Approximately 40 Ballardites gathered in the Ballard High School cafeteria May 3 to brainstorm critical issues facing Seattle's youth and families now, possible solutions to those issues, and what they would like to see five years in the future.

The gathering was part of more than 100 community caucuses Mayor Mike McGinn has called as part of his Youth and Families Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to shape the mayor's agenda on issues affecting youth and families.

McGinn opened the caucus by talking about the issues he heard about while campaigning that sparked the Youth and Families Initiative. He said he heard about men and women who were pulled into violence and didn't get a chance to succeed and about disparities between communities when it came to race, ethnicity and economic status.

McGinn said he wants to bring communities into the circle of accountability to find solutions to the obstacles facing the city's youth.

"What are we going to do?" he asked. "How are we going to stand up and work together?"

Estela Ortega, executive director of El Centro de la Raza and cochair of the initiative, said the United States does not have a high enough level of college graduates right now to replace the baby boomers. Seattle can't afford to lose even one child, she said.

"We need every single one of our kids graduating from high school and graduating from college," she said.

Ortega said the city needs to tackle the issues of dropout rates and achievement gaps among minority populations and the lack of teachers of color in public schools.

After the introductory remarks, community members split into three groups to start brainstorming.

Some of the problems currently facing youth and families identified by Ballardites are:

• Lack of diversity in teaching staff.
• Not enough funding.
• Lack of nutritious school meals.
• High dropout rates.
• Too much free time for students because of short school days.
• Reduced public library hours.
• Poor public transportation.
• Lack of teacher accountability.

Some things Ballardites said they would like to see five years from now are:

• An appropriate ratio of teachers to students.
• A seventh period for electives in middle school and high school.
• Affordable, high-quality childcare.
• Improved healthcare and support workers.
• More teen community centers.
• Higher graduation rates.

Delegates from the caucus will be sent to the June 5 Youth and Families Congress at the Seattle Center to refine the priorities discussed at the community caucuses.