YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Civic leaders are inviting all of Youngstown’s concerned citizens to attend “Deeper Conversations” to be held at the community’s libraries on June 5 and June 7. The events are part of an initiative funded by the Raymond John Wean Foundation and the Youngstown Foundation to help shape the future of education in Youngstown.
The purpose of these discussions will be to explore how people think about different choices and trade-offs around education and the community, determine under what conditions people will step forward to act, and uncover the conditions in the community that need to change in order for people to come together and work toward the common good, officials said.
Participants in the Deeper Conversations will be broken up into small groups for a discussion led by a locally trained conversation leader. Sessions are slated to begin at 6 p.m.
The June 5 sites are the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County's main branch and the West Branch in the city. The June 7 locations are the East Library and Newport Branch. No advance registration is necessary.
Previous efforts leading up to this Deeper Conversations phase of gathering input have included “Ask Youngstown” interviews, “man-on-the-street” interactions that took place in various neighborhoods and with faith and business groups, and 90-minute conversations held in six neighborhoods in the Youngstown community with teachers, students, faith groups and members of the business community.
The Deeper Conversations phase will be followed by a community-wide town hall, to be held June 18 at Stambaugh Auditorium.The purpose of this event will be to share the insights that have been gathered through previous efforts with the entire community, which will be included in the final report presented to the Academic Distress Commission.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.