Proposal to change road name for former Worcester school safety director draws public backlash

WORCESTER – A proposal to name a street in front of North High School after a former safety director drew criticism from some residents during a school committee meeting Thursday.

Several people who spoke described former safety director Robert F. Pezzella as a divisive figure who unfairly targeted students of color in his disciplinary practices.

Pezzella served as safety director for Worcester Public Schools from 1997 until March 2023, when he retired. The proposal to name the street after him, which was made by District C member Dianna Biancheria, said Pezzella helped found the North High School Alumni Association and helped create numerous successful programs and initiatives during his time in Worcester.

Pezzella helped create the School Safety Center, which allowed students to bring their school safety concerns directly to the district; as well as the Turn it Around drug education program, which aims to help students found with drugs or alcohol on school grounds.

Biancheria said Pezzella had a major impact on the community and she had collected signatures from other residents in support of naming the road after Pezzella.

“I have collected more than seventy signatures by attending neighborhood meetings. I look forward to this discussion and look forward to additional signatures in our community, and certainly expect a full discussion,” Biancheria said.

However, the public said Thursday that naming a street after Pezzella would be a bad message to send to Worcester students.

“The names we choose for our streets and public spaces have deep symbolic power, especially for our young people, so it is critical that our public awards reflect the full spectrum of contributions made to our community,” said Roberto Diaz during the public performance. comment period. “Continuing to name buildings after powerful white men sends a specific message to our students and our community, especially our students of color, that their contributions and history are less valued at a time when we are all trying to foster a more inclusive environment. ”

Heather Stanek, a former student from Worcester reported being sexually abused while in the 1990s, before Pezzella was safety director, a student said Pezzella was hostile toward her and other rape survivor advocates before a 2022 school committee meeting.

“The night I publicly broke my silence about the sexual abuse I suffered in the Worcester Public Schools, Rob Pezzella was the first administrator we encountered as he entered the building,” Stanek said. ‘Did he ask why we were there? Could he help, or did he need something? He didn’t. He pointed to a flyer we had with us and said he didn’t want us there. When confronted by survivors and grassroots activist supporters with a host of first-hand experiences of abuse and harassment within the schools, his response was to silence us, silence us, and throw us out. That is not someone who reflects who we are as a city.”

The committee voted to refer the matter to the administration, which Vice Chairman Jermaine Johnson said will conduct a review with feedback from North High faculty and the general public on potentially naming the roadway after Pezzella.

At-large Rep. Sue Mailman said she believes the district needs a more definitive system for dedicating buildings and other things to people, and alluded to practices used during Pezzella’s time as school safety director that the district has moved away from.

“I feel like there is a way to deal with climate and security that is different than what it is now, and that is a little bit at odds with what we are doing now with our climate, versus what we were doing then . ‘ said the postman.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Dedicating a road to the school’s former safety director provokes public resistance