Twenty kids will be picked, two each from 10 high schools, including all Dayton Public high schools, Dayton Early College Academy and Chaminade Julienne High School.
Those kids have not yet been selected, Mims said.
Mims, a former teacher and coach, said he wants Dayton’s kids to grow to be gainfully employed, to support their own kids and to champion other kids growing up in the city. The project will help empower young people to do those things, he said.
“We have a responsibility to grow the citizens that we want,” Mims said.
Stacy Schweikhart, CEO of Learn to Earn Dayton, said the plan will focus on getting the perspective of teenagers in Dayton and what they think they and their peers need to thrive.
“This approach requires convening multiple partners and taking the time to inform, educate, and support young people in discerning their priorities,” Schweikhart said.
In the first year of the three-year plan, Learn to Earn is expected to meet with stakeholders, including students from Dayton high schools, and create a guide, according to city documents from a Dec. 20 City Commission meeting. The second year is about implementing and training young leaders, while the third year is focused on implementing the program and evaluating if it worked.
The city noted that there are twice as many jobs open as unemployed adults, but the job skills that unemployed adults have do not match the skills that employers need. Students in Dayton may also lack opportunities their suburban counterparts have to pursue jobs, officials said.
Mims said the plan will communicate to people in Dayton that children are the most precious resource.
“These young people, who will successfully navigate through this process, are setting an example for other young people, and that’s what we have to have,” he said.
Erica Fields, Learn to Earn Dayton’s director of place based strategies, who is involved in the project, said there are benefits to engaging young people for the future of the community.
“They have an energy and passion for social change,” Fields said. “If we can do the work to bring them to the table and re-center the power that has previously been held by adults, we’ll be impressed by their leadership and vision.”
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