MANCHESTER, NH – The city’s Office of Youth Services Youth Council is a new initiative that brings Manchester students together twice a month over pizza, soda and snacks to unpack the nitty gritty of modern teen-hood and the challenges and concerns plaguing young adults in today’s public schooling system.
A meeting of the minds of a myriad of future leaders, the group of high schoolers seek to diversify the narrative of opinions that goes into decision making for our city school system. The group’s delightfully casual pizza party-style brainstorming and discussion sessions creates a touchstone between adults in charge of casting grater decisions impacting local educators, schools, and communities with those directly affected. Students participating in the group, who were highlighted and introduced to the opportunity by teachers, administrators and other neighborhood role models in their educational careers, develop and build on existing skills of team work, leadership and representation.
In thought-provoking conversations punctuated by the sounds of happy pizza eating, students discuss with Manchester Office of Youth Services director Michael Quigley (and a cast of occasional rotating guest visitors) the concerns, issues, and potential changes facing both students and district decision-makers. By opening an unassuming and inviting dialogue with the teens in a comfortable public space like the City Library, the Youth Council is able to navigate considerate analysis on relevant but sometimes hard-to-navigate issues like mental health, barriers to access and cultural sensitivity. Having the students sharing firsthand accounts of their experiences is an essential tenet of the program’s success.
“How do we create meaning and value within Manchester schools?” Quigley asks the group. “How can you be a part of that?”
In sitting down with a few of the young leaders, their electric perspectives and eclectic backgrounds which fuel this imperative mission is quickly revealed. Youth Council representatives Leila Zuluc, Andy Pham, Luke Aleman and Judith Nsmire shared reflections on their introductions to the council and their own desires to make an impact on the community they call home.
“We discuss the issues that we’ve noticed in our schools,” says Leila, reflecting on last school year’s conversations centered around mental health and equity of access across the diverse student body. “We did a bunch of research, got data from Manchester, and came up with solutions. We worked with keeping a steady communication afterward, to make sure change does happen.”
Andy Pham summarized the need for both his own and other young people’s continued presence at the decision-making table very concisely. “We are the kids. Whatever the adults do… We’re the ones affected by it.”
Andy had the opportunity last year to engage with the district’s Equity Steering Committee, a group focused on enhancing the resources, education and sensitivity relating to the often glaring cultural disconnect between Manchester’s primarily caucasian educational staff and its student body, which according to 2025 Education Department stats on racial/ethnic enrollment, is comprised of about 53% students of color.
“There might be a cultural disconnect, it can be hard for students and teachers to connect with one another coming from different experiences,” Andy says. “But how do we combat that? [The Equity Steering Committee] set up training sessions, where teachers were taught how to manage cultural differences and how to be more welcoming of students from different backgrounds.”
The Youth Council students have had their noses to the grindstone as of late, breaking into small groups in order to coordinate preliminary plans for a full scale citywide youth conference this summer. Hoping to engage and brainstorm with other students in order to expand the network of young leaders, the vision for the event will culminate in a question and answer session opposite mayor Jay Ruais, with Ruais posing questions to the students on their own experiences.
The students interface with city and local officials semi-frequently in their affairs, with Leila sharing through laughter the struggles brought on by rubbing elbows with such key players.
“The biggest thing I’ve taken away is how to deal with the bureaucracy of the school district and our local government. The way you talk to them, even, is so different. Dealing directly with the Mayor, I have to wait so long for a singular response,” says Leila, as the room erupts in small chuckles.
She continues, “How to have that patience, how to deal with the people in power and understanding that it’s a game, that I just have to learn how to play.”
Council member Luke Aleman voiced that one of his greatest hopes is for news of the Youth Council, and their rippling impact across the district, to spread out to more students and schools across the city and state.
“I think there’s a need for outreach, of making this more known amongst schools. I don’t know about other schools, Memorial or Central, but I know at West there’s not a lot of talk of Youth Council, or OYS even, at all,” Luke says.
His sentiment rings true in many ways, that the critical work that adult Youth Council leaders Michael Quigley and Mario Peña alongside the rest of the OYS staff provide in facilitating a brighter future for Manchester’s youth often flies under the radar – even to those who need it most. Platforming and building young change makers, the Youth Council hopes to continue being the change they wish to see, helping to elevate the city’s school’s and student body to new and greater heights by their own accord.
For more information about the Office of Youth Services contact Michael Quigley at 603-624-6470 or click here to fill out an online request.