Overview

Talk Tuesdays are information sharing sessions that provide district and school staff an opportunity to support each other and their work to improve student attendance and engagement. Virtual sessions are a quick way to stay in touch with a network of support. One hour sessions are held every other Tuesday and engage state agency, district and school staff in an open dialogue around student attendance and engagement. Meetings are open to all working to improve engagement and attendance – school, district and community members. The objectives of Talk Tuesdays are to:1) stay up-to-date on state policies, practices, events and issues; 2) share successes and lessons learned, 3) trouble-shoot common concerns and 4) provide overall support to each other.  Participants help identify the topics for future meetings, present problems of practice, and spend time together expanding our knowledge and capacity to engage students in school.

Register for Talk Tuesdays (one time registration for all sessions) at https://serc.info/talktues22-23. If you have trouble registering, please contact Lauren Johns at johns@ctserc.org. 

E-Learning Series on Attendance & Engagement with Attendance Works

Session 1 - January 23, 2023

• Recording of Session 1 - Whole School Strategies 
• Presentation Slides
• Outline and Link to Resources

Talk Tuesday Sessions 2022-23

• Credit Recovery: Personal Interest Projects Dr. Liz Radday, Director of School Services, EdAdvance, Matt Mervis, EdAdvance, Kelly Brooks, Montville Public Schools, December 13, 2022. Watch recording!

• Educational Neglect and Truancy Lisa Daymonde, LMSW, the Carline Director at the CT Department of Children and Families, Ed Eckert, CT-Kind, CT Department of Children and Families and Positive Interventions for Addressing Truancy, Susan Lauria, Stamford Youth Services and Mathew Laskowski, Executive Director of Access and Opportunity, Stamford Public Schools, November 29, 2022. Watch recording!

• Connecticut Weekly Respiratory Viral Disease Trends Report Kristen Soto, MPH, COVID-19 and Influenza Surveillance Unit Coordinator/Epidemiologist 4Infectious Disease Section, Connecticut Department of Public Health, November 15, 2022. Watch recording!
• Is Everyone Welcomed? Stephen Proffitt, Director for Special Education Programs and Instruction Design, SERC, November 1, 2022
• Fall Focus on Success #2: New London Public Schools, Attendance and Multilingual Families, Maribel Olivero, Director of Bilingual Education, ESOL, Rachel Newer, School Social Worker, New London High School, and Kristina Ciotto, Elementary English Learners, October 18, 2022, Watch recording!
• Attendance Awareness Social Media Campaign, Caroline Calhoun and Devonna Dionne, EdAdvance, and Attendance and COVID-19 Guidance, Kari Sullilvan Custer, CSDE, October 4, 2022, Watch recording!
• Fall Focus on Success #1: Bristol Public Schools, Erika Treannie, Director of Climate, Culture, and Engagement, September 20, 2022

Summer 2022 "Back-to-Basics" Series

• Equitable and Inclusive Partnerships with Families to Support Student Attendance and Engagement, Judy Carson, Ph.D., Education Consultant, School-Family-Community Partnerships,CSDE, and Alice Farrell, JD, LCSW, MSW, President and CEO, Olive Branch Clinical and Consulting Services, LLC

• Unpacking Data to identify Trends and Root Causes Kari Sullivan Custer, Education Consultant, CSDE, and Carli Rocha-Reaes, Director of School Counseling, Bridgeport Public Schools, August 9, 2022. Watch recording! Watch recording! 

• School Climate: Impact on Attendance Amanda Pickett, Climate and Culture Consultant, CSDE, Dr. Michelle Baker, Principal, Wilby High School, Waterbury, July 26, 2022. Watch recording!

• School Attendance Teams are Foundational to Improving Attendance Kari Sullivan Custer, CSDE, and School Attendance Teams in Action, Norwich Public Schools, Sara Duso, Equity Director, Jon Turban, Attendance and Family Engagement Supervisor, and Cindy Beaugard, Family Engagement Coordinator, July 12, 2022, Watch Recording!

Attendance & Engagement Community of Practice (CoP) Sessions 2021-22

• Spotlight on Transition Strategies to Support Rising 9th Graders Sonya A. Stemmer, Supervisor of Professional Learning & Teacher Evaluation, East Hartford Public Schools and Hedy Chang Executive Director, Attendance Works, May 19, 2022. Watch recording!
• Summer and Afterschool Programming: Opportunities, Resources and Innovation Shelby Pons and John Scianimanico from the Connecticut State Department of Education and Dan Dziedzic, Teacher and Afterschool Coordinator at Bristol Public Schools, April 21, 2022, Watch Recording
• Deepening Relationships with Priority Groups Hedy Chang, Attendance Works and Erika Treannie, Director of Climate, Culture and Engagement, Bristol Public Schools, March 17, 2022, Watch recording.
• Monitoring Current Data Trends to Support Improved Attendance & Engagement Ajit Gopalakrishnan, Chief Performance Officer, CSDE, February 17, 2022, Download Protocol Tool Watch recording.
• Why Tier 1 Relationship Building Continues to Matter Hedy Chang, Attendance Works, and Characteristics of High Impact Engagement And Relationship Building, Judy Carson, CSDE, November 18, 2021 Watch recording 
• Tier 1 & Tier 2 Relationship Building at Scale Hedy Chang, Attendance Works and Amanda Picket, CSDE, October 21, 2021

