“My job as mayor is to grow the citizens I want to have,” said Dayton mayor Jeff Mims, who is a former Dayton Public Schools teacher, coach and former school board member.

In the survey, 56% of students in Montgomery County said they felt they had a trusted adult in their community, but safety was an issue for many of the students.

In another question, 1% of Montgomery County students said they had been threatened or injured six or more times.

Stacy Schweikhart, CEO of Learn to Earn, said the listening sessions are meant to center student voices and help design new approaches.

“Our young people know what they need, what their friends need, what their neighbors need, what their school needs, what they want to do in their leisure time, what it’s going to take for them to get great employment in living wage jobs staying right here in Dayton,” Schweikhart said.

Ja’Niya Belcher, a 10th-grade student at Stivers School for the Arts, said she appreciated the chance to raise her voice during a listening session Monday at the Dayton library.

“We’re teenagers,” she said. “We all have something to say. We all have a voice.”

She asked if it would be possible for the students to get a job fair that catered to teen jobs, noting it was difficult to find the right job with someone who wouldn’t take advantage.

Aaliyah Jennings, a 10th-grade student from Thurgood Marshall High School, said she wished there had been more youth speakers at the event, though she said she planned to spread the word.

“It was a very good session,” she said. “Some of the people, I know, will spread the word and get involved.”

Additional listening sessions

Two more sessions open to the public will be held; one from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at Thurgood Marshall High School, and from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton.