Promising Practices to Reduce Chronic Absence


Introduction


Good attendance is essential to student achievement!
Across Connecticut, districts are strategically planning and implementing preventions and interventions to reduce the number of unnecessary absences in pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12.  Schools and districts across the state are forming district and school attendance teams and implementing strategies and systems of tiered supports outlined in CSDE’s Reducing Chronic Absence in Connecticut’s Schools: A Prevention and Intervention Guide for Schools and Districts. 

We want to celebrate and learn from their successes.  After seeing successes in the data, we reached out to find out what is working.   As we heard from partners in districts, schools and community organizations who have been implementing promising practices to reduce chronic absenteeism in their communities, we compiled those stories into the Inventory of Promising Practices.  We hope these interventions will support the work of districts, schools, and communities in developing and implementing effective strategies to reduce and address chronic absence.  The practices cataloged are all being implemented here in Connecticut.


This resource provides a profile for each of the districts highlighted including an overview of its chronic absence data and promising examples of prevention or intervention that have been implemented in schools and districts in Connecticut to address issues that have led to high levels of truancy or chronic absenteeism.