2021-22 Presentations by Topic Area

Building Systems to Address Attendance

• Review of C.G.S. 19-198a, Policies and procedures concerning truants Kari Sullivan Custer, Connecticut State Department of Education, May 31, 2022
• Building Systems Coherence to Strengthen Social-Emotional Behavioral Learning and Supports to Maximize Student Engagement and Success Kimberly Traverso, Education Consultant, CSDE, and Dr. Michael Mallery, District Coordinator of Social Emotional Learning at Windsor Public Schools, May 3, 2022, Watch Recording!
• Best Practices for Improving Attendance by Addressing School Health Assessments and Immunizations Chlo-Anne Bobrowski, MSN RN, Education Manager School Health and Family Services and Dr. Ann Meade, The Office of Family, School, and Community Partnerships, Danbury Public Schools and Laura Shulman Cordeira, MPH, Director of Community Health and Wellness, RVNA Health of Ridgefield CT, May 17, 2022, Watch Recording!
• Hartford Public Schools: From Attendance to ACE Corinne Barney, Executive Director of School Improvement, Hartford Public Schools, April 5, 2022
• Our Attendance Journey, The Bridge Academy Rachel Allison, Principal, March 8, 
• 2022, Watch recording.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Kari Sullivan Custer, CSDE, September 21, 2021
• Mobilize your Teams! Kari Sullivan Custer, CSDE, September 7, 2021
• Attendance 101 Kari Sullivan Custer, CSDE, August 24, 2021
• Spark Innovation!  Focusing on Attendance & Engagement in the New Normal CSDE and SERC, July 27, 2021

Building Relationships

• Deepening Relationships with Priority Groups Hedy Chang, Attendance Works and Erika Treannie, Director of Climate, Culture and Engagement, Bristol Public Schools, March 17, 2022, Watch recording.
  Reconnecting with Families: a Communitywide Approach Mike Meyer, Director of Family & Community Engagement, Stamford Public Schools, and Susan Lauria, Program Coordinator, Stamford Youth Services, January 25, 2022
• Why Tier 1 Relationship Building Continues to Matter and Characteristics of High Impact Engagement And Relationship Building Hedy Chang, Attendance Works, and Judy Carson, CSDE, November 18, 2021 Watch recording  
• Building Relationships Through Instruction  Amanda Pickett, CSDE, November 16, 2021. Watch recording.  
• Tier 1 & Tier 2 Relationship Building at Scale Hedy Chang, Attendance Works and Amanda Picket, CSDE, October 21, 2021
• Beginning of the Year Relationship Building Tools Dr. Judy Carson, CSDE, August 10, 2021

Focus on Student Groups

• Spotlight on Transition Strategies to Support Rising 9th Graders Sonya A. Stemmer, Supervisor of Professional Learning & Teacher Evaluation, East Hartford Public Schools and Hedy Chang Executive Director, Attendance Works, May 19, 2022
• Improving Attendance by Addressing Homelessness and Housing Instability Louis Tallarita, CSDE, December 14, 2021. Watch recording.
• Improving Attendance & Engagement for Students with Disabilities  Jay Brown, CSDE, November 30, 2021

Data Tracking and Monitoring

• Review of Truancy Statute and Definitions Kari Sullivan Custer, Connecticut State Department of Education, May 31, 2022
• Protocol for Examining Monthly Attendance Data and District Spotlight: Bridgeport Public Schools Kari Sullivan Custer, CSDE and Carli Rocha-Reaes, Director of School Counseling, Bridgeport Public Schools, March 22, 2022, Watch recording.
• Monitoring Current Data Trends to Support Improved Attendance & Engagement Ajit Gopalakrishnan, Chief Performance Officer, and Briana Hennessey, CSDE, February 17, 2022, Download Protocol Tool, Watch recording.
• ICYMI - Supported: Leveraging Attendance Data to Ensure Ongoing Success Webinar Attendance Works, Kari Sullivan, October 19, 2021

Connecting to Learning

• Summer and Afterschool Programming: Opportunities, Resources and Innovation Shelby Pons and John Scianimanico from the Connecticut State Department of Education and Dan Dziedzic, Teacher and Afterschool Coordinator at Bristol Public Schools  
• Learning Recovery Strategies for Secondary Students with High Absence Rates Erica Forti, Superintendent, East Haven Public Schools, January 11, 2022. Watch recording