DHYAC cultivates youth leaders who use data to listen, question, and advocate for stronger, more equitable communities across Connecticut.

What We Do

Youth Data & AI Literacy

• Weekly sessions in public libraries and community spaces
• Learn to interpret civic data, use AI tools responsibly, and question systems

Participatory Action Research

• High school students design and run their own research projects
• Topics include education equity, housing, digital access, environmental health, and mental health

Community Storytelling & Advocacy

• Turn complex data into presentations, visualizations, social media content, and testimony
• Share findings with peers, families, educators, policymakers, and local organizations

Career Pathways & Mentorship

• Panels with data scientists, public officials, healthcare and education practitioners
• Youth see how data and AI connect to real jobs and community impact

Youth Voice in Statewide Data Systems

• Advising DataHaven’s statewide surveys
• Representing youth voice in statewide conversations about well-being

How to Get Involved

For Youth:

• Apply to join a future DHYAC cohort
• Attend a community showcase
• Request a workshop at your school or library

For Partners / Funders:

• Invite DHYAC youth to present at your event
• Collaborate on youth-focused data or AI projects
• Support youth stipends and showcase events

Contact us

Please visit the main Contact page on this website to be in touch.

Meet the Council

2025-2026 Council member photos and bios to be posted here.

• Brandon Gentles
• Charles Sudmyer
• Connor Bradford
• Drew Thomas
• Ethan Liu
• Gopika Kaimal
• Hendry Lombert
• Ishaan Bherwani
• Janet Fan
• Linda Chen
• Lulu Hu
• Natalie Joo
• Noah Sanderson
• Rania Das
• Rebecca Spiewak
• Saanika Tipnis
• Tanisha Sahu
• Tina Zeng

DataHaven prides itself in empowering people to create thriving communities by collecting and ensuring access to data on well-being, equity, and quality of life. The classroom is a fundamental and formative space where understanding of social justice, human rights, equity, and community well-being is fostered. Educators serve a pivotal role in empowering and informing youth, encouraging their voices and giving them the proper tools to enact change in their communities.

From time to time, DataHaven has released a series of classroom materials designed by educators for educators. Through classroom experiences and the learning process, students can understand and change their world in ways that benefit themselves and their communities.

Contents

2023 Classroom Materials

2020 Classroom Materials

In addition to these easy-to-use materials, we encourage you to use the other reports and data on the DataHaven website in your classroom activities. DataHaven resources are widely used by teachers in K-12 schools, colleges, and graduate program across Connecticut. Please contact us for suggestions!

DataHaven 2023 Classroom Materials

Authored By: Sarah Wiederecht, with support from Dylan Bober, Victor Cazabal, and Emilie Waters. Sarah Wiederecht is a social studies teacher in Manchester, Connecticut.

The 2023 Classroom Materials and Resources have eight overarching themes (community wellness, democracy, education, gender equality, health, immigration, intersectionality, and race). They are organized into packets to make them easier to distribute and use. Each packet is approximately 10-15 pages, and may contain readings for different grade levels (described as Levels I, II, and/or III), as well as suggested classroom exercises and activities. Materials in the packets are drawn from DataHaven’s 2023 Community Wellbeing Index and other reports.

Community Wellness Packet.pdf

Community Wellness Packet.pdf

Democracy Packet.pdf

Democracy Packet.pdf

Education Packet.pdf

Education Packet.pdf

Gender Equality Packet.pdf

Gender Equality Packet.pdf

Health Packet.pdf

Health Packet.pdf

Immigration Packet.pdf

Immigration Packet.pdf

Intersectionality Packet.pdf

Intersectionality Packet.pdf

Race Packet.pdf

Race Packet.pdf

We encourage your feedback and suggestions. Please see below for more information.

DataHaven 2020 Classroom Materials

Authored By: Sarah Wiederecht, Chloe Shawah, and John Park. Sarah Wiederecht is a social studies teacher in Manchester, Connecticut.

