New Haven Independent

Pequeñas Ligas Hispanas de New Haven, pictured braving the January snow to practice tennis shots, was one of several groups highlighted in Castro’s Black and Hispanic Caucus State of the City speech at City Hall Monday night.

Castro’s speech addressed where minorities are lagging, where parents and kids are going right — and where newfound allies in City Hall are taking the city next. Click here to read the full text.

The caucus uses the annual address to set priorities for the board and highlight areas where black and Latino New Haveners are falling behind. Castro (in top photo), who represents Fair Haven’s Ward 16, said a recession is making longstanding disadvantages worse: minorities are facing a heavier burden of unemployment, and people are losing their homes to eviction and foreclosure.

As it did last year, and for years before that, the caucus’s speech put special emphasis on the need for school reform and closing the gaping achievement gap between minority students and their white counterparts.

Citing high suspension rates for minorities, Castro zeroed in on parents for help.

“Parent involvement is a must,” she said.

“In order for our family to have a really solid foundation we must provide opportunities for parents to engage in the school, in the community and in government.”

As models, she held up a half-dozen parent groups who are making a difference in the city. She praised the PTO at Fair Haven K-8 school, where report card night took on a greater mission, including providing warm winter coats. She applauded Teach our Children, the parent advocacy group, for its work in pushing for reform in the school system. She honored the Columbus Family Academy PTO, Mothers for Justice, and the New Haven Parent Leadership Institute.

She put up the slide at the top of this story, picturing young athletes with rackets, bundled up with winter clothes, the court covered with snow. Students in the audience and their parents beamed.

Peter Noble, director of Pequeñas Ligas Hispanas de New Haven, confirmed that the group had actually swung their rackets that January day. When the ground’s covered with snow, they practice volleys, he said. The students don’t just hang out and swing rackets, said Noble — they compete in USTA tournaments.

The nonprofit group requires parents to participate. That means moms like Marilena Monroy (at right in photo, with Noble and her children, Jorge Monroy and Angelica Rodriguez) show up at practice and coach. Other parents bring their rackets and play.

“Parental involvement is key,” explained Noble. “That’s what sets us apart.”

The program was born in 1991 in an Exchange Street apartment, founded by a mother named Mildred Hernandez, who wanted to give her three sons an alternative to the streets. Over the course of 17 years, 1,500 students have come through the program, including Castro’s own daughter, Noble said. This year, Pequeñas Ligas has about 150 students from ages six to 16. Beside the tennis court, they participate in volleyball, table tennis, arts and academics. The aim is to produce well-rounded students and put them on the track for success in high school and college.

In her speech, Castro said while some changes need to come from government, everyone needs to play their part. She called for more parental involvement citywide.

“We are the change that we seek,” she said, with a nod to Obama.

She also called for an end to the school-to-prison “pipeline”. She applauded the city for the passage of the Ban the Box ordinance, which removes a felon box from applications so that ex-offenders won’t be automatically refused jobs that they may be qualified for. The Ban the Box law applies to city government and all city vendors. Castro used her pulpit to call on all employers in the city to adopt the policy, too.

Her speech was peppered with praise for city initiatives, including the Street Outreach Worker Program, Youth @ Work, and the ROOF foreclosure-tackling team. She also welcomed stimulus money to address some urgent needs.

She ended with a call to action: “We have the moral obligation to end the disparities that separate us.”

After her speech, Hill Alderman Jorge Perez, who chairs the Black and Hispanic Caucus, reflected that his colleagues in the caucus have long put emphasis on the same themes, especially tackling the achievement gap.

The difference this year, he said, is that the administration is on board with the call for wide-sweeping school reform. This year, he said, “we’re on the same page.”

“We have all come together and acknowledged that we have a problem,” he said. In his speech last year, Perez made a point to pressure the school system, urging for better relationships with charter schools.

This year, he said, he sees progress: “Others have publicly committed to do more, to give [the achievement gap] the priority it deserves.”

Beaver Hill Alderman Carl Goldfield, president of the board, replied that the caucus’ priorities are shared by all.

“The city has always wanted to address these problems,” he said.

“Everyone on the board shares one common goal,” he added, “to make the city a better place for everyone.”