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Manchester youth services director highlights program growth, calls for funding and space
Summary
Director Mike Quigley presented the Office of Youth Services FY25 report to the Manchester Board Mayor & Aldermen, citing service to roughly 1,200 youth outside caseloads and nearly 400 on one-on-one caseloads, describing program successes (Boyz II Men, Youth Council, Leadership Academy) and urging investment in staff and a dedicated facility.
Mike Quigley, director of Manchester’s Office of Youth Services (OIS), told the Board of Mayor & Aldermen on a presentation that OIS worked with roughly 1,200 young people in non-caseload contacts last year and provided one-on-one counseling to just under 400 youth.
Quigley said the annual report shows substantial gains in leadership and self-advocacy among clients and highlighted specific outcomes: “You see that 60% of those youth that we are working with that fell into that category are now on pace to graduate,” he said, describing students who were previously off track.
The presentation walked the board through OIS’s core programs. Quigley called Broad Interventions of Growth the department’s primary 1-on-1 counseling pathway, described the Future Success Leadership Academy as a school- and community-based workforce and leadership curriculum that is now integrated into the district MTSS tiers, and praised the Boyz II Men empowerment group for improving participants’ attendance and classroom conduct.
Two youth council members described their work before the aldermen. “If we provide an SAT prep class, we'd be able to see these numbers go up,” Leila Zulich, a Manchester Memorial High School senior and vice president of the Manchester Youth Council, said, summarizing the council’s research into SAT and AP access. Andy Pham, the youth council president, said the council is expanding outreach, recruitment and contextualizing district data from a student perspective.
Three Boyz II Men participants described recent turnarounds. Jason Cruz, vice president of the group, said he moved from failing grades and suspensions to “A’s, B’s” after joining: “I’ve had a very tough year as a student … I was, like, I was told by my grandma. I said I was, like, trying to strive in school.” Jaden Sanchez and Jafar Narmil gave similar accounts of improved attendance, grades and engagement.
Quigley outlined partnerships and plans to expand services beyond the district’s traditional sites, including weekly presence at Founders Academy and outreach to Job Corps. He said the city has established an employer advisory council with 31 local employers to craft career-connected pathways and will launch an opportunity-youth TV show and podcast on January 9 to raise awareness and share stories.
On resources, Quigley said most programs run without dedicated budgets and stressed the need for more staff and an OIS office. “There are budgetary limitations to what we can do. All the programs we run are run because staff just do them, not necessarily because they're funded,” he said, and asked the board to consider the cost of scaling services and providing dedicated space for youth programming.
Aldermen commended the staff and youth. Alderman O'Neil called the slide data “very powerful” and congratulated staff and partners for measurable progress. Board members discussed the earlier demolition of the Regis Lemieux Center and the possibility of finding a permanent home or shared cost model with the school district for expanded staffing in elementary schools.
Quigley closed by offering to answer questions and emphasized the city’s collaborative approach with schools, nonprofits and employers; the presentation concluded without any formal vote or motion.
