Students discuss what they love and want to improve at high schools.
“We all have the same problems.”
That was one of the main takeaways for Career High School sophomores Riziki Mulungula, Amya Connelly, Jel Wahemat, Danna Cabrera, Ana David, and Arilei Rivera as they listened to their peers from other New Haven public high schools speak up about a lack of engaging coursework, school-budget woes, poorly maintained bathrooms, and unkempt facilities.
Students shared those experiences and concerns Friday during the first Citywide Student Council meeting of the school year. The Board of Education’s two student representatives — Jonaily Colón, a senior at High School in the Community, and Abdellah Aly, a junior at Career — led the two-hour meeting, which was held at the Floyd Little Athletic Center. The meeting allowed students from across the district to connect and begin discussing what’s working, and what’s not, in their schools.
The meeting was made up of student leaders at several high schools, including from Sound, Career, Co-op, Betsy Ross, Metro, Riverside, Cross, Hillhouse, ESUMS, and HSC.
Throughout the school year, the Citywide Student Council — made up of individual schools’ student government groups — plans to identify specific improvements they want to work toward making happen for New Haven Public School (NHPS). On Friday, the group of 80 students gathered for several icebreakers to get to know new and old student leaders throughout the district and at all schools. The group also heard a presentation on the district’s college and career readiness pathways, as given by NHPS Supervisor of College & Career Pathways Dina Natalino.
The group is working to establish a structured system for student concerns to be relayed in a more organized way to school board representatives who can then share these concerns with district leaders and have them be recognized, discussed, and resolved.
Natalino joined Friday’s meeting to inform the dozens of student leaders of the district’s many college and career program partnerships that support students’ post-secondary-education plans. Those programs include dual credit college courses, concurrent enrollment, and career certifications.
Before the presentation, students spent 40 minutes getting to know each other through icebreakers focused on asking what they currently enjoy about their schools, what needs improvement, and what concerns they want to work to address this school year to improve students’ academic and social experiences.
Some students noted that they enjoy their schools’ variety of afterschool programs and clubs, offerings like getting a free boating license, student diversity, successful athletics programs, and small building settings that let them get to know their fellow students easier.
When asked what changes they’d like to see at their schools, Career students said they want cleaner bathrooms that also aren’t locked all the time, engaging classrooms lessons, and a more seamless building entrance process when compared to all the waiting that currently takes place to get through the school’s two metal detectors.
“It brings some sort of shame when we have games and other schools come and they just see how not well kept it is. And when we go to other schools we see how clean their environment is and comfortable. We shouldn’t experience that just because we’re in New Haven,” Career junior Amara said.
Metro junior Lester McClease lll raised concerns about a plumber coming to his Water Street school several times during the week but bathrooms continuing to smell like sewage and dealing with backed-up plumbing.
ESUMS student Norda Yeendrol said despite school dismissal happening at 2 p.m she finds an issue with the bussing system that doesn’t drop her off until around 4 p.m. She added that the bus arrives late in the morning as well.
A Sound student said that classrooms have mold and rodents and said not enough is done to protect students who are made uncomfortable by their peers who wear Trump flags and make racist remarks at school.
Sound junior Ace added in response to buildings’ bathroom issues they believe “even if we did have the funding I feel like it wouldn’t have been taken care of because the money doesn’t ever go to what it needs to.”
Friday’s group also celebrated a dozen student leaders representing their individual schools to improve social emotional supports, climate, and building concerns.
Career sophomores Riziki Mulungula, Amya Connelly, Jel Wahemat, Danna Cabrera, Ana David, and Arilei Rivera agreed Friday they would like for the citywide student group to focus on the “root problem” to most students’ concerns, which is funding. That includes learning how the district is spending its money and finding funding sources that can help to address the schools’ many needs.
“If we’re so focused on sanitation and bathrooms, we’re missing the plot. We should get funding first to handle it all,” Mulungula said.
David added that increasing school spirit should also be a priority for students this year. “Ever since Yondr pouches more students have been less out of it, so it’s the perfect time to bring us all together and motivated to go to school again,” she said.
“When there’s school spirit weeks I feel more confident to talk to people and it’s easier when there’s a pep rally going on,” Wahemat said.
The group of Career students left feeling motivated and united with their peers because of the reoccurring issues facing most schools, and not just their own.
“It shows that we’re all struggling together, which brings us together more,” Mulungula said.
“I was under the impression that our school was bottom of the barrel but it wasn’t until this meeting where I found out everyone else’s school is just as bad as mine and we all want to change that,” Connelly said.
The Career students concluded that more rallying must happen by students and adults for adequate funding. “They say we’re the future but they don’t want to fund the future,” Mulungula said.
Student leaders recognized.
Career students leave Friday meeting motivated to make change at school buildings.
Betsy Ross Arts & Design Academy (BRADA) inaugural ninth-grade students also participated in Friday’s meeting. Ashliyah Vazquez, Morgan Godfrey, and Kingsley Cramer came out to connect with their peers and share about the school’s first year of having a high school grade. BRADA introduced its first ninth-grade class this school year and plans to continue introducing more high school grades until the school is a combined middle and high school.
Godfrey, who has been at Betsy Ross since the fifth grade, said as a new high schooler at a brand new high school it’s been hard for her to put herself out there and meet other students because their school doesn’t yet have a 10th-12th grade. Vazquez agreed, adding that the school also hasn’t introduced new extracurriculars geared at the ninth graders to help them to socialize.
Vazquez has been at Betsy Ross since the seventh grade and said it helped to stay at the school for her ninth-grade year because she is comfortable already with the teachers and building.
Cramer also joined Betsy Ross in the fifth grade. He said Friday’s meeting helped them to not only meet new friends at other schools but to also learn about what other clubs exist at high schools around the city that BRADA can replicate for its high schoolers. Cramer said he hopes BRADA can partner with a high school to offer students swim lessons.
The trio left Friday’s meeting with a plan to be the student leaders that start BRADA’s high school student government. Cramer noted that BRADA’s freshman class has around 60 students, most of whom graduated from the school’s eighth grade.
They also hope to bring more college and career pathway options to the school’s high schoolers because it currently does not offer dual or concurrent courses like other schools.
Godfrey added that her peers would benefit from a life skills course that teaches cooking and swimming. And she hopes for a CNA program and athletics like other schools have. “It’s a good start so far but if we don’t add anything it’s going to be a flop,” she said.
Vazquez also said she learned more about the New Haven Promise from Natalino’s presentation and was motivated to make sure she maintains a 90 percent attendance record in high school to be eligible for the college scholarship program.
They too like other students were surprised to learn that their school has similar problems as other schools, particularly in regards to bathroom maintenance.
“We don’t have a say in anything when things are taken or changed but we have to live with it everyday,” Godfrey said. “Our voice matters.”
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