Shelton schools to combat chronic absenteeism

District Attendance Review Team off to good start

SHELTON — Chronic absenteeism often results in poor academic performance, dropping out before finishing high school and dead-end jobs, experts say.

Moreover, it is often a symptom of deeper educational, emotional and social issues.

Shelton public schools recently launched the District Attendance Review Team. Headed by Assistant Superintendent Lorraine Rossner, it works to combat poor attendance — and early reports indicate that it is off to a good start.

“Of necessity, our team primarily focuses on high school students because they are often at the danger point with respect to the credits they need to graduate,” Rossner said at last month’s Board of Education meeting. “But attendance issues can also affect kids at the middle school and elementary school levels.”

Students are chronically absent, according to the state’s definition, if they miss 10 percent or more of school for any reason. Statewide, the average is 10.7 percent. Last year in Shelton, it was 10.1 percent, down from a high of 13.4 percent in 2015-16.

In 2017-18, some 18.1 percent of Shelton High School students were chronically absent, followed by 11.3 percent in Shelton Intermediate School. The elementary schools ranged from 1.9 percent at Booth Hill to 6.6 percent at Long Hill.

To look for ways to improve attendance, Bobbi Tar, a teammate of Rossner’s and the district’s youth outreach coordinator, first analyzed the attendance policies of school districts adjacent to Shelton and identified programs they used that could work in her district.

The team also chose to exclude longterm illnesses from the district’s chronic absenteeism report.

State law requires that a student provide a doctor’s note for 10 absences or more, Tar said, which parents don’t always know.

“Long-term illness is not the fault of a child or parent,” said Rossner. “Yet, sometimes they show up on the report because they neglected to submit the documentation (attesting to the illness).”

The team reviews each instance of poor attendance at the elementary, intermediate and high school level, analyzing its root causes and developing workable solutions. Working with Rossner are others from the district’s central staff, including the principals of each school and representatives from police and state agencies.

Few parents are intentionally neglectful, Tar said.

“Parents contact us for help all the time,” she said. “A wide range of factors contribute to a kid missing school. Even the parents’ work schedules come into play.”

At that Board of Education meeting, Rossner reported on the results of two meetings between the team, high school students and their parents or guardians.

“These were probably the most emotional meetings I’ve ever had as an administrator,” said Rossner. “The parents were telling us that they’ve tried so much and they don’t know what to do, and the kids were there pouring out their hearts … giving us clues to the real reason they are having problems getting to school.”

The presence of parents/guardians at those meetings is vital, she said.

“Without parental support and cooperation, it’s a big break in the chain,” Rossner said.

The team has been concentrating on systematic outreach to students and parents, which is where Tar’s role as outreach specialist comes in. This gives both team and family an opportunity to resolve any paperwork discrepancies, she said.

“We see our role as being an ally, not to play ‘gotcha,’” Tar said. “We invite students to tell us why they haven’t been in school.”

The open approach can uncover unexpected issues unknown to the guidance staff or administrators, including classroom bullying or other conflicts with students or teachers, and events at home.

In a recent situation, a student became despondent after the death of a relative who had lived with the immediate family. The student’s attendance and grades spiraled downward — until Rossner and Tar stepped in to find out the cause, Rossner said.