These materials utilize DataHaven’s work, especially the Community Index publications, and focus on four overarching themes:

Gender

Race

Health

Civics

Gender

Document	Description
Do Now – What is Gender.pdf Do Now – What is Gender.pdf	This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of gender.
Exit Slip – What is Gender.pdf Exit Slip – What is Gender.pdf	This provides an idea of where students stand with their understanding of gender roles. It can be used to further explain what needs to be revisited.
Do Now – Gender Roles.pdf Do Now – Gender Roles.pdf	This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of gender roles.
Gendered Discrimination Comparison.pdf Gendered Discrimination Comparison.pdf	By looking at Community Wellbeing Survey data, students practice how to read data and consider the real life implications of the data.
Girls Education Quote Analysis.pdf Girls Education Quote Analysis.pdf	This assignment asks students to define key words in an excerpt from Count Her In (2019) and fosters deeper understanding of gender based disparities in education.
The Gender Wage Gap.pdf The Gender Wage Gap.pdf	This provides background on the wage gap, specific to Connecticut. It can be followed up with the data collection assignment.
Stations – The Wage Gap.pdf Stations – The Wage Gap.pdf	These stations involve passages on the gender wage gap as well as data figures.
The Gender Wage Gap Data Collection.pdf The Gender Wage Gap Data Collection.pdf	To investigate the gender wage gap in their own communities, students practice real life data collection and interpretation.
The Gender Wage Gap Data Collection Reflection.pdf The Gender Wage Gap Data Collection Reflection.pdf	This is a reflection concluding the classwork series on the gender wage gap.

Race

Document	Description
Do Now – What is Race.pdf Do Now – What is Race.pdf	This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of race.
Exit Slip – What is Race.pdf Exit Slip – What is Race.pdf	This provides an idea of where students stand with their understanding of race. It can be used to further explain what needs to be revisited.
Do Now – Racial Stereotypes.pdf Do Now – Racial Stereotypes.pdf	This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of racial stereotypes.
Redlining and Housing.pdf Redlining and Housing.pdf	Students read a passage introducing the history and effects of redlning and answer thought questions.
Stations – Redlining and Housing.pdf Stations – Redlining and Housing.pdf	The above assignment is broken into separate stations.
Redlining PSA.pdf Redlining PSA.pdf	Using what they learned about redlining, students propose and create a PSA (rubric included).
Environmental Racism.pdf Environmental Racism.pdf	Students read a background passage, and then are tasked with researching an example of environmental racism on their own.
Suspension from School.pdf Suspension from School.pdf	Students read and analyze data from the 2019 Community Wellbeing Index and answer thought questions.
Social Mobility.pdf Social Mobility.pdf	Students read a background passage on social mobility and answer thought questions.

Health

Document	Description
Do Now – Healthcare.pdf Do Now – Healthcare.pdf	This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of healthcare.
Exit Slip – Healthcare.pdf Exit Slip – Healthcare.pdf	This provides an idea of where students stand with their understanding of healthcare. It can be used to further explain what needs to be revisited.
Opioid Crisis Introduction Reading.pdf Opioid Crisis Introduction Reading.pdf	Students read a background passage on the opioid epidemic, draw a graph based on the data in the reading, and answer thought questions.
Opioid Crisis Substance Abuse Disorder Long Reading.pdf Opioid Crisis Substance Abuse Disorder Long Reading.pdf	This is a longer version of the above assignemnt. It includes specific data points from the Community Wellbeing Index reports.
Stations – Opioid Crisis Substance Abuse Disorder.pdf Stations – Opioid Crisis Substance Abuse Disorder.pdf	The opioid crisis assignment is broken into separate stations.
Opioid Crisis PSA.pdf Opioid Crisis PSA.pdf	Using what they learned about the opioid crisis, students propose and create a PSA (rubric included).
Asthma.pdf Asthma.pdf	Students read a passage and answer thought questions about asthma, a persistent component of health inequality in Connecticut.
LBGTQ+ Healthcare.pdf LBGTQ+ Healthcare.pdf	Students read a passage about healthcare inequalities for LGBTQ+ individuals and draw a graph using the data they read.
Covid-19 Reading.pdf Covid-19 Reading.pdf	This includes excerpts from our Health Equity Report.
Covid-19 Think Pair Share.pdf Covid-19 Think Pair Share.pdf	“Think Pair Share” activities allow students to learn about a topic, interact with a peer to learn about their chosen topic, and then sharing their two chosen topics to the class.
Health Inequality Quote Analysis.pdf Health Inequality Quote Analysis.pdf	After defining key words, students read and reflect on an excerpt from our Health Equity Report.

