Chronic Absenteeism in Schools: How Are East Lyme Students Doing?

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

EAST LYME, CT – East Lyme had a 4.7 percent chronic absenteeism rate last year for students attending its public schools.

For the state of Connecticut, the rate of chronic absence was 9.6 percent statewide.

The worst school district in the state was Hartford, with a 22.4 percent chronic absent rate; the best was Madison, with a 1.9 percent rate.

Chronic absence is defined as missing 10 percent or greater of the total number of days enrolled during the
school year for any reason.

It includes both excused, unexcused, out-of-school suspensions, and in-school suspensions that last more
than one-half of the school day. For example, a student who has been enrolled for the first 30 school days at the beginning of the school year and has been absent three of those days is chronically absent.

Over the last school year, rates of chronic absenteeism in Connecticut schools fell in every student subgroup and in the state overall, continuing a trend that started during the 2012-13 school year.

Patch file photo.