Overview

Paying attention to attendance and engagement is even more essential this year, given the unique challenges created by COVID-19 for schools, families, students and community providers.  Working together to cultivate student engagement and develop regular attendance habits, whether school is offered in person or remotely, ensures that students benefit from the learning opportunities offered.

Noticing absences as soon as they begin to add up ensures preventive action is taken to address barriers before a student has lost out on so much learning that it is difficult for them to catch up. Ongoing tracking and monitoring of absenteeism — by school, grade, and student population — ensures the ability to identify and respond, as soon as possible, when the new learning models may not be working as planned. Additionally, this focused attention provides for the identification of “bright spots” or successful practices for student engagement that should be taken to scale.

The resources below provide guidance on tracking and supporting attendance.  New resources will be added to this site as they are released.

Supporting Student Attendance and Engagement during Hybrid or Remote Learning

• Addendum 14: Supporting Student Attendance and Engagement during Hybrid or Remote Learning (September 21, 2020)

Tracking and Reporting Attendance in PSIS

• Tracking Attendance on Remote Days for State Reporting & FAQs (updated November 3, 2020)
• Data Collections to Support Student Participation can be accessed on EdSight  
  • An Analysis of Preliminary Public School Enrollment in 2020-21 Report, November 2020
    
  • Student Attendance in September 2020 Report, November 2020
    

Professional Support Webinars 2020-21

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) 101: Initial steps to building a solid foundation for SEL, September 3, 2020

Virtual Mentoring as a Tool to Improve Student Engagement in Remote and Hybrid Learning Models, October 19, 2020

Supporting Student Attendance Engagement during Hybrid or Remote Learning, October 29, 2020

For additional webinars and COVID-19 Resources visit:

Previously Released COVID-19 Attendance Guidance (April 9, 2020)

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our school communities, the location of learning has shifted to students’ homes, potentially increasing the resources needed for the otherwise straight-forward task of taking attendance. Guidance is provided below in a memorandum from Commissioner Cardona and two resources from the Department of Children and Families: 

• Attendance Guidance and Ensuring Student Engagement during School Class Cancelations Due to COVID-19, Commissioner Miguel A. Cardona, April 9, 2020
• FAQ for filing a DCF Non-Emergent Report online, Department of Children and Families
• When to Make a Referral to the DCF Careline, Department of Children and Families