Bridgeport’s school administrators attribute the district’s sharp drop in absenteeism to a relationship-based approach that pairs school counselors and coaches with families through home visits and flexible meeting locations.
Absenteeism in district schools dropped 10.4 percentage points from 32.0 percent in 2024 to 22.6 percent since October of this year, well below pre-pandemic levels. The improvement is attributed in part to the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program, known as LEAP.
LEAP was launched by the state in April 2021 to combat pandemic-related absenteeism, but Bridgeport school officials said they soon realized they needed to turn the tables around and adopt a more personal, family-centered approach to address absenteeism.
School-based attendance teams are in every school building in the district, including the high schools. The teams are made up of school counselors and coaches trained to visit the homes and speak to the families of students that are identified as chronically absent.
“Our main focus is not initially on attendance, but on building relationships and trust with the families,” said Carli Rocha-Reaes, a former counselor and director of school counseling and partnership in the Bridgeport Public Schools.
Leonard Cohen, a retired probation officer and basketball and track coach at Blackham Elementary School, said sometimes families are hesitant and uncomfortable and don’t want the counselors coming to their homes.
“But we assure them we’re not here to look around,” Cohen said. “We don’t go in assessing their home beyond what their needs are for support,” he said.
When families are hesitant and uncomfortable having counselors coming to their homes, meetings are scheduled at libraries, schools or other community locations, said Eric’ka Lalanne, a LEAP high school counselor.
“We’re not having this meeting because you’re in trouble,” Lalanne said she tells families. “Teenagers are tough. We say, ‘it’s to support you, to show what resources are available in the community and school,’ especially if there are other issues outside absenteeism.”
Since September, more than 600 families have been contacted and 132 home visits completed, according to district officials. Each visit is different, counselors say, and requires a different approach.
“When discussing attendance, there are certain barriers families are facing,’ said Emily Johnson, a counselor at Read Elementary School. “Sometimes families feels as if they’re being called out, they go on the defensive because they feel as if they’re being scolded. What we try to convey is that we both have the same goal — you want your children to learn, I want your children to learn. For that to happen, they have to be in school.”
The city’s cultural diversity is both a strength and a challenge when it comes to engaging families in schools, said Daphne Edwards-DaRosa, a school counselor at Blackham School.
“The diversity is phenomenal in this city — there are families from everywhere,” she said, noting that cultural norms can sometimes make families hesitant to question teachers or school policies. Drawing on her own family background, Edwards-DaRosa said some cultures view speaking up in schools as inappropriate.
She said language and cultural connections can help bridge that gap.
“If you go into a home and can speak their language, they feel you’re connected in a real way, connecting to their culture,” Edwards-DaRosa said. “That works really well.”
District staff say improving regular school attendance is a shared priority, with a focus on communication and helping students understand the long-term value of education.
“Anyone doing this type of work is trying to get kids to come to school on a regular basis,” Cohen said, adding that education can be especially critical for inner-city students. “If you don’t get an education, you can miss out on everything. We have our own kids but they’re our kids, too.”
