly teacher tried to define the limits of his 1st amendment rights according to her definition and restriction.

Bob Chiaradio received information that no less than nine firms submitted bids to do equity audits for the town of Westerly, RI. However, it was discovered that a subcommittee with just a few members was formed to make a selection from the bidders list. School committee chair Diane Bowdy failed to notify the entire membership of the school committee keeping them out of the loop and discussion within this subcommittee. Within the prior week to the current school committee meeting of 9/7/22, this selection process was an agenda item prior to winning bid selection. Once it was discovered the clandestine meeting had already taken place and a Boston firm was selected, the agenda item was removed from the meeting of 9/7/22. Mr. Chiaradio asserts that the once removed agenda item to select a winning bid will be placed as a legitimate agenda item for the 9/21/22 school committee meeting.

Go to the 4:22 mark where she asks the school committee and current administrator to “shut down the rhetoric at the podium at first breathe” thus killing free speech. Carmela Sammataro is a Westerly, RI teacher that claims harassment, bullying and attacks on teachers and school curriculim have no basis and must stop. However, she wants to silence the voice of Westerly resident Robert Chiaradio for bringing to light issues facing the school system and especially the students in the care of teachers.

Our good Westerly teachers are being taken for a ride by NEA, NEARI, and the Westerly Teacher's Assn (WTA). This district had been in violation of SCOTUS decision Janus v AFSCME for four years! Also, their union dues go to pay the salaries of fat cats at NEARI, as well as the evil political agenda of the NEA.

Gerard Capalbo wants to stress that parents must because knowledgeable and involved with the Westerly school system so they can be aware of their child's environment while in the care of the schools they attend.

All teachers will now have to keep an updated log of all non-curriculum mandated books in their classrooms, and provide a list of these books to parents/guardians. Parents can then opt their kids out of any book they feel is inappropriate for their child.

Seth Logan introduces a very interesting idea where books in the school libraries would be given a rating much like the motion pictures association with movies. Seth brings up that the school system reinforces bad behavior and violence but sends mixed message with books that include violence, sex and drug use. He offers the efforts of parents to help teachers catalogue materials.

Michael Johnson begins remarks with the school department’s mission statement. He suggests that more people be involved with the education of the students in care of Westerly, RI schools. He points out that COVID created a rift between the community and the schools but also highlighted the shortcomings.

Gerard Capalbo stresses that families need to be involved with the curriculum placed on their children including the opt-out option with materials available. He points out that the United States spends more money per student than any other country in the world but we placed 18th-28th place in scholastic standings because schools aren’t teaching just the basics. A friend of his works in a hospital and tells the story of school aged kids coming in to the emergency room with psychiatric issues because they are dealing with subjects and topics causing confusion when their minds are still evolving.