The Alma Exley Scholarship Program honored two UConn students and cited State Senator Douglas McCrory as its first Diversity Champion in a virtual celebration on April 5 attended by more than 50 supporters, public officials, and educators including previous scholarship recipients.

Receiving scholarships were Saraya Lewis, a junior secondary English major, and Tamashi Hettiarachchi, a master’s student in chemistry education. Read more.

The Alma Exley Scholarship Program honored Senator McCrory as its first Diversity Champion, in recognition of his accomplishments in advancing educator diversity in Connecticut’s public schools.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, a 1998 recipient of the Alma Exley Scholarship, congratulated Ms. Lewis and Ms. Hettiarachchi by video.

Long-Time Advocate

Senator McCrory has long been an advocate for greater diversity in the educator workforce in Connecticut. He has been an eloquent spokesperson for educator diversity.

He has represented Hartford, Bloomfield, and Windsor in the State Senate since 2018. Previously, he served six terms in the state House of Representatives.

He is the father of important legislation to bolster minority teacher recruitment and retention. Last year, he led bipartisan approval of legislation implementing a variety of initiatives to promote greater educator diversity.

In 2019, as Chairman of the Education Committee, he was instrumental in crafting and passing legislation implementing the inclusion of African American and Latino American studies – first in the nation — and he continues to work to update and improve the state’s school curriculum.

Diversity Initiatives

Over the years, Senator McCrory has supported a variety of diversity initiatives. He was instrumental in:

• The creation of the Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council. The council is developing strategies for educator diversity and cultural competency instruction for teachers and future teachers.
• Legislation ensuring fairness in teacher certification and to streamline certification of bilingual teachers.
• Supporting a law several years ago to require school districts to hire at least 250 new minority teachers and administrators per year. Over the past five years, school districts hired more than 1,900 new minority educators.

         An educator for 30 years, he has served as a teacher and administrator in Hartford Public Schools and currently is in a leadership position at the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC).

 

Nadine Rosa has been named Teacher of the Year at Oliver H. Platt High School in Meriden for 2021-2022.

Students ‘Bring Me Joy’

“I put my heart and soul into teaching, and it’s wonderful to be appreciated and recognized,” she said. “My students are the reason I get up every morning. They bring me joy. They make a difference in my life, and if I can make a difference in their lives, it will benefit not only them but all of us in the community as well.”

Ms. Rosa, who grew up in Meriden, began her career at Platt High School in 1995 as a paraeducator. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Southern Connecticut State University. The Alma Exley Scholarship Program honored her in 2004 when she was pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Saint Joseph, and she became a special-education teacher in 2007.

At least two other Alma Exley Scholars have been named Teacher of the Year at their schools, Desi Nesmith, when he was teaching at Mayberry School in East Hartford, and Ollie-Rubiah Williams Oliver, a teacher at the Farmington Valley Diagnostic Center.

Platt Principal Dan Corsetti presented Ms. Rosa with the award in a ceremony at which he unveiled a banner recognizing her as Teacher of the Year. He also read laudatory comments from her colleagues who had nominated her for the honor.

Promoting Equity

Ms. Rosa is a member of the Platt Equity Team and represents her school at meetings of an affinity group for educators of color in Central Connecticut. She is also active on the Ninth Grade Team, which supports students as they make the transition from middle school to high school.

As an active member of the Positive School Climate Club, she has taken the lead in posting huge hallway displays for the celebration of Hispanic Heritage, Black History, LGBT History, Women’s History, and Diversity Month. Teachers said the displays helped to create a positive climate in the school during the pandemic.

The display for Hispanic Heritage Month features an image of U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, a former Meriden teacher and administrator. When Secretary Cardona was interviewed by a Hartford TV station, he arranged for the interview to be conducted in front of the display.

Financing Giveaways

As part of her efforts to promote a positive school climate, she used her own funds for giveaways to students such as T-shirts (which she made), books, and water bottles. Subsequently, the school system established a small budget to continue the giveaways.

Being named Teacher of the year has resulted in recognition for Ms. Rosa beyond the school. The Meriden Record-Journal interviewed her during Hispanic Heritage Month and produced a live Facebook interview.

“I’m honored to be named Teacher of the Year,” she said, “and I’m grateful for this recognition from my colleagues.”

U.S Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona was inducted into the Meriden Hall of Fame on Sunday. His acceptance speech was a love letter to his family and the city of Meriden.

Prior to joining President Biden’s cabinet last year, Dr. Cardona served as a teacher, principal, and district leader in Meriden and as state commissioner of education for Connecticut.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, congratulating Dr. Cardona at the ceremony, said, “There is nobody in the president’s cabinet right now who is doing more to advance the agenda of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we have today to rebuild America.”

Secretary Cardona began his eloquent, emotional, and passionate speech by recalling the fear and trepidation he experienced on his first day of kindergarten.

A Daunting Start to His Educational Career

“My first day of school is memorable,” he said. “I wore a cocoa brown, three-piece suit to school. I remember that day as one of my first life memories. I remember seeing all those big kids, and an overwhelming fear came over me. I thought to myself, ‘I cannot do this.’

