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Students, youth advocates urge more mentorship, job training to curb 'disconnected' teens
Summary
At the Waterbury Board of Education meeting, multiple student speakers and a community advocate urged expanded mentorship, vocational programs and improved transportation to address local 'disconnected youth.'
Several students and youth advocates told the Waterbury Board of Education on June 18 that the city needs more mentorship, vocational training and reliable transportation to reduce the number of disconnected youth — young people who are not in school or work.
The students, who spoke during the public-comment portion of the board's meeting, described personal experiences and cited local survey results they said show barriers to participation in extracurriculars and career pathways. "By investing in these types of programs, Waterbury can reduce the number of disconnected youth and empower the next generation to succeed," said Louis McConner, an 18-year-old resident who described how local programs helped his family after a house fire.
Why it matters: Board members often use public comment to hear community priorities that may inform program development or budget decisions. Several speakers tied their requests to access to jobs, internships and high school extracurriculars that they say connect students to scholarships and future employment.
Students asked the board for expanded vocational education, apprenticeships, summer jobs and stronger mentoring programs linked to local employers. Joseph French Graham, a recent Holy Cross High School graduate and member of Let Youth Lead (a youth advocacy group affiliated with Bridge to Success), said transportation gaps leave Williams students unable to attend sports and other activities at their home-district schools; he cited a survey he said found more than 60% of Williams students had missed practices or games because of transportation issues.
Other students made similar appeals: Destiny Hendricks, a 16-year-old from Waterbury Arts Magnet School, said Connecticut has roughly 119,000 disconnected youth and urged internships, job-training and mentorship to reconnect teens. Anaya Miller, a Holy Cross student, described long-term learning gaps after remote instruction during the pandemic and said supports to re-engage students are necessary.
A community member, Dominic Devino, spoke separately about school safety and said he is an advocate for metal detectors. He told the board he had discussed concerns with the mayor and superintendent and said he will "hold you all accountable diplomatically" if students are not kept safe.
Board response and next steps: Interim Superintendent Dr. Schwartz asked the district's director of college and career readiness to speak with the students after the meeting to follow up on internship and career-readiness requests. The board did not take formal action on the requests during the meeting.
Ending: The comments join other district-level conversations about summer programming and Waterbury Promise funding discussed elsewhere on the agenda.
