Pandemic-era home visits credited with attendance rebound
Connecticut’s Learner Engagement and Attendance Program, known as LEAP, launched in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Backed by federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, the program was designed to address a sharp rise in chronic absenteeism by sending volunteers directly into homes to build relationships with families, connect them with resources, and improve school attendance.
Five years later, state leaders and national experts on school attendance have declared LEAP a resounding success. In the 2021-2022 school year, chronic absenteeism in Connecticut reached 23.7%, nearly double what it was before the pandemic. In the most recent school year, that figure dropped to 16.4% — a decrease of roughly 35,000 students classified as chronically absent.
The 16.4% rate remains higher than Connecticut’s pre-pandemic baseline, but it sits well below the 2021 peak.
Gov. Ned Lamont, whose administration has overseen LEAP from its creation to the present, said he was pleased with the results.
LEAP’s volunteer-into-homes strategy is at the core of the program. The approach deploys volunteers directly into households to build relationships with families and connect them with resources intended to improve attendance.