At a youth symposium last week, leaders identified changing school boundaries as one reason teens are not feeling connected to their communities. That was one finding in a survey of about 500 Loudoun County middle and high school youths this summer and fall.
Jessica Walker, youth chairperson of the Advisory Commission on Youth, said teens are feeling disconnected or isolated at home, at school and in their neighborhoods, partially because of the boundary changes. “Some teens want more of a say on what schools they attend,” she said. “Almost all the teens mentioned that it is very hard to make new friends when everything is changing so much.”
About 450 youth and adults seeking to find ways to keep teens from turning to alcohol, other drugs, violence and gangs gathered Nov. 10 to review the survey findings and to generate ideas. Walker said her group recommended activities to bring students together, such as “The Battle of the Bands.” Another idea was a county-wide school calendar so students could attend activities at other schools.
Carol Kost, chairperson of the Advisory Commission on Youth, said redistricting or boundary changes are unavoidable with Loudoun’s rapid growth. “But we can support each other differently when the boundaries do get redrawn,” she said. “They suggested a welcoming committee, and other little ideas that popped up that could be seeds surrounding those boundary changes.”
<1b>— Andrea Zentz