The North Haven
Cit iz izen en Your Town, Your News
Volume 4, Number 42
BOE resolves parent’s ADA complaint By David Marchesseault Special to the Citizen
Prior to the regular North Haven Board of Education meeting for October, an open American Disabilities Act hearing was held on behalf of a 20-year-old student with Down syndrome who attends classes at the high school. The complaint was filed by the father of the student, stating that he was seeking a “reasonable accommodation” for his son. He had requested that the district provide transportation to an after school program at the Green Acres Elementary School. The point of contention between the school system and the parent related to a denial of bus service running from the high school to the elementary school which would require the youth to ride the bus with younger students. The
policy prohibiting such an arrangement has long been upheld and maintained by the school district. The program, provided primarily for elementary youngsters after school, is offered by the YMCA and is not part of the older boy’s Individualized Education Plan. Nor is the provision of the special transportation, thus the responsibility for providing the busing was questioned by the administration. Consequently, Director of Business and Operations, Edward Gomeau, and Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Patricia Brozek, had denied the request based on existing district policy. However, after discussion by the board, Superintendent Sara-Jane Querfeld suggested an arrangement for special transportation that would fall within regulations, thus resolving the is-
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sue to the parent’s satisfaction and eliminating the complaint. Anthony Giamattei, a guidance counselor at the local middle school, was recognized by a representative of the Connecticut School Counselor Association last Thursday at the Board of Education meeting for promoting excellence within the student body. In presenting the award, Pamela Anderson explained that her organization is an advocate for counselors and attempts to showcase exemplary comprehensive school counseling programs which focus on the development of pupil skills. The framed certificate noted that the North Haven Middle School guidance program developed by Giamattei, which is entitled “Career University,” facili-
Friday, October 16, 2009
First Selectman candidates make local connections
Citizen photo by Kyle Swartz
Selectman Michael Freda introduces Gov. M. Jodi Rell to Wes and Deborah Ward-O’Brien at Athena diner. See full story on page 5.
See BOE, page 8
Parents urged to attend Internet safety seminar By Kyle Swartz The North Haven Citizen
As the Internet rapidly expands, and social networks and chat rooms attract larger crowds, the risk of encountering an online predator increases, especially for the younger and older generations. Thankfully, a group of alert North Haven residents have taken action and organized an adult-only Internet safety seminar to be held in the high school auditorium at 7 p.m. on Oct. 28. “As a parent, our voices have been replaced with headphones, computer screens, and keyboards,” said Department of Community Services Youth Services Administrator Nancy Leddy. “We don’t know what conversations our kids are having, because we don’t hear them or see them.”
Leddy has joined forces with Deputy Police Chief Thomas McLoughlin and state PTA treasurer and former North Haven Middle School PTSA president Mary Pisani. The three engineered the Oct. 28 event, which will be hosted by former detective and Hamden police officer, and current University of New Haven professor of criminal justice Peter Massey. McLoughlin said that Massey is an expert in online crime. Massey held a similar seminar in North Haven several years ago. The professor projected his computer onto a large screen and demonstrated for those in attendance how effortless it was for a youth to find trouble. “He went online and acted as an adolescent,” McLoughlin said. “He showed how easy and how quick it was to be lured.”
The professor will give a similar presentation for his 2009 seminar. McLoughlin hopes that adults of all ages will attend. “The purpose is to raise awareness that as much as the Internet is a great place for information, it is also a place of danger,” McLoughlin said. “There are people there who are looking to take advantage of not just of kids, but the elderly as well. They’re just as fragile when it comes to being scammed.” The seminar is not intended for teenagers or younger, according to Massey. The presentation will include graphic content, as well as sensitive information intended only for parents. “Basically, he will hit on the Internet as a whole,” McLoughlin said of Massey’s seminar, “how the See Internet, page 8
Photo courtesy of Judy Amarone
First Selectman Janet McCarty shares a friendly moment with Henry Kluppelholz at a senior luncheon hosted by the Democrats. See story on page 3.
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