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Enrollment in Connecticut public schools drops, diversity increases

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Student enrollment at public schools in Connecticut declined nearly 3% last year compared to 2020, according to an annual report by the Department of Education presented at the state Board of Education in Hartford on Wednesday.

Compared to five years ago, enrollment is more diverse. According to the report, half of public school students are non-white, 42.7% come from low-income families and 16.3% are students with disabilities.

But the chronic absenteeism rate grew last year to 19%, up from 12.2% the previous year. The report found that students who learned in hybrid or remote models in the 2020-21school year showed weaker academic achievement during the pandemic, compared with students who learned in person. The largest differences were in math.

Connecticut’s graduation rate remained higher than the national average. However, the percentage of 11th and 12th graders who met the College and Career Readiness benchmark — on SAT, ACT, Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) exams — dropped through the pandemic.

Sujata Srinivasan is Connecticut Public Radio’s senior health reporter. Prior to that, she was a senior producer for Where We Live, a newsroom editor, and from 2010-2014, a business reporter for the station.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.