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Young voices at the center of ROC the Future Alliance's ‘State of the Children’ address

A crowd give a standing ovation after keynote speaker David Kirkland's address at the 12th annual ROC the Future Alliance's State of the Children address and report card release at Harro East Ballroom in downtown Rochester.
Noelle E. C. Evans
/
WXXI News
A crowd give a standing ovation after keynote speaker David Kirkland's address at the 12th annual ROC the Future Alliance's State of the Children address and report card release at Harro East Ballroom in downtown Rochester.

The nonprofit organization ROC the Future Alliance issued a State of the Children Address and released a report card on Friday with a focus on "Cradle to Career Outcomes."

The 12th annual report’s theme is "11,000 Futures on a Path to Upward Mobility by 2030," and it shows that while kindergarten readiness is improving slightly, the high school graduation rate at Rochester city schools has declined since 2022.

Nazareth Miller, one of ROC the Future’s youth leaders, said when it comes to finding solutions to an educational gap in the city, he’d like to see youth voices at the forefront.

“I think that we can do a better job with listening to students and bring in parents as well, because I feel like they know their children the most,” Miller said at the Harro East Ballroom in downtown Rochester. “So having a teacher, parent, student relationship, I think that that trio is the magic to making all of our lives much more easier.”

Miller, a graduate of the Rochester City School District and currently studying neuroscience at the University of Rochester, said that when he helped found a Black Student Union at Wilson High School, it opened his eyes to other students’ perspectives.

“That was a big ‘aha’ moment for me, because I got to see how my peers really feel. Like what goes on at home? How can we make that better in school?” he said. “It was a very open environment, and it was a safe place for a lot of us.”

Miller said he’d like to see schools provide and fund more robust extracurricular activities that could help students thrive.

Zola Hall, a 10th-grader at East High School and part of the Youth Leadership Coalition of ROC the Future, presented an open letter to a full house. In her speech, she said thousands of young people in the city have the potential to realize their dreams but need help getting there.

“These children all have bright futures and goals that can happen with the right support, care and community," she said. "Their ZIP code shouldn't determine what kind of education or opportunities they should have.”

Hall said school should be a space where students want to be, “not somewhere where they feel forced to be, especially if it's unsafe."

Noelle E. C. Evans is WXXI's Murrow Award-winning Education reporter/producer.