Letter from the Community Advisory Group
Dalio Education’s initiative, the Connecticut Opportunity Project (CTOP), has a steadfast belief in the limitless potential of young people experiencing disconnection.
They also recognize that realizing that potential requires the right supports, especially for those facing the most significant barriers. To help our state better understand and respond to the challenges young people face, they commissioned a three-part research series. The first report revealed a crisis: 119,000 young people in Connecticut are at risk of not graduating from high school or are disconnected from work and school entirely, with staggering consequences for each of their futures as well as for our state as a whole.
Following a second report that looked across the country to identify promising programs, practices, and policies that Connecticut could learn from, the final installment of the research series turned to young people themselves to inform our understanding of the problem and solutions. Through CTOP, Dalio Education commissioned Community Science to conduct a qualitative research study that interviewed 74 young people experiencing disconnection across Connecticut. They also assembled nine young people from Connecticut along with the four of us as professionals to form a Community Advisory Group (CAG) to advise the research team in understanding the Connecticut context and informing the collection and interpretation of data.
A core guiding principle in this final research project is that people with lived experience have the deepest knowledge of the challenges in their communities, as well as what solutions can really work to create lasting change. The research team didn’t just consult with our advisory group as a formality; they worked with us as partners, strengthening the skills, technical knowledge, and confidence of the group, particularly its youth members, to channel lived experience into actionable recommendations. As it has for CTOP, we hope that this principle drives research and systemic-change efforts from other funders and strategic partners who care about the outcomes of young people experiencing disconnection by partnering with people most impacted to inform the approach and solutions.
In partnership with CTOP, we have leveraged our service on the CAG to advocate for systems-level change to re-engage 119,000 young people. Together, we are amplifying their voices and advocating for their futures. We hope that our findings, along with the work of CTOP and the tireless efforts of its grantee partners, continue to bring attention to Connecticut’s crisis of disconnection, and most importantly, inspire action to create lasting and transformative change. The success of Connecticut hinges on the success of each of our young people.
In solidarity,
Vanessa Liles, Diego Lopez, William Johnson, Diondra Robertson
The Professionals of the Community Advisory Group