Chai Takes Campaign To The Skies

A third-party Congressional candidate reached to the clouds with a lot to say about public school reading levels — and about New Haven’s 16-term Democratic incumbent.

That was the scene on Thursday at a noon press conference hosted both on the ground and in the blue skies above downtown by Amy Chai, an Independent Party congressional candidate looking to unseat U.S. Rep. and 16-term Democratic incumbent Rosa DeLauro. 

The earthbound version of Chai’s press conference — and self-declared ​“protest” — saw the Independent candidate criticize DeLauro’s time in office from the front steps of City Hall. 

The skybound version consisted of a plane that Chai’s campaign paid to fly a banner around downtown New Haven for an hour and a half Thursday. 

In black and red all-caps letters, with a white exclamation point at the end, that banner read: ​“RESIGN ROSA 32 YRS KIDS CAN’T READ VOTE CHAI!”

Also running for Connecticut’s Third Congressional District seat during this Nov. 8’s general election is Republican challenger Lesley DeNardis and Green Party challenger Justin Paglino.

Standing alongside campaign manager Michelle Botelho and a political strategy consultant who asked not to be identified by name in this article, Chai, a 58-year-old homeschooling advocate and a doctor specializing in addiction treatment, laid into DeLauro for not debating her in the runup to November’s general election. 

She also criticized DeLauro for up to 84 percent of New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) third graders reading below grade level. (Click here to read more about that ​“crisis,” and here and here to read about NHPS’s plans to improve reading levels amid statewide calls for a switch to a more phonics-based teaching curriculum.)

“Rosa has refused to debate me, so I’m going to have to give my own debate here today,” Chai said to an audience consisting of this reporter and her campaign-hired photographer, Jonathan Delossantos. 

“It’s 2022,” she continued. ​“Can your child read? Only 17 percent of New Haven’s third graders can read at grade level.” 

What does this have to do with New Haven’s Congresswoman?

Chai said that DeLauro is in part to blame because she ​“has done absolutely nothing to help our kids in New Haven.”

She said that DeLauro and other Connecticut Democrats ​“know how to get your money. But they don’t know how to spend it. Where are the results from all that money?”

What specifically would Chai do to boost NHPS third-grade reading levels if she’s elected to office?

“I have a comprehensive education plan,” Chai claimed. Part of that, she said, is in her so-called ​“Fourth Trimester Act,” which would extend three months of federal parental leave and pay for ​“reading doulas” to work with parents of newborns to start reading to babies at the very beginning of their lives.

She also said the school system should have spent $30 million of federal pandemic-relief to hire 300 college students at $100,000 to ​“Swarm New Haven with full-time tutors.”

And why exactly did she pay for a plane and banner to fly around downtown New Haven Thursday?

“It’s just my way of trying to bring attention to get Rosa to come forward and answer for herself and her policies,” Chai said. 

Before her press conference began, as Chai squinted in the sky to try to read the banner as it flew overhead, she recognized that she probably put too many words on that plane-carried message.

“We probably should have kept it simple,” she said.

Asked after the press conference about how much Chai’s campaign spent on the airplane and banner, Botelho said it cost ​“several thousands of dollars.”

DeLauro’s reelection campaign manager Christopher Carrol provided the Independent with the following email comment for this article: ​“The National Assessment of Educational Progress, which has tracked student achievement in the U.S. since the 1970s, showed that scores in reading fell during the pandemic by the largest margin in more than 30 years. The declines spanned almost all races and income levels. The pandemic hurt us in many ways — thousands fell ill, people lost their jobs, and schools closed. For nearly two years, students were unable to go to school in-person. As a nation, we are still trying to make up for lost ground because of it.

“Congresswoman DeLauro understands this, and is leading the way to ensure all students are able to succeed and thrive. Since taking office, DeLauro has delivered over $600,000 in scholarship assistance to over 600 college students — funding these scholarships through her own congressional salary. Since 2000, she has organized the Rosa’s Readers program which helps students develop a lifelong love of reading and learning — more than 8,000 students have participated over the years. As Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, she’s delivered robust investments in education that ensure families and students can get ahead and stay ahead for generations to come. To stimulate our economic recovery from the pandemic and get students back on track, DeLauro secured $1.7 billion in coronavirus relief aid for reopening Connecticut’s schools. Congresswoman DeLauro is focused on moving real solutions to help America’s families, not cheap political stunts.” 

Click here to read an August op-ed DeLauro wrote for CT Insider about her work in Congress to secure funds to address teacher shortages and improve student learning.

NHPS spokesperson Justin Harmon also provided the Independent with the following comment in response to Chai’s critique of public school student reading levels at Thursday’s presser.

“Disparities in educational outcomes between underserved and wealthy districts correlate with access to financial resources,” he wrote. ​“While the New Haven Public Schools has received federal COVID relief grants, that’s not the same thing as sustained funding that supports the educational program. There we need the state to fully fund its aid formula, which could make a substantial difference for Connecticut’s urban districts, including New Haven. These are the funds we can use to pay our teachers and paraprofessionals fairly, to ensure that our students have access to school psychologists and social workers, and to provide appropriate programming outside the school day.

“There is no question that the COVID pandemic caused learning loss disproportionately in underserved communities. In New Haven, we are identifying ways we can strengthen the teaching program, particularly in such crucial disciplines as reading and math, in order to support student achievement. We will implement a reading program that meets the standards of the Right to Read Act, including by emphasizing phonics among the skills of developing readers.”

Click on the video below to watch Chai’s press conference in full.