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District reports foster‑care student counts, supports; staff say most students already on interventions
Summary
Coventry staff presented a state-required foster-care dashboard showing the district had 64 students in foster care, about a quarter with IEPs, and staff said most were already receiving academic or behavioral interventions.
District staff presented the annual local-education-agency foster-care report to the school committee on Jan. 9, sharing counts, attendance and assessment information required by new state law and describing interventions in place for students in out‑of‑home care.
Staff said the district’s dashboard — compiled from student data and uploaded to the state system — showed 64 students identified as in foster care during the 2023–24 school year. The presentation noted that 24% of those students had Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and that most foster-care students were already receiving supports; staff told the committee none of the children required a new, separate support plan because existing interventions were in place.
The report indicated that the majority of foster-care students had zero-day suspensions, with a small number having one or more short suspensions. Staff also said none of the district’s foster-care students participated in Advanced Placement coursework during the year and therefore did not take AP exams. Assessment results showed a mix of outcomes with many students not meeting standards and a smaller share partially meeting or exceeding expectations.
District staff and the committee discussed placement and transportation issues: staff and the foster-care liaison said some students placed in group homes live far from Coventry and that long bus rides (an hour each way in some cases) can limit extracurricular participation and add stress. Staff said the district works with the state child-welfare agency (DCYF) and group-home operators to preserve school-of-origin attendance when appropriate and to avoid interrupting students’ credits and course progress.
Ending: Staff said they will continue to monitor foster-care student outcomes, coordinate with DCYF and placement providers, and report annually to the committee. The committee thanked staff for the update and asked for continued attention to transportation impacts and interventions for this high-risk population.
