Cromwell posts test-score gains but board flags chronic absenteeism and multilingual learner gaps
Summary
District leaders reported gains across many state accountability indicators, including college-and-career readiness, but singled out increasing chronic absenteeism and lower