Survey shows students feel they aren't prepared for life after graduation

Carli Ellis felt her school in rural Maine wasn’t setting herself up for success.

Most of the people in her community went on to work in retail or construction, but she didn’t find either interesting.

“I was very like, kind of in a depression spiral,” she said.

She dropped out of school and eventually moved to Connecticut last year. Now, she’s studying to get her GED through EastCONN.

She’s not alone when it comes to finding school doesn’t prepare her for the future.

A Gallup poll released in August found 49% of Gen Z students don’t feel school is preparing them for the future.

The same poll found 25% aren’t excited by even one teacher and 51% don’t consider school to be challenging.

“It’s split half-and-half. Some of my friends know what they want to do and then other people are just lost,” said Asia Jones, a senior at Windham High School.

Jones recently realized she wants a career in healthcare thanks to an EastCONN program.

“The more career pathways you have, the more students can blend what they want to do in the future with what they want to do the high school,” said Cindy Wells, assistant director of adult and community programs.

That includes specialized magnet schools, career programs in traditional high schools, and other ways of introducing students to different career paths.

Students say identifying a potential career path helps them stay engaged in school, even in classes they don’t enjoy.

Andrew Grizywacz considered himself among the students who didn’t find school fulfilling. Then a guidance counselor, recognizing his love for photography, pushed him toward the Arts at the Capitol Theater Magnet High School.

Now Grizywacz is interested in a career in theater and enjoys coming to school.

“It was a lot of fun to getting to come here and getting to realize this I what I'm going to be able to do,” he said.

But he and some of his classmates say they were also lucky to have a guidance counselor who saw something in them and gave them some direction.

They said some of their classmates never get that push. They want teachers to realize students need to be pushed to succeed.

“When I wasn’t pushed toward my passion, it definitely made me a lot less involved,” Analee Sharpeauck, a senior at ARTS, said.

Wells agreed but said part of the problem is teachers and faculty have too many responsibilities that keep them from talking with more students.

“We need the support there to make this work from the ground up,” Wells said.