Program takes on student absenteeism, disengagement
A new statewide initiative has been created to address high rates of student absenteeism and disengagement.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced the new program Monday to support K-12 students with poor attendance and engagement levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Called the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program, it is a partnership between the state education department and six Regional Education Service
Centers and targets Bridgeport and 14 other districts throughout Connecticut.
The program is funded by $10.7 million of the state’s federal COVID-19 relief dollars, and comes as rates of chronic absenteeism remain stubbornly high in some areas of the state.
“The pandemic has continued to create challenges around student attendance and engagement,” Lamont said in a statement. “It is clear that technology and broadband are necessary, but not sufficient, to ensuring our children have the resources they need to succeed during this challenging period. As such, Connecticut is taking another critical step forward with LEAP in keeping our promise of offering a high-quality education to all students.”
State officials said the goals of LEAP are: to reconnect students and their schools for the rest of this year, to encourage enrollment in summer learning opportunities and to support back-toschool transitions in the fall.
According to the state, funds will be used to send staff to families’ homes. Regional centers will coordinate with school district officials, local community organizations and other state service providers to engage with students at risk of falling behind in their academic and holistic learning.
“Improving attendance and reaching each and every one of our students require forming strategic partnerships that involve the entire community, establishing systems of support and focusing resources on the areas of greatest need,” Acting Commissioner of Education Charlene Russell-Tucker said in a statement. “LEAP embraces this approach and builds on our ongoing work with educators, families and community partners to ensure that all of our children are connected with their teachers and their schools.”
Educators have described getting kids back in classrooms — whether in-person or virtually — as essential to catching them up on more than a year of learning disrupted by the pandemic.
The state used education department absenteeism and other data to allocate LEAP dollars to districts with the greatest need. The 15 participating districts are Bridgeport, the Capitol Region Education Council, Danbury, East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwich, Stamford, Torrington, Waterbury and Windham.
Central to the program is its localized work with regional centers already embedded in the communities they serve, the state said.
“Connecticut’s RESCs are uniquely organized to assist with this critical work,” Jeffrey Kitching, executive director at RESC Alliance, said in a statement. “We are connected within the schools and communities involved, and have the professional capacity to quickly and effectively provide kids and families the necessary supports.”