Hartford, CT — City and state officials convened on Friday at Our Piece of the Pie, a nonprofit organization in Hartford dedicated to assisting youth aged 14 to 24 in overcoming educational and employment obstacles. They announced a state-supported planning grant aimed at redesigning the Opportunity Academy. This academy, which operates in conjunction with Hartford Public Schools, caters to students who are over-age and under-credited by offering personalized learning experiences, workforce training, and comprehensive support services.
The specific amount of the grant has not been disclosed, but it is part of Connecticut”s broader initiative to enhance alternative education options. This funding will enable OPP to develop a replicable blueprint for similar programs across the state. OPP President and CEO Hector Rivera described the initiative as “a scalable model for helping young people who need different ways to succeed.”
Mayor Arunan Arulampalam highlighted that Hartford is collaborating with nearly 50 nonprofits, including OPP, on a five-year strategy aimed at reducing youth disconnection by 50%. This strategy focuses on combating chronic absenteeism, involvement with the justice system, and other systemic issues. According to Arulampalam, about one in three students in Hartford faced chronic absenteeism during the 2023-24 school year, significantly exceeding the state average.
“We”re not just talking about kids who missed a few classes,” Arulampalam stated. “We”re talking about young people who have been left out of systems that were never designed for them.”
House Speaker Matt Ritter, a Democrat from Hartford who played a role in securing the funding, remarked that the initiative underscores the government”s duty to broaden opportunities and adapt to the evolving pathways to success that today”s youth require. “Some students thrive in large schools, others in smaller settings or with different mentors,” Ritter explained. “Our job is to ensure that each one has access to a path that works for them.”
Ritter, who has two children aged 10 and 12 who learn in distinctly different ways, emphasized the importance of flexibility within public education. State Representative Bobby Gibson, a Democrat from Bloomfield and also an educator, echoed the need for adaptable programs that reach students when conventional schools fall short. “Everyone learns differently,” Gibson stated. “Not every school or path works for every student, and not everyone goes to a four-year college — and that”s okay.”
Tamika Grant-Mack, Principal of Opportunity Academy, noted that the redesign will emphasize hands-on learning, workforce readiness, and individualized plans for each student. “Our goal is to equip students with the skills and confidence to succeed in a changing world,” she said.
For over 50 years, OPP has supported approximately 1,500 young people each year through education, job training, and mentoring programs. Rivera indicated that the redesign aims to strengthen the connection between education and employment while creating a model that can be applied statewide. “This is about taking what we know works and building a model that can be replicated,” he said.
A report from the Boston Consulting Group and the Connecticut Opportunity Project, commissioned by Dalio Education, revealed that around 119,000 residents in Connecticut aged 14 to 26 are either disconnected from educational or employment opportunities or are at high risk of becoming disconnected. Hartford has the highest concentration of disconnected youth in the state. This new planning grant builds on a previous $1.2 million initiative called the Opportunity Youth Collaborative launched earlier this year.
The initiative aligns with Public Act 24-45, which took effect in July 2024 and established Connecticut”s first statewide system for tracking and supporting disconnected youth through the P20 WIN data network. This legislation mandates annual reports on the educational and workforce outcomes for young individuals who are disconnected or at risk of disconnection.
