Brookfield Board of Education Members:

On behalf of the parents and families of Brookfield, Connecticut, we submit this Petition of No Confidence in the Special Education Director Amy DeNicola-Hickman and the Special Education Supervisor Pre-K – 5 Robin Riccitelli, due to a mounting number of reasons which have impacted the learning environment of the children and our staff in Brookfield.  To list a few:  Public untruths; noncompliance regarding the delivery of services per students IEPs; noncompliance by not assigning paraprofessional support to all students who require one per their IEP’s; attack on parents questioning appropriate programming; failure to keep our students personally protected information safe by committing numerous FERPA violations which continue to happen; leading with a hands off and passive aggressive approach when made aware of issues; these two woman have been instrumental in the disbanding of self-contained classrooms by forcing children out of a program that worked for them prior to them being hired and changing the entire structure; placing untrained staff in situations where our most vulnerable students require specialized training; non-attendance at IEP and team meetings; non-compliance by getting parents IEP documents outside the legal time frame; refusal to hold IEP meetings when a parent request one; referring to paraprofessionals as “pokers” and continuing to do so after being asked multiple times to stop; inaccurate and falsified documents given to parents for progress monitoring as well as submitted to the State for review in the complaint process; passing out infant pacifiers to special education and new hires to remind them that they are teaching someone’s babies; calling out Administrators and service providers in PPT’s to cover up their lack of knowledge and oversight of students; making changes to students services and schedules without notifying parents; forcing staff to resign that are unwilling to participate in unethical and unnecessary changes that disrupted students and services as well as overall classroom climate; hostile management style with staff as well as parents in IEP meetings and unfair; and placing unreasonable and unrealistic demands on the teachers and staff.

The parents and families of Brookfield are extremely upset and unhappy with the deterioration we have observed in our school community.  We are stating that the teachers at all the Brookfield Public Schools have endured very poor working conditions, along with a rock bottom climate and culture which the named Administrators have created. The lack of leadership, and inability to make sound decisions which affect our community are constant and numerous. The parents and families of Brookfield, Connecticut no longer have confidence in the Special Education Director or the Special Education Pre-K – Grade 5 Supervisor and their abilities to lead in the roles they were hired to perform.

The parents and families of our community have been told to follow the chain of command and we have done just that.  We have tried to contact and initiate conversations about the lack of leadership and poor decision making, however, those talks fell on ears that have not listened to date. 

Therefore, the parents and families of Brookfield, Connecticut have signed this petition to call for the immediate resignation of the Special Education Director and the Special Education Pre-K – Grade 5 Supervisor.  As you can see, there is an overwhelming majority of parents who are highly dissatisfied with the destructive practices that are affecting our children’s futures.  It is time for action, and the time is now.

The overwhelming majority of parents contend that the Special Education Director and Pre-K to Grade 5 Supervisor are incompetent, non-communicative, ineffective, and exert control by force or fear in their positions as a hired officials overseeing our public schools. These people are damaging and are attempting to damage and discredit our hardworking teachers, paraprofessionals, and service provider reputations.  We have had several staff members already leave.  We need to stop this now before any more of our teachers and staff decide to leave for good.

The Special Education Director and Pre-K – Grade 5 Special Education Supervisor have created an environment that has attacked the morale of the excellent teachers and staff at our schools, they have attempted and created uncertainty in the positions of our public employees in Brookfield.  These actions have been detrimental in the productivity of the schools. Many employees have been afraid to file complaints or complain for fear of retaliation that some staff members have already endured. It is fair to say that our staff is unable to speak regarding what they are seeing as well as experiencing in fear of losing their job and possibly the ability to get another one. 

We understand the severity of this decision and did not arrive at it hastily. Change the culture of the district and the board so that our students, parents, and teachers can feel safe and empowered to finally speak up without fear of retaliation. 

The parents and families of Brookfield, Connecticut request the town to take action and to prevent the Special Education Director and the Special Education Supervisor Pre-K – Grade 5 from causing further damage. The immediate removal of these two women is crucial for this district to begin to heal and once again become a safe and nurturing environment for learning for ALL the children attending Brookfield Public Schools.  

Respectfully Submitted,

Brookfield, Connecticut

Parents and Families