by Jamil Ragland CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT – Dozens of people packed into a sweltering, standing-room-only city council chamber at Hartford City Hall on Tuesday to hear the 119K Commission discuss how education affects disconnected youth, and what can be done to make the education system more effective for them.
“Hartford is a really appropriate place to have this discussion,” said Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, a member of the 119K Commission. “Hartford High School is the second oldest public high school in the nation. We are the birthplace of Henry Barnard, the first secretary of education for the US, and who many view as the father of the idea of public schools in America. He was one of the really early proponents that said if we really are serious about opportunity being available for all people regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic background, the we as a society need to be responsible for education. Still, centuries later, Hartford is a prime example of the fact that dream is unrealized.”
The meeting featured two different panels of experts to offer testimony into the experiences and conditions which lead to youth disconnecting from school and work, and to highlight efforts which have proven effective in helping youth at risk of disconnecting remain in educational programs.
“Every year, about 10,000 disconnect newly in the state of Connecticut,” said Andrew Ferguson, one of the three chairs of the commission. “This is something that was certainly accelerated by the pandemic, but it wasn’t caused by the pandemic. Predating the pandemic to present, you see every year about 60,000 to 70,000 young adults between the ages of 14-26 who experience disconnection from school or work in Connecticut. We have an opportunity to do something about that.”
L to R: Andrew Ferguson of Dalio Education, Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone, and Josh Brown, the chairs of the 119K Commission, listen to testimony on at-risk or disconnected youth at Hartford City Hall on Tuesday, July 23, 2023. Credit: Jamil Ragland / CTNewsJunkie
The first panel consisted of Dr. John Maduko, the inaugural president of Connecticut State Community College (CT State), and Melane Thomas, director of school counseling at Maloney High School in Meriden. The two were asked to speak about how the state can help students prepare for post-secondary success in the workforce or higher education.
Maduko spoke about the efforts of the community colleges to reach out to young people at risk of disconnecting. He said that the state community colleges work with over 500 Second Chance Pell Grant students who are incarcerated and receive federal student aid grants to pursue postsecondary education. The colleges also host events with 15 alternative schools which serve at-risk youth.
“We operate and instruct programs at nine out of the 11 prison facilities in the state of Connecticut, on site, because we recognize that we don’t want them to go back so let’s provide them with the skills that they need,” he said.
Thomas offered several suggestions to improve conditions for students in public education, including improving recruiting and retention of school staff of color, as many of the students most at risk for disconnecting are BIPOC students, and increasing mental health resources in schools.
“I know that costs money, but we need it,” she said. “We have one school social worker at Maloney for roughly 1,400 students. One! I don’t think I need to say anything else about that. We need more.”
The second panel consisted of Girard Dawes, senior director of youth engagement at Our Piece of the Pie, Edgardo Figueroa, principal of Synergy Alternative High School in East Hartford, and Ajit Gopalakrishnan, chief performance officer for the state department of education. The three men discussed how to offer alternative pathways for student success.
Dawes discussed Opportunity Academy, a small learning community run by Our Piece of the Pie which serves overaged, undercredited and disconnected youth as they work to earn a college diploma.
“In our model, students are paired with a youth development specialist who sets goals with them, ensuring adequate pacing for credit accrual.” he said. “The YDS works with students to reduce barriers, facilitate life skills, social and emotional supports, cognitive regulation, connection to clinical supports and paid learning opportunities.”
While Dawes and Figueroa discussed efforts to help students complete high school, Gopalakrishnan focused on the benefits for students who enrolled in some kind of postsecondary education.
“We did research that looked at the earnings of our high school graduates,” he said. “We followed the students into college across the country, and then we looked at the wages of those who were working in Connecticut. What we saw is that for those who have some type of college credential, and it didn’t have to be a four year degree or even a two year degree, it could be a certificate, their earning potential was vastly different from those who had no college credential.”
He noted that there are some exceptions to this rule, as workers in manufacturing and construction earned decent wages without a degree. But for technology and knowledge-dependent sectors, college credential led to higher earnings over time.
The meeting ended with public commentary from those who had endured the heat to make sure their voices were heard. One person who spoke was Deion Kelly, a youth development specialist at Our Piece of the Pie who talked about the need to listen to young people.
“The reality is that the semantics are great, dealing with workforce readiness, education and programming, but what about our voice?” he said. “Youth voice is the most important tool that we have, so in the midst of having these conversations, I honestly don’t see one of us not only in the midst of this room but in the midst of this table. To make an attempt to see what could be done, it’s not really about something that’s solution based or oriented, it’s more about ensuring the spaces themselves are collaborative and active.”
The next public meeting of the 119K Commission will take place on Aug. 27 at 5:30 in the New London City Hall.