Schools are meant to be a place where every child has the opportunity to learn, grow, and build the skills they need to succeed. But the reality for many young people in Connecticut is that school becomes a place of failure and disappointment. That was my experience growing up in Hartford, and I continue to see the same harmful pattern impacting the youth I serve at COMPASS Youth Collaborative, a nonprofit transforming the lives of young people at the center of violence in our community. Diego Lopez Credit: COMPASS As a student, I struggled and was placed in special education classes. I didn’t receive additional supports that could have helped me learn in ways that worked for me, or that were responsive to what I was dealing with at home – instability, domestic violence, intergenerational trauma. With every wrong answer and unmet need, the system told me I failed. After enough F’s, it starts to become part of the story you tell yourself about who you are. I started to believe I was a failure. For so many of my young people at COMPASS, this is their story too. And like me, this educational experience leads to their disconnection from school and their negative interaction with other systems – the justice system, in particular. When kids aren’t in school, they become more vulnerable to violence. Then a path to reconnect to school, work, and a fulfilling future becomes harder to find. New research from Community Science, published by Dalio Education’s Connecticut Opportunity Project, shows how widespread this experience is across our state. Community Science interviewed 74 young people disconnected from school and work in Connecticut to learn about the circumstances leading to their disconnection. Over and over, what they heard was that young people do not feel successful or supported in school. So, they leave or are pushed out – often without the skills that would put them on a career path, and instead on a path to negative interactions with other systems. For many, their first brush with the justice system started in school or was the reason for leaving school. How can we do better for our young people? This study makes it clear: we need an education system that better supports the learning differences of young people. For me, one of the few times I felt capable and confident in school was when I disassembled a Longmoor train engine and put it back together. Engaging and practical experiences like this keep kids connected to school by helping them build life skills. Schools need more hands-on learning opportunities and training programs that develop skills leading to a sustainable career path. But it’s not just what happens inside the classroom. We also need to recognize the complex challenges many young people face outside school – traumatic challenges like the ones I encountered. Wraparound services and strong relationships with caring adults are critical to providing the necessary supports to Connecticut’s young people. I see the impact these interventions can have on a young person’s life in my work at COMPASS, and the Community Science research underscores it too; when young people feel cared for and supported, they are more likely to succeed. We also need to acknowledge and address the school-to-prison pipeline that we have created. Instead of responding to incidents in school with punitive measures and law enforcement, schools need to respond with a trauma-informed approach and restorative practices. Involving the justice system in our schools only pushes young people further off track by launching them into a cycle of further systems engagement. By addressing the root causes of behavior, we can keep young people in school and off the path toward systems involvement. When you talk to my kids at COMPASS, they all want to finish school. They all have hopes and dreams. They share the hopefulness for their futures that we hear from the young people in the Community Science study, despite the many challenges they face. But sometimes they just don’t see a pathway with the way our systems work today. It is our responsibility to change that. Diego Lopez is Peacebuilder Team Lead, COMPASS Youth Collaborative.