Civics

Document	Description
Do Now – Why Vote.pdf Do Now – Why Vote.pdf	This can be used to gauge students’ initial understanding, create discussion, and introduce the topic of voting.
Types of Elections.pdf Types of Elections.pdf	Students read a passage and graph on elections and election turnout.
Voting in America Document Analysis.pdf Voting in America Document Analysis.pdf	Students read four primary sources and a Pew Research Center article to understand the history and importance of voting.
What is the Census Webquest.pdf What is the Census Webquest.pdf	Students explore the US Census website to learn more about the importance of the Census.
Generations How We Differ.pdf Generations How We Differ.pdf	Students read about the five generations since 1925 in Part I. In Part II, a Pew Research Center articles dives deeper into generational divides.
Female Leadership.pdf Female Leadership.pdf	This includes an excerpt from Count Her In (2019).
Navigating Connecticut Wellbeing and Equity Data App Webquest.pdf Navigating Connecticut Wellbeing and Equity Data App Webquest.pdf	DataHaven’s Connecticut Wellbeing and Equity Data App contains visualizations of a wide variety of data. Students are guided through exploring this app.
Climate Change Initiatives in Hartford Webquest.pdf Climate Change Initiatives in Hartford Webquest.pdf	Through reading from the 2019 Greater Hartford Community Wellbeing Index and the Hartford Climate Action Plan, students learn about local, contemporary efforts to address climate change.
Immigration Statistics in New Haven.pdf Immigration Statistics in New Haven.pdf	Students learn about the history of immigration and the current state of New Haven’s population.
Immigration and Culture in New Haven Webquest.pdf Immigration and Culture in New Haven Webquest.pdf	Students research a cultural organization in New Haven of their own choosing.
The Value of Data Short Version.pdf The Value of Data Short Version.pdf	This includes an excerpt from the 2019 Community Wellbeing Index and corresponding thought questions.
The Value of Data with Data Collection.pdf The Value of Data with Data Collection.pdf	This assignment introduces students to the data collection and analysis process. They choose a topic of their own to research.
Civic Life Inquiry Project.pdf Civic Life Inquiry Project.pdf	First students read about three key components of civic life. Then, they are tasked with conducting research in their own community.

Feedback and suggestions

Used one of the above resources? Questions, comments, concerns? Email us at info [at] ctdatahaven.org with a description of your teaching approach and needs. Many additional resources on the DataHaven website are commonly used in classroom settings and we encourage you to browse or contact us for assistance.

Often, we receive general questions about collecing and using data to advance racial equity. The resources listed here are intended to provide guidance in this area.

1. Racial Equity Tools. Visit: https://www.racialequitytools.org/home. Racial Equity Tools is designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers more than 2,500 different tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for systems, organizations, and communities.

2. W.K. Kellogg Foundation Resources. https://www.wkkf.org/resources/

3. Counting a Diverse Nation (PolicyLink). This is a 2018 report written by PolicyLink through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It articulates the importance of data disaggregation and explains methods for collecting and analyzing data on race and ethnicity.

4. Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research (Annual Review of Public Health). Visit: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750. This 2019 article provides an overview of structural racism, cultural racism, and individual-level racism. Recommendations for future research and a discussion on interventions to address racial inequity are also included.

5. National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership online guide to Resources for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (Urban Institute). https://www.neighborhoodindicators.org/library/guides/resources-diversity-equity-and-inclusion. Efforts are categorized into two areas: 1) Promoting DEI practices within Partner organizations, including hiring, retention, and assembling advisory or governing boards and 2) Highlighting how Partners’ products and services can further DEI in their communities. In 2019, a set of resources were compiled to help Partners center DEI in their internal processes and external products; while tailored for NNIP members like DataHaven, the resources would also be relevant for other research organizations.

This page facilitates access to data crosstabs from the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey (DCWS). This large survey program has completed over 50,000 live, in-depth interviews with randomly-selected adults in every Connecticut town in 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025, so results are available for all area regions, towns, and neighborhoods. 

As described in the crosstab methodology page, to ensure representativeness, all survey estimates that we create are weighted by age, race, gender, and geography in proportion to U.S. Census Bureau data from each region or town. 

Below, you may browse an list of regions and individual towns/cities for which we have created a printed crosstab. Data are available for many other towns and regions as well. You will find a summary of survey data for many towns in our Town Equity Reports, available for all 169 towns in Connecticut, and in some of the interactive tools on our Data Dashboard.

Please contact us with questions regarding data access; much more granular estimates for specific areas or specific demographic groups are often available on request.

Selected Large Regions

*See links on the main survey page for all data. Data are also frequently provided on request, so please contact us for assistance.

Selected Large Towns / Cities

DataHaven Resources

Some of our most popular resources for health and environmental data include:

1. DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey – surveys of over 35,000 randomly-selected adults throughout CT; questions related to public health, social determinants of health, and health care access provide local-level data about Connecticut communities that are not available from any other source.

