New Haven Independent

Mayor John DeStefano posed that question to 35 police recruits at the Police Academy Thursday afternoon.

“You‘re going to see them,” he said.

DeStefano was talking about 800 students who slipped through the cracks of the public school system. A total of 1,000 students graduated high school last year; 800 dropped out along the way, he said.

Some of those dropouts are likely to get into trouble with drugs and guns, the mayor pointed out. When the recruits hit the streets as patrol cops in March, they will have to learn those faces, he said.

DeStefano enlisted the recruits to take part in what has become his biggest policy focus — a sweeping school reform initiative. Among other goals, schools will aim to raise expectations for kids in the classroom by encouraging each kindergartner to continue learning through college and by establishing a Promise fund to make sure they can afford it.

Cops will be part of that solution, the mayor said.

He was speaking on Sherman Parkway to a classroom of recruits in the second week of a six-month training course; they’re due to graduate in March. The class is composed mostly of out-of-towners. Of the 35 recruits, only six are from New Haven. Eight are women, 11 are black, two are Hispanic, and 22 are white. Several hail from Hamden; others come from Milford, Hebron and Cheshire. New Haven faces challenges that differ from those in their home towns, DeStefano explained.

Many New Haven schoolchildren come from transient, lower-income families. They arrive at school already lagging behind their suburban counterparts, the mayor told them.

“Our job as a city or community is to stand up for each other,” he said. “You’re a team as a class, and we’re a team as a city. So we stand up for these kids as well.”

Cops’ jobs will be directly affected by the success of the school reform drive, DeStefano said: “A lot of what you’re going to deal with is going to depend on whether the school board does a good job or not.”

He encouraged the recruits to get to know the schools in the neighborhoods they patrol, meet the principals and “get engaged with these kids.”

In a brief interview in the hallway, DeStefano said he made the school reform remarks to show the recruits that they’re part of a bigger picture.

“Sometimes they come here and they feel very divorced from the things that go on in the city,” he said. Some of them will understand the bigger picture when they get out of the academy, “but some of them otherwise won’t.”

He said it’s “a really big deal that they feel connected to these institutions,” referring to the schools.

One way the police department reaches out to kids is through a new partnership with the Boys & Girls Club as part of the Police Activities League. As part of their job, cops are assigned to do sports and activities with kids through through that program.

On their own time, many cops volunteer as coaches in youth athletic leagues like Pop Warner and Pop Smith, DeStefano added. “It’s important for kids to see cops outside of their uniform.”

Some previous stories about New Haven’s school reform drive:

• Wanted: Great Teachers
• “Class of 2026” Gets Started
• Principal Keeps School On The Move
• With National Push, Reform Talks Advance
• Nice New School! Now Do Your Homework
• Mayo Unveils Discipline Plan
• Mayor Launches “School Change” Campaign
• Reform Drive Snags “New Teacher” Team
• Can He Work School Reform Magic?
• Some Parental Non-Involvement Is OK, Too
• Mayor: Close Failing Schools
• Union Chief: Don’t Blame The Teachers
• 3-Tiered School Reform Comes Into Focus
• At NAACP, Mayo Outlines School Reform
• Post Created To Bring In School Reform
• Board of Ed Assembles Legal Team