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DA District Administration
How one state is tackling declining enrollment numbers
Connecticut's Department of Education is taking a more proactive
approach to reporting on and releasing data on attendance during the
pandemic.
By: Chris Burt
November 11, 2020
Though the Connecticut State Department of Education reported on
Wednesday a 3% decline in enrollment for the start of the 2020-21
school year, it says that number is consistent with dips from the past
five years and does factor in the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sharpest declines in enrollment are happening at the
pre-kindergarten and kindergarten levels, which the state says might be
due to parents opting to delay their children during the crisis. It
also says home schooling has been a factor driving enrollment downward
in grades 1-12.
So the Department is Education is taking a number of steps to try to
get those numbers back up. One of them is to have updated data
available on a monthly basis, rather than once a year. That includes
attendance numbers, key to seeing which students – at various grade
levels and within certain subgroups – are not in schools.
“We are now collecting more robust, frequent student-level
attendance data to help us better identify patterns early on around
issues with attendance and participation, especially for our most
vulnerable populations,” Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona said.
“Using these data to pinpoint areas of greatest need, we will
proactively work with educators, families and community partners to
address the root causes of that absenteeism and disengagement by
establishing systems of support to reach all of our students.”
The early reports from September show the hardest hit cadre of students
are those from typically underperforming categories, such as
English-language learners, special needs students and those who receive
free-and-reduced meals. The DOE notes that groups with multiple needs
were among the most likely to miss school.
The total number of students who have fallen out of the system is just
over 15,000 from 2019 to 2020, according to the report. The state shows
a more than 50% drop in pre-K and kindergarten. It also highlighted
that more than 3,000 children were being homeschooled, a dramatic rise
from the 547 who chose that path last year.
One positive finding from the state is that despite the pivot in most
communities to some form of distance learning, students who are
enrolled are being able to get online.
“A bright spot we have seen, thanks to the hard work and team effort of
our districts and other partners to get kids connected and engaged, is
that the number of fully remote students who are disconnected has been
declining every week since schools opened – true even as the overall
number of fully remote students has grown statewide,” Cardona said.
The goal from the work is to reach those most vulnerable groups. So the
DOE has made multiple outreach efforts in those areas, including
working the its State Education Resource Center to “build communities
of practice and a system of supports for districts that bring together
the latest research, national experts, and promising practices.”
In trying to change those downward trends and keep students engaged,
the state’s department of education has implemented a number of
initiatives, including:
Forming an advisory team that handles planning, professional
development and symposiums around issues of attendance and enrollment
Launching monthly Community of Practice meetings to talk about
engagement among students who are distance learning as well as key
terms that help support those in underserved areas
Providing a professional support series for both districts, students
and parents that include a series of webinars on remote learning and
attendance, engaging with families while looking at participation and
potential lost connections, and how to connect with and listen to
vulnerable populations during the pandemic.
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