2. Greater New Haven Community Index, Greater Hartford Community Wellbeing Index, Fairfield County Community Wellbeing Index – and other data reports that DataHaven has published in recent years. These can be found in the Reports section of the DataHaven website, and several of them also serve as Community Health Needs Assessments for hospitals located throughout Connecticut.

3. DataHaven Community and Neighborhood Profiles – by area, town and neighborhood. Please contact us if you can’t find the profile you need.

4. DataHaven Connecticut Town Equity Reports – more detailed reports and maps for all 169 towns in Connecticut, focusing on local differences in equity and well-being.

COVID-19 data in Connecticut

1. Our trusted sources of COVID-19 information page provides an overview.

Some of our favorite outside sources of health and environmental data

1. Datasets available from CMS and other Federal agencies. Charles Ornstein at ProPublica maintains a guide, a copy of which (as of December 2016) is posted here: http://ctdatahaven.org/data-resources/new-ecosystem-health-data-keeps-getting-bigger-tipsheet-public-health-datasets

2. County Health Rankings: http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/ The County Health Rankings are a key component of the Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH) project. MATCH is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The web site provides access to the 50 state reports, ranking each county within the 50 states according to its health outcomes and the multiple health factors that determine a county’s health. Each county receives a summary rank for its health outcomes and health factors and also for the four different types of health factors: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment. Each county can also drill down to see specific county-level data (as well as state benchmarks) for the measures upon which the rankings are based.
3. CT Department of Public Health: Vital Statistics Reports https://portal.ct.gov/dph/health-information-systems–reporting/hisrhome…. The Office of Vital Records at the Connecticut Department of Public Health maintains a statewide registry of births, marriages, civil unions, deaths and fetal deaths which have occurred in CT or to CT residents. Vital Records databases are analyzed annually to create statistical reports, known as Registration Reports, for births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, and divorces.
4. Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index https://news.gallup.com/topic/well_being_index.aspx. Explore results by U.S. metropolitan area for overall wellbeing by five elements: career, social, financial, community, and physical based on 2017, 2018 Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index data.
5. National Vital Statistics Reports (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/nvsr.htm. Tables of vital statistics by state and population groups, including preliminary data on births.
6. Report: Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Low Birthweight for Connecticut (CTDPH Health Disparities Workgroup, 2008)  Report on the infant health disparity between minority groups and non-Hispanic Whites. Recommends improved services plus development of measures for addressing psychosocial factors in women’s lives.
7. CT Department of Public Health: Connecticut Health Disparities Report (2009). Detailed data compendium that describes health disparities within the State.
8. Kids Count, at http://datacenter.kidscount.org/, is a data tool of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It maintains an extensive list of indicators related to demographic, economic, education, health, and community well-being of children. Users can also download publications on various topics related to childhood.

9. Connecticut Voices for Children publishes many reports on early childcare, education, and child health and wellbeing, at http://www.ctvoices.org. Use the filters to browse reports by issue area, contributor, or publication date.

10. Data dot Census dot gov, at https://data.census.gov/ is an online portal to selected U.S. Census Bureau data sets, including those on school enrollment by age, educational attainment, private school enrollment, and other education topics. Please contact DataHaven if you have trouble finding what you need on this expansive site.

11. State of Connecticut Open Data: https://data.ct.gov/, has hosted data on topics related to health and human services, like drug related deaths, medical marijuana registry, and SNAP retailers. These may change over time.

12. CDC’s BRFSS (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) Prevalence and Trends Tool https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/brfssprevalence/. Access state-level data on behavioral risk factors, including alcohol consumption, health-care access, women’s health. Reports for Connecticut can be accessed at https://portal.ct.gov/dph/Health-Information-Systems–Reporting/Hisrhome/Connecticut-Behavioral-Risk-Factor-Surveillance-System-CT-BRFSS.

13. CDC’s Oral Health Data website contains data from Water Fluoridation Reporting System Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), State Oral Health Surveys, Indian Health Service (IHS) Oral Health Surveys and ASTDD’s Annual Synopsis of State Oral Health Programs. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealthdata/index.html.

14. Connecticut Department of Public Health’s Statistics and Research page https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Communications/Services–Programs/Statistics-and-Research contains data on chronic disease, environmental health, health care equity, health information systems, infectious diseases, maternal & child health, and tumor registry.

