Although the baby in this picture is absolutely adorable, there is nothing adorable about the discrimination, retaliation, and harassment my child and I have experienced at the hands of the City Department of Education (DOE).
The picture above represents my confusion about the outcome and the lack of strategic solutions a Chancellor’s Strategic Response Group representative provided. I felt just as confused and clueless after speaking to Lisette Roman, a representative from the Chancellor’s office.
Below, read my experience with the Chancellor’s Strategic Response Group.
On October 8, 2019, at 10:52AM, I received a call from Lisette Roman. Even though I was listening to her voicemail then, I felt intrigued about who she was. I was particularly intrigued because, in her voicemail, she mentioned receiving a letter that I had written to a school official of the City DOE.
Background: In April and July 2018, I sent two certified letters to a City DOE official.
I truly believed that speaking with Lisette Roman would eliminate the violations I am experiencing. The same day, on October 8, 2019, at 3:24PM, I immediately called Lisette Roman, who answered the phone.
I introduced myself, and within seconds, she remembered who I was.
She told me she was calling to address the issues I had stated in the letter. She noted the letter was forwarded to her by email. I conveyed in detail the violations I have experienced, the allegations in the letter, and the circumstances surrounding the ACS investigation and accusations. While she spoke, I realized she never expressed where and who she works for, so I asked her, and she stated, “from the chancellor’s office.” As our conversation continued, she mentioned I should contact the City Department of Education (DOE) District 4 superintendent’s office regarding this matter. She says that I should speak with Elio Valdez, the family support coordinator of District 4, and Nancy Periera, the family leadership coordinator of District 4.
I told her I had already contacted Elio Valdez and Nancy Periera. I contacted Elio Valdez five times between October 2017 and May 2018 and Nancy Periera twice. I have emailed, called, and made face-to-face visits to Elio Valdez at the superintendent’s office and filed a grievance report in his presence. Although he said he would get back to me, he never did. I never received a follow-up email, call, or resolution from either one.
That is not all…
I have also reached out to district 4 Superintendent Alexandra Estrella five times by email and certified mail and I have never received a response or resolution from her. NOT ONE TIME. She is the boss of both Nancy Periera and Elio Valdez and neither one of them as administrator or staff of the district 4 superintendent office and City DOE assisted me with this issue.
In June 2018, when I wrote a personal letter to superintendent Alexandra Estrella about how my minor child and I were harassed, discriminated and retaliated upon, she never responded to me. Even in June 2017, when I emailed superintendent Alexandra Estrella as my child experienced persistent bullying, she did not even reply to my email at all.
In my opinion, this is a sad state of our educational system, unfortunately. We have many “leaders” who are not leading.
Nonetheless, Ms. Roman stated she wants to know all the NYC DOE staff I have contacted regarding the violations with ACS, the educational records, and much more. She provided her email address and requested a list of all the NYC DOE staff I contacted for assistance. Before concluding our conversation, she asked me what I wanted and what resolution I sought in the matter. I tell her (1) I want to place my son back in school, but that I want him to be in a safe environment, (2) I want a FERPA hearing pursuant to the Chancellor’s regulation A-820 to address the unauthorized release of educational records.
I emailed Ms. Roman at lroman12@schools.nyc.gov, at 5:05 AM on October 9, 2019. I provided her with the list of NYC DOE staff and officials I have spoken to and reached out to by name, dates, method of communication, and frequency of seeking resolution. It was October 18, 2019, when I realized I had not heard back from Ms. Roman since our initial conversation, so I called her at 1:16PM, got her voicemail, and left a voicemail to follow up with our conversation from October 8, 2019. In listening to her voicemail greeting, it was then that I first discovered she works for the Chancellor’s Strategic Response Group. I immediately researched the Chancellor’s Strategic Response Group and found online articles.
Read some of the research and articles I found below:
https://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-nyc-doe-strategic-response-group.html
https://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/2015/08/carmen-farina-and-chancellors-strategic.html
Regardless of the articles, I continued to reach out to Ms. Roman. She works for the Chancellor’s office, and I was seeking a FERPA solution and hearing under NYC DOE Chancellor’s regulation A-820, so I believed if there was anyone who had the power and ability to commence, refer, or appoint someone or a department in initiating or conducting the FERPA hearing, it was her. There is no better person than Lisette Roman, right? After all, I was seeking a hearing under regulation A-820, and she was calling from the CHANCELLOR’S strategic response office, so to me, she was the solution to my request & problem, or so I thought.
I contacted Ms. Roman. several times and left her separate voicemail messages. Here are the dates I reached out to Ms. Roman after October 18, 2019:
- October 24, 2019, at 4:37PM
- November 1, 2019, at 3:26PM
- November 12, 2019, at 2:08PM
- November 20, 2019, at 4:08PM
- November 26, 2019, at 2:12PM
- December 4, 2019, at 11:16AM (EMAIL)
- December 5, 2019, at 10:37AM
- January 14, 2020, at 12:14 PM
I have not heard back from Ms. Roman regarding our conversation or any of the resolutions I seek. She has not called me back since our initial conversation, not even to explain why she could not help me.
She completely ghosted me…
It is inconceivable that a parent would ever have to be treated this way and that many of our children may not feel safe in an environment that is supposed to educate millions of children.
There was nothing responsive or strategic about how Ms. Roman or the strategic response group handled my concerns. There was no resolution or conflict reduction but continuous disparaging and careless behavior.
Katia For Justice 
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