Connecticut State Department of Education

Talk Tuesdays - Student Attendance and Engagement

Overview

Talk Tuesdays are a professional networking opportunity that provides district and school staff an opportunity to support each other and their work to improve student attendance and engagement. Virtual sessions are held bi-weekly and engage state agency, district and school staff in an open dialogue around student attendance and engagement for in-person, hybrid, and remote learning models. The audience for Talk Tuesdays are the state turnaround schools and districts, e.g., Alliance Districts, Commissioner's Network Schools The objectives of Talk Tuesdays are to share lessons learned, trouble-shoot common concerns and provide overall support to each other.  Participants help identify the topics for future meetings, present problems of practice, and spend time together in small group discussions.

Featured guests have included the Commissioners of Education and the Department of Children and Families, The Governor's Prevention Partnership, Connecticut School Family Partnerships Center, the CT Coalition to End Housing and many local school districts.
A cross-agency work group, in partnership with the State Education Resource Center (SERC), reviews monthly attendance data submitted to the department by local districts to determine areas of focus.

Recent Presentations
Presentations by Topic 2021-22
Presentations by Topic 2020-21
In addition to Talk Tuesdays, a monthly Student Attendance and Engagement Community of Practice for District Attendance Leads is also provided.  The audience includes all school districts across the state.  Sessions are held on the third Thursday of each month.  These sessions provide an opportunity for districts to dive deeper into student attendance data and explore promising practices for implementing a multi-tiered system that supports the entire school community.