15. U.S. Small-area Life Expectancy Estimates Project – USALEEP. “The USALEEP project produced estimates of life expectancy at birth—the average number of years a person can expect to live—for most of the census tracts in the United States for the period 2010-2015.” Download data files at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/usaleep/usaleep.html. Analyses also contained within the 2019 DataHaven Community Index reports.

16. 500 Cities data (now known as CDC PLACES). “The 500 Cities project is a collaboration between CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation. The purpose of the 500 Cities Project is to provide city- and census tract-level small area estimates for chronic disease risk factors, health outcomes, and clinical preventive service use for the largest 500 cities in the United States. These small area estimates will allow cities and local health departments to better understand the burden and geographic distribution of health-related variables in their jurisdictions, and assist them in planning public health interventions.” https://www.cdc.gov/places/index.html. Analysis also available through a DataHaven report.

17. Environmental Protection Agency EnviroAtlas. “EnviroAtlas has 300+ national data layers that cover the contiguous US and an additional 100 community layers for 30 featured community areas. National data layers are frequently based on 30-meter resolution data, while community scale data are derived from 1-meter resolution land cover data for local planning and decision-making.” Currently, within Connecticut, local data are available for the New Haven region. See https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-05/documents/newhavenct.pdf for a factsheet. An interactive map is also available at https://enviroatlas.epa.gov/enviroatlas/interactivemap/.

18. Connecticut Environmental Justice Mapping Tool (2023, Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation): “The CT EJ Mapping Tool is an environmental justice mapping and screening tool that utilizes GIS data and information to create a wide and consistent dataset that combines environmental, health, socioeconomic and demographic indicators through our maps and reports. This information and the map can provide detailed information on the daily issues and problems that communities face and can lead policymakers and community leaders to address these issues better.” https://connecticut.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=5adac07c27db40bbabc193af58634e5a

19. CJEST – Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool (2022, U.S. Council on Environmental Quality) “The tool has an interactive map and uses datasets that are indicators of burdens in eight categories: climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, and workforce development. The tool uses this information to identify communities that are experiencing these burdens.” https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/ 

View additional data sources, including maps and links to external sources, on our Data Resources page. Or contact us to suggest other sources we should feature.

DataHaven Resources

Some of our most popular resources for civic engagement data include:

1. DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey – numerous survey questions related to civic engagement, social cohesion, and community resources produce local-level data about Connecticut that is not available from any other source.

2. 2016 Connecticut Civic Health Index – a report on statewide measures of community engagement and civic participation, authored by DataHaven.

3. Greater New Haven Community Index , Greater Hartford Community Wellbeing Index, Fairfield County Community Wellbeing Index – and other data reports in the Reports section of the DataHaven website.

4. DataHaven Connecticut Town Equity Reports – more detailed reports and maps for all 169 towns in Connecticut, focusing on local differences in equity and well-being.

    

Some of our favorite outside sources of civic data

1. Connecticut’s Secretary of the State website publishes election and voting statistics online. Access voter registration and election turnout data by town for all elections since 2000.

2. Data on local, statewide, and national nonprofit organizations at the National Center for Charitable Statistics: http://nccs.urban.org/, which has a variety of current databases and tools including report builders that allow users to download data by geographic area within Connecticut.

3. 2011 Connecticut Civic Health Index – a report on statewide measures of community engagement and civic participation.

4. The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan polling and research institute that researches public opinion of issues facing the nation. Data are only available at a national level.

5. “The state of CT’s cities and towns in charts,” at https://ctmirror.org/2017/08/14/the-state-of-cts-cities-and-towns-in-charts/ features tables on charts on municipal revenue, education spending, debt statistics and other data relevant for civic engagement.

6. Making Places / Connecticut Mills, at https://connecticutmills.org/, is an exceptionally detailed inventory of mills in all Connecticut towns. Click on the map to view mills, machine workshops, and other industrial sites that were and still are critical to the development of nearly every Connecticut town.

View additional data sources on childhood and education, including maps and links to external sources, on our Data Resources page. Or contact us to suggest other sources we should feature.

In January 2016, the City of New Haven launched a new City Transformation Plan, which was created with extensive input from city residents, DataHaven, and other citywide partners. The site included an interactive data dashboard built in partnership with DataHaven, based in large part on the Greater New Haven Community Index and the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey, both of which are updated on a regular basis.

The Transformation Plan is a City of New Haven strategy to increase opportunity, improve educational outcomes, and create safe, healthy neighborhoods.  The City applied for designation of a portion of the City as a federal Promise Zone as one implementation activity.