Bridgeport Public Schools kicked off its annual convocation at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater Wednesday with assurances it would address soaring student absenteeism rates.
Interim School Superintendent Royce Avery said during the event the district is working on improving professional development, student outreach and reducing staff turnover, which will in part, reduce absenteeism.
“Kids will be here if you're here,” Avery said. “So we want to make sure that you connect those dots to make sure that kids are here and when they're not here, let's make sure that we touch them to get them in within our systems.”
Bridgeport’s absenteeism rate is among the highest in Connecticut, according to state data for the 2024-2025 school year. It prompted a district wide meeting with parents, staff and nonprofits earlier this year, to come up with ways to address the problem.
But while Bridgeport faced higher student absenteeism rates, the district has since worked with expanding mental health resources to students and expanded office hours for personalized communication between parents and staff.
According to Charlene Russell Tucker, commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Education, over 20,000 students are currently enrolled in the district, but many are simply not showing up.
“Last year, over 6,000 students were chronically absent,” Russell-Tucker said. “We've got to be working on that starting day one to make sure they're here, they're present, they're engaged in learning.”
Bridgeport leaders say the city faced higher absenteeism rates at 19% before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down schools as students switched to remote learning.
Bridgeport’s absenteeism rates never dipped below 27% since then. The city’s wealthier neighbor, the town of Fairfield, saw its absenteeism rates top out at above 16% and is now at over 8%.
Russell-Tucker said Bridgeport’s school district is working to address the attendance rates in part, by listening to parents, but also working with the state, pointing out recent successes in restoring bus service.
The DOE ended up stepping in to help manage the school district as a result of absenteeism rates earlier this year. It also intervened amid concerns over the district's handling of the budget and student outcomes, per previous reporting from Connecticut Public.