“I remember crying so much on my first day that the nurse had to call my mom to come and pick me up. As I sat in the nurse’s office, I was nauseous. My stomach was in knots. I was dejected and confused. I submitted to the fact that I wasn’t cut out for this school thing. At that moment, I made the decision that I was never going back. As I went home with my mami, I was thankful for two things: one that I had a cocoa brown suit on and two, that my mom quickly gave me a bath. You do the math. Put a pin in this story; I’ll come back to it later.”

He thanked the Meriden Historical Society and the Meriden Hall of Fame and said he was honored to share the recognition with the other honorees, Bruce Burchsted, Rose Cignatta, Larry Pelletier, and the late Philip Handel.

Sharing the Honor with Family

“This award is special,” he said, “because it acknowledges my lived experiences. It’s a culmination of who I am, and I cannot accept this without sharing it with the people who shaped those experiences.”

Of his wife, Marissa, and children, Miguel Jr. and Celine, he said, “You give me purpose. Just thinking of the three of you pushes me to do my best.” He went on to thank his extended family and friends, saying, “You shaped my life so significantly that without you I wouldn’t be here.”

Following are excerpts from the rest of the speech:

“Sarah and Hector (Miguel’s mother and father), you taught me to treat everyone with the same level of dignity and respect, regardless of whether it’s the person cleaning my office or the president of the United States. Mami, since day one, you taught me service, humility, and sacrifice. You never complained. You persevered. Papi, I have the honor of being the second most well-known Cardona in Meriden. One of my greatest titles to this day is to be referred to as Hector’s kid. To my family, this honor is as much yours as it is mine.

Community: A Profound Influence

“When thinking about who I should thank, I couldn’t help but go back to a person who has been with me since day one. Someone who has had my back when I did well, but who was also there for me when I failed. This is someone who I relied on and always felt comfortable around no matter what I was experiencing. This person accepted me for me and made me feel like I was not less than anyone else.

“The only issue here is that this person isn’t actually a person. It’s a place. It’s Meriden. In preparing my remarks, I felt that I had to personify the city because of its impact on me. Like the influence of my family, my entrance into the Hall of Fame is because I learned life lessons from Meriden. In fact, I embody qualities as a person that Meriden has as a city. The city of Meriden and what it represents permeated into my DNA and shaped me to be the person who is being honored.

“You see, from Meriden I learned grittiness. I learned you can go from Washington Middle School to Washington, D.C. You can translate your passion for equity by celebrating Puerto Rican festivals with Papi or talking safe school reopening with POTUS. It’s the same grittiness and the same passion that I got from these streets here in Meriden. And from Meriden I got resilience and never giving up. I wouldn’t trade this blue-collar community for any other life.

Never Give Up

“I would say I was born rich. No silver spoon growing up, but I lacked nothing. Meriden taught me that when things get tough you get tougher. And you never give up. We don’t give up on ourselves. We don’t give up on our families. And we don’t give up on our community.

“From Meriden I learned to lead with a chip on my shoulder. To be fueled by the doubters and those who have lowered their expectations for me. Meriden taught me that. Throughout my life, like Meriden, when surrounded by others that may have a sense of superiority or question my potential, I rise and I exceed expectations, like Meriden.

“Part of the reason why I have a remote office here. . . is to make sure that when I’m having bi-lateral conversations with people in other countries or forgiving billions of dollars in student loans or standing up for transgender students, I’m doing it from downtown Meriden and nowhere else.

‘I’m Nothing Without Community’

“Don’t bet against me, and don’t bet against Meriden. From Meriden I learned to lead with a greater purpose. My experience as a teacher, a principal, assistant superintendent, and life-long resident taught me that I’m nothing without community. That this community has given me more than I have ever given it. That its people who are different colors, come from different backgrounds, and have different abilities and beliefs make up this beautiful tapestry that allowed me to expand my understanding.

“You see, whether I’m talking to a parent or someone who wants to share a story with me at the farmers’ market, or discussing diplomacy with the King of Spain, Meriden taught me to see the person and not the title. That’s why I say I’m the same from the barrio to the briefing room. Meriden taught me that.

“I accept this honor on behalf of all of us who recognize how important this community is. Meriden, you’re as much a part of my success as my family and my education. You are a piece of me, and I am a piece of you. Your virtues became my virtues. Your attribute of grittiness, that chip on your shoulder, that resilience — they became my attributes because of Meriden.

A Journey Propelled by Grit

“And that is why that scared five-year-old kid who didn’t make it through his first day of school got back up and went back. He went back to school on day two. And then he went back on day three. And then he kept going. Then he went to Washington Middle School. He went to Wilcox Tech. And because of that grittiness, that resilience, that chip on his shoulder, he wanted to go to college, get his master’s, get his doctorate, be a teacher, a principal, a district leader, lead the state. And like Meriden, people questioned and wondered if he would make it, but he just kept going. And because of Meriden, that scared five-year-old is now humbled to serve as the top educator in the best country in the world.

“There’s nothing special about me, and there’s nothing special about my story. I’m just a goofy little kid born at Yale Acres, lived on Lewis Ave, Newton Street, came from a great family and a wonderful community. So when my picture hangs in the hallway of our City Hall or you see me on a plaque or you see me on TV, think of Meriden and how there are thousands of quiet and maybe even scared little kids like I was who are being shaped by our beautiful city and remember in those kids there lies potential to change the world.”