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 Talk Tuesday Presentations

• 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
• 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
• 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

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
• 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

• 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
• 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

• 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

Presentations 2020-21

• AccelerateCT, Reimagining Schools to Transform Students' Lives APR/ESSER Guidance and Data Spotlight, Homelessness, CSDE, June 15, 2021
• AccelerateCT Summer Program and 21st Century Grants CSDE, May 4, 2021
• Addressing Student Overall Safety and Well-being Department of Children and Families, June 2, 2020
• Chronic Absence Patterns and Predictions During COVID-19: Insights from Connecticut CSDE, June 29, 2021
• High-impact Family Engagement Strategies CSDE, January 12, 2021
• Home Visits, Problem of Practice Bridgeport Public Schools, March 23, 2021
• Homelessness, Education and Attendance CT Coalition to End Homelessness, December 1, 2020
• LEAP Updates & Questions CSDE, June 29, 2021
• Parent Teacher Home Visits CT Family School Partnerships and Windsor Public Schools, April 6, 2021 
• Smart Strategies and Smart Interventions for Improving Attendance during the COVID-19 Era SERC, June 1, 2021
• Social Emotional Learning and Statewide Assessment Tools CSDE, May 18, 2021
• State Guidance on Tracking Student Attendance During Remote and Hybrid Learning CSDE, September 8, 2020
• Students with Disabilities Improving Attendance and Engagement CSDE, February 23, 2021
• Tier 1 Strategies for Multilingual Learners CSDE, February 9, 2021

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.