Partnership can work
Common Council member Nicol Ayers (D-District A). (Contributed)
Many have said that this will be a challenging budget cycle. I do not disagree, but I do feel that we are looking at the challenges we are facing with the wrong lens. In recent weeks, I have sat in on presentations from both the City and the Norwalk Public Schools (NPS). I have read many emails and studied the budget as if I was going to be tested on these materials.
The Common Council has been called out saying we do not understand the full grasp of the concerns that the school district faces. Personally, I take fault in that because not only am I a member of the Common Council, but I also serve as a community service provider within the schools. It is in both of these roles that my responsibility is to not just address one problem or issue but see how we can juggle a multitude of issues.
I strongly think tactics like, making the public think that the Common Council is not in tune with what the many issues in our schools, are used to pull at the emotions of not only us on the Council but parents around the district, but often those emotional pleas are not grounded in what we as the Common Council can do or offered.
In the joint finance meeting with NPS and the Common Council, we were asked to look at the presentation presented by Positive Direction’s Margaret Watts about the situation students face in the school system around mental health and the support that they need. As a responsible legislator I watched the presentation and then participated in another presentation given to community service providers by the same group. My takeaway is that there is cause for concern around not only mental health but also substance abuse with youth in our city.
But my professional and parental mind is screaming for partnership. At the very core of the argument is that NPS is a system, but I argue it is not a net that has to catch everything! Making sure every student has mastered educational basics is a large enough task.
Historically, public school systems are not made to handle and deal with every problem that arises, and that has not changed. So to aid in this work, why not partner with those who have already established mechanisms to answer the need. Norwalk has a wealth of out of school providers and mental health professionals that on day one through partnership with our school district can give services to students both during school and after. Remember my goal is to be solution oriented not provide a quick band-aid. Many of these services are already provided at the school levels through partnerships and through our Community Services Department. Rather than duplicate these efforts, I am suggesting we work together as a city and a school district to determine the needs and create stronger and more partnerships saving the NPS millions of dollars and letting them focus on getting back to what they are meant, trained and hired to do, teaching our children.
I challenge NPS to build on their partnerships. I am aware of organizations like Kids-in-Crisis, FCA, Child Guidance and others that currently pour into the school but if NPS needs more assistance let’s give it to them through providing more partnerships with other providers. Remember the goal should be to answer the need not just respond to the want, so if the need is answered we all as a community should be happy. This mindset of “only a select few providers can help” is really not answering the needs of our child. We celebrate diversity, why can’t we celebrate the diversity of community providers and what they can offer. When we partner, we do not have to provide benefits and an hourly wage, which lowers the school budget and still allows for those students to get the help they need. The Board of Education should be looking at the process the staff has to go through just to refer a student to providers already connected in the school. That process is long and students should be getting help quickly since NPS has identified this as a real need.
Many people want to talk about the increase or the stagnation of the school budget, but I would encourage us as a community to share services and understand that we do not want to duplicate efforts. We also need to understand that one system cannot and should not handle everything. Partnership is key, cost effective, and will provide our children the help they need. It benefits all of us when the school focuses on education and NPS partners with well skilled providers that have eagerly been waiting to access students in the school. Being sensitive to all citizens I know it can help by having providers in the school. The in-school/out of school connection would really benefit so many more families and many of those providers want to do more. We as a community can handle the challenges of mental health only when we partner together.
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5 comments
Justin Matley February 3, 2023 at 3:47 pm
In other words, “outsource our problems”. Partnerships are not bartering opportunities. Services cost money regardless of their affiliation. If the city is claiming they are going to help assist in and pay for outside agencies to help take the demand (resource and otherwise) off of NPS, then by all means. I welcome it.
But at the end of the day, outside partnerships don’t come out of thin air. Until CC and BOE can establish a partnership of their own, everything else is a heavy lift.
Alexandrea Kemeny February 3, 2023 at 5:45 pm
Nicol Ayers! You a breath of fresh air! Let the educators educate and the social workers partner with outside sources. Let’s give children the skills to be successful in their future. They need to read and perform everyday math. They’re so concerned about social issues, they aren’t focused on their studies. We are failing them by not providing them with the tools to be contributing adults. Complicated problems but teachers are meant to teach (hopefully), they are not social workers. Thank you for talking about solutions. Let’s renew our commitment to educate in schools.
Nora King February 4, 2023 at 9:58 pm
Nicole is spot on. Justin once again you are not. Estrella has made it perfectly clear that she does not have to show accountability once the money is given to them. Mental health is not their department. Their job is to academically educate our children. Something they are failing at. They have pushed teachers to be counselors and are talking about how the welcome center helps people with leases and landlords. That is not their job. The BOE should be defunded until Estrella starts showing results and realizing she is accountable to parents and taxpayers.
Justin Matley February 5, 2023 at 11:17 am
Mental health is directly related to academic success. I am very open to the partnerships she suggests. If you read what I wrote without bias, you’d see that. But at the end of the day, it still costs money. If the city wants to drive that initiative and direct those dollars accordingly, away from NPS purview – I am open to that, as long as there’s collaboration. The issue is, there is no money facilitating the bandwidth an initiative like this requires. If the city can find it and develop a grant program to fund it long term, I’d be first in line to support it.
My overarching point was, I question anyones ability to do that considering the very public fit for tats that I look at both sides for. I can only imagine the private ones sound like.
I support Nikki’s idea and welcome her presenting a pitch deck and grant proposal with seed funding and local partnerships for a city-led youth mental health initiative with academic support systems. I’ll be the first to both congratulate her efforts and promote it.
Justin Matley February 5, 2023 at 12:05 pm
For the record, I’d also be glad to chat with Nikki or anyone else here to see if I can help organize the cause. We all agree it’s important; so the next step is consolidating ideas into an actionable blueprint that’s fundable.