CONNECTICUT, USA — A new report released by Dalio Education and Boston Consulting Group found that one in five of young people ages 14-26 are considered at-risk or disconnected from education and employment systems.
The report found more than 50,000 young people were moderately disconnected, meaning they were either employed and not enrolled in higher education or vice versa.
“Out of the 119,000 young people, 63,000 are disconnected, and of that group, 12,000 are severely disconnected. They have no diploma; no job and they may even be incarcerated,” said Andrew Ferguson, Co-CEO of Dalio Education.
Officials with Dalio Education said this issue predates the COVID-19 pandemic and that chronic absenteeism affects one in three of Connecticut’s High School students’ ability to graduate on time or are at risk of dropping out.
The study combines data from social service organizations and criminal justice data to determine risk factors.
“Putting these processes together you’re much more likely to be able to do, what we all agree would be a good goal, which is less crime and more success going forward with these young people who have the deck stacked against them from day one," said Ferguson.
The board behind the report suggested a real-time database to track and identify students who may become disconnected so that school districts across the state can offer support to those students and get them the help they need to continue their education.
The board also recommends that a group be created to offer support to students and young adults who are at risk of being disconnected.
Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, said in a statement that the issue of disconnected youth is not new to the state's educators who for years have been "sounding the alarm" about the need for additional resources they need to support, engage and improve outcomes for their students.
"This report brings the issue to the forefront and highlights the critical importance of our community schools, which take a multi-faceted approach to dealing with the wide and diverse needs of our disconnected young people," she said. "It’s time to rethink student benchmarks and to stop the overreliance on standardized test scores. We need systemic change so that success includes all possible life paths for students, not just college."
Dias said they are hopeful that bringing attention to the issue will allow educators the additional support and programs they need to help their students reconnect so that they go on to have "successful, productive lives."
Dalio Education and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities will go to various cities and towns across the state to hold informational meetings about the report.
You can read the full report here.
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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