Maya McFadden Photo
Eighth and ninth-graders during Tuesday’s class.
Summer camp continued for one group of teens in New Haven this week, as they learned about how government catches up with sexual predators and about the science of scamming.
The teens are participants in a Career Pathways and Social Justice Summer Camp at Hillhouse High School. The New Haven Public School’s (NHPS) Summer of Fun camps and programs officially ended last week with several school-wide field day celebrations. The Social Justice camp is continuing on an extra week for its 140 students enrolled.
This reporter sat in on two separate classes for day 17 of the students the Social Justice/ECHO (Empathy, Character, Hope, and Opportunity) course Tuesday.
The presentations were given virtually by the camp’s partners at the University of New Haven. The first class began around 9:45 a.m and lasted about an hour for ten students in grades six and seven.
The middle school students learned about the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) from state Child Advocate Sarah Eagan.
The social justice camp has more than 100 students enrolled; half of those students were directly targeted for enrollment because they missed at least 50 percent of this past school year. Since its start in July the camp has aimed to reengage the students with chronic absenteeism in grades six to 10 with both extracurricular and academic lessons.
As Eagan gave a presentation to the class, course instructor Malcolm Welfare guided the students through note taking.
After an explanation of the OCA and its abilities to investigate, monitor and evaluate public and private agencies protection of children, Welfare called out to the class, “Write that down: The Connecticut office of child advocate is a public office.” The students’ pencils lifted and glided across their notebooks.
“Write that down: They check others agencies to be sure they taking care of kids and respecting their rights,” Welfare called out again.
During the presentation the students took down the phone number of the OCA and Eagan’s email.
Eagan informed the students of the OCA’s involvement in the closing of the Connecticut Juvenile Training School in 2018 and of an investigation into Hartford school administrator Eduardo “Eddie” Genao, who was accused of soliciting sex from a 13-year-old girl.
“Was the Hartford guy Black or white?” a student asked.
Eagan responded that Genao is Latino.
“What would happen if a woman tried to molest a boy?” Brennan Rogers eighth-grader Zyaasia Warren asked.
“It wouldn’t matter if it’s a man or woman if it’s illegal,” Eagan answered.
Throughout the summer camp, the social justice course has touched on juvenile probation, community organizing, “King” William Lanson, healthy relationships, the importance of Black history, healthy social media usage, and student advocacy.
Riverside math teacher Mel Campbell has been teaching the social justice camp students about STEM and financial literacy this summer. On Tuesday Campbell gave his students a lesson on the “science of being scammed” to prepare them for a Wednesday trip to Lake Compounds Amusement Park.
“There’s a science behind the games that make losing more likely,” he said.
Best Lesson of the Summer
The second Tuesday guest speaker Janeen Reid, founder and executive director of Full Circle Youth Empowerment.
By the end of the presentation several students agreed that it was the best one they’ve had this summer. Reid presented to the class about the intersectionality of the foster care and juvenile justice systems.
The eighth and ninth graders rated their knowledge of the topic before the presentation with a variety of ratings from as low as 0 to as high as 10.
Reid described the foster care system as temporary placement outside the home due to abuse or neglect and defined trauma.
“Often people who have been hurt and abused may not be able to focus a lot in school,” Reid said.
“Write that down,” Welfare called to the class: “Child care is important so they don’t cross over into juvenile justice system.”
Reid discussed the potential results of youth aging out of foster care to a society with no connections or knowledge of how to access resources: “Their journey is a little but different and they may not have a place to stay. As a result they may end up in the juvenile justice system.”
By the end of the presentation the students’ self-ratings for understanding the topic now ranged from seven to ten.
At the end of the presentation, the students were asked, “How can professionals handle children that are both in the foster care and juvenile justice systems at the same time?”
“Treat them the same,” came one response.
“Get them role models.”
“Talk to them.”
Toure Wright, 13, suggested to “get them involved in activities” and reward them so they can “know that they are doing something right and are wanted.”
“The people who are taking care of kids in foster care should take care of mental health,” added 15-year-old Tianna Gray. Several classmates agreed and added that professionals have mandated check-ups and therapy.
“You guys’ interest in such a heavy subject shows there are some potential social workers and counselors in here,” said New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) drop-out prevention specialist Reginald Slade, who accompanied the older students in their summer courses Tuesday.
Slade encouraged the class to look into careers like a social worker, youth officer at detention center, school resource officer, teacher, and community organizer to continue down a path of helping youth avoid the juvenile justice system.
“You all can help solve some real social issues if your work helps youth,” Slade said.
