Emely Ricci, NVCOG Community Planner, shares how creating meaningful relationships with the Thomaston Board of Education led to impactful and valuable insights from the youth population for Thomaston’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) update.
Engaging with Thomaston’s youth, with support from Thomaston leadership and the POCD Steering Committee, was important to ensure meaningful engagement.
In Thomaston, Town leadership and the Steering Committee were receptive, encouraging, and excited about the inclusion of youth in the planning process. Planners must ensure that the decision makers involved support the inclusion of youth in the process before engaging with the School District. This support allowed NVCOG to propose a variety of activities to bring youth perspectives into the planning process.
Connecting with the Superintendent and Board of Education is foundational for any proposed youth engagement activities.
Through discussions with Thomaston’s Superintendent, Francine Coss, Emely, alongside Savannah-Nicole Villalba, AICP, Community Planning Director, built a relationship with Thomaston’s Board of Education, administrators, teachers, and students. It is important for Planners to begin this relationship early in the planning process.
It took around six months for the first youth engagement opportunities to occur. These activities required coordination between the Superintendent, Board of Education, Town Leadership, and NVCOG staff. Additional youth activities will occur over one year after Superintendent Coss, Emely, and Savannah-Nicole met for the first time.
Coming to the table with intention, transparency, and reciprocity were key in ensuring efforts to engage students were of high quality and impact.
Staff working on the Thomaston Plan of Conservation and Development proposed a variety of activities for the Board of Education, administrators, and teachers to review. They then met with the district’s leaders to discuss the activities, additional ideas, and potential educational reference materials. These collaborative meetings produced four focused activities to engage students: the inclusion of a Youth Representative on the POCD Steering Committee, the Thomaston POCD Youth Survey, a transportation and policy activity with the 8th grade statistics class, and a Youth Summit.
The Youth Survey was successful, providing valuable insights from students that corresponded with data from earlier interviews and surveys done with stakeholders and municipal staff. Key takeaways from the results included data on housing, transportation, Town improvements and opportunities, and how youth perceive Thomaston, among others. Highlights from the data collected were shared as a written report and presented to the Strategic Planning Committee, a sub-committee of the Board of Education, and the Thomaston Plan of Conservation and Development Steering Committee.
In this process, Emely remarks on how the information collected is used to draft meaningful and implementable strategies for the POCD. The information gained from the students ties in their desires for the future to be included in the POCD.
Building long-term relationships that last beyond the planning effort ensure that students have opportunities to civically engage as members of their community.
Planners should make every effort to continue relationships beyond the planning process to support the next generation in learning about the profession. Moreover, planners play a unique role in a community to encourage civic engagement of all ages. The support from the Board of Education opened doors to deeper levels of participation for students to feel heard and learn about the positive civic impact they can have.
"The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments’ collaborative efforts with the Thomaston Board of Education have set a high standard in community engagement by actively involving our students in the Planning of Conservation and Development update. Their hands-on approach to building relationships with young people not only brings valuable perspectives to the table but also exemplifies how community planning can be strengthened through meaningful youth involvement. This work stands as a model for best practices in regional planning, and I believe other communities would greatly benefit from adopting similar, forward-thinking approaches."
Overall, the process brought in key voices that are often excluded from decision making processes. It brought in the youth’s aspirations and goals into a Plan that will help guide Thomaston into the future. It also shows the importance of collaborating with the Town of Thomaston and the Thomaston Board of Education to create valuable and memorable opportunities for students to take part in deciding the future of their community.
“The future of the Town of Thomaston lies in the hands of our young. By engaging them in the process of planning for the next ten years, allows for their input on the direction of our town. It is critical for the civic education of our youth so that they might become active as young adults in local government. Without their engagement local government will not be capable of functioning effectively in the near future. It is hoped that this engagement will foster that engagement.”
