Progress in a challenging school year
Superintendent points to encouraging trends such as graduation rate
HARTFORD — Acknowledging that it has been a challenging school year, Hartford Superintendent of Schools Dr. Leslie Torres-rodriguez highlighted several significant districtwide successes, notably positive trends in graduation rates in the face of the COVID19 pandemic, during her State of the District virtual town hall on Tuesday evening.
Hartford Public Schools’ graduation rate rose to 72.3% in 2021 after a dip to 68.6% in 2020, according to Torres-rodriguez. While the statewide graduation rate average in 2021 was 89% in 2021, Torres-rodriguez said Hartford Public Schools “has more than doubled the state rate of growth by improving the graduation rate by 3.5% since 2017.
“We just missed our adjusted performance target of 73.5% — we made it to 72.3%, which is something we should all be very proud of given that we know how deeply the pandemic impacted our graduating students,” she said.
The goal by 2024 is to increase the average four-year cohort graduation rate to 83%, she said.
The school system has seen gains in graduation rates across all subgroups, with multilingual learners (10.3% increase), Hispanic students (6.3%) female students (5.9%) and special needs students (5.4%) seeing the greatest improvements, Torres-rodriguez said.
In addition, the school district is tackling the issue of chronic absenteeism, which was a problem before COVID-19 and further exacerbated by the pandemic, Torres-rodriguez said.
It’s an issue that begins on Day 1 of the school year, she said.
“Attendance matters,” Torres-rodriguez said. “Data shows that students who miss the first few days of school tend to fall behind during the rest of the school year. Those first few days provide a crucial time for our students to bond not only with their teachers, but with their peers.”
After having conducted nearly 4,000 home visits, school officials concluded there were numerous
reasons for chronic absenteeism, including illness, transportation issues and kids having to work to help support their families.
In some instances, Torres-rodriguez said, early release Wednesdays presented a challenge for families.
The district has implemented a number of initiatives, including enrichment opportunities, attendance initiatives and challenges, such as February Olympics and March Madness, as well as expanded extracurricular activities and athletics to “instill in students the importance of showing up” as well as strengthening the bonds the students has with the school community, Torres-rodriguez said.
Other programs for academic recovery in the wake of the pandemic include high school credit recovery, intersession programming during school breaks, evening schools, Saturday Academy and extended schoolyear programs for special needs students, Torres-rodriguez said.
Every high school now offers athletics and has new equipment, which are important steps considering the state of such programs just a few years ago, Torres-rodriguez said.
Torres-rodriguez also addressed updated health protocols regarding COVID-19.
While there was an increase in the number of reported COVID19 cases among students and staff in May, the numbers are nowhere near what was reported in January, when the Omicron variant was raging across the country, Torres-rodriguez said.
Students and staff are encouraged, but not required, to wear masks while in school buildings, Torres-rodriguez said. At-home tests are also available by request through each student’s respective school nurse.
Thus far, Hartford Public Schools has distributed 200,000 masks and more than 9,000 at-home tests, she said.
Torres-rodriguez also addressed some parental concerns about school safety in the wake of yet another mass shooting at a school, this time in Uvalde, Texas.
Torres-rodriguez acknowledged the sensitivity in discussing the school district’s emergency response preparation. She noted the district complies with all state laws concerning having policies and procedures in place, as well as conducting emergency drills that go beyond state requirements.
Also addressing several parents’ concerns over school staffing, Torres-rodriguez said the school district was close to 90% staffed, an increase from 85% just several months prior.
Among the most difficult areas to hire are teachers of English to speakers of other languages and special needs.
The district has increased recruitment and retention efforts, Torres-rodriguez said, including spending $5 million on yearend and return bonuses. Full-time employees, for example, will receive a $750 end-of-the-year bonus, while part-timers will receive $250, Torres-rodriguez said.
“That is not the only answer, but we feel it is a step in the right direction to support [staff ] in the moment,” she said.
The district is also allocating $450,000 for learning space materials so teachers can personalize their classrooms, Torres-rodriguez said.
Increased efforts at recruitment, including offering $1,500 referral bonuses, and a new marketing campaign have seen 1,000 new applicants apply over the past six weeks, she said. Over the same period of time last year, HPS had 480 new applicants.
Torres-rodriguez acknowledged it’s been a trying year for students, staff, parents and the community at-large.
“It certainly has not been the year I hoped for,” she said. “It’s been very challenging.”