On Wednesday, January 7, Mayor Alves and members of the Danbury City Council met with Danbury High School students after school from 2:30 to 3:30 PM. The meeting, held in the school library, was organized by Ms. Carla Pereira, a Capstone and AP Government teacher at DHS.
Students were given the opportunity to speak directly with city leaders about pressing issues affecting Danbury. During the discussion, students raised concerns related to high school students, homelessness, local immigrants, and other community issues. Mayor Alves and council members also encouraged students to make their voices heard, even if they cannot vote or feel hesitant due to social anxiety.
Topics such as improvements to town infrastructure, the city’s budget for next year, and Danbury’s effort to protect immigrants against ICE were also thoroughly discussed.
Pereira, the primary organizer of the event, described the meeting as a success, saying she was “very much satisfied” with the level of student participation. “I was nervous we wouldn’t have a very big turnout. In recent years, students have heard the word ‘politics’ and maybe have felt a bit skittish, like ‘oh, that’s not for me.’ But two days later, people are still talking about it,” Pereira said.
Pereira explained that she was inspired to organize the meeting after seeing Mayor Alves visit DHS for a student town hall in May and felt the need to “keep it going.” In her first year teaching AP Government, she has focused on “emphasiz[ing] that government and politics [are] not foreign concept[s], but it’s right here in our local community and the state level.”
Pereira wanted her students to “see the democratic process in action; that there can be a mature, respectful conversation between students and political leaders, even if they can’t vote yet.”
One of Pereira’s favorite aspects of the event was the high student turnout despite the meeting being optional. “It was not mandatory to participate. I offered some extra credit, but I also know many students came on their own willingly,” she said.
Pereira also felt this event benefited her Capstone students by allowing them to hear a wide range of perspectives. “They all came with their intended questions, but also got to hear other questions regarding the community…who [is] being really impacted by what.”
Victor Sanchez, a senior at Danbury High School and vice president of the club DHS Democrats, also loved the amount of participation from students and city leaders. “A lot of dedicated council members showed up. It showed that they care about students and their voices, and they also gave a lot of really great life lessons,” Sanchez said. He added that many of his friends enjoyed “engaging with the mayor and asking questions.”
Jenna Fako, senior and president of DHS Democrats, agreed with Sanchez, noticing the impact it had on her as a leader of a political club. “It made me realize these people do care about what we have to say and are trying to put their best foot forward for us,” Fako said. “I also got to see what my peers had to say, and what the council members specifically wanted to help us with.”
Pereira also spoke positively about her interactions with Mayor Alves and the city council while organizing the event. She described the experience as “all very positive” and noted that while some city council members were unable to attend due to weekday commitments, communication was strong leading up to the meeting.
Fako, who has interacted with the mayor and city council throughout her high school career, said one of her favorite moments was “talking to council member Andrea Gartner after the meeting.” “We talked about different political issues and her experience as a woman in politics,” Fako said. Another aspect she also loved was “seeing them on a professional level. I already have a relationship with them, but this definitely strengthened my views of them.”
Pereira said she “hopes to continue [hosting the discussion]” and possibly “making it an annual event.” Next time, she thinks students could benefit even further from using “microphones…or a QR code [to allow students] to submit their questions ahead of time.”
Sanchez and Fako both expressed interest in attending similar events in the future. Sanchez said he would “definitely attend it again” and “recommends students to participate even if they’re not interested in politics.” Fako agreed, realizing that the discussion ”inspired more action” for her to take for DHS Democrats, including “[hosting] more events for the club and increasing student engagement.”
DHS Democrats will be holding a flex meeting with council member Andrea Gartner on January 28th in D167 to continue promoting student involvement in local politics.
The relationship formed between students of Danbury High and city leaders during the January 7 discussion is only just beginning, and will undoubtedly continue to grow as dedicated teachers establish annual traditions and work hard to create young political leaders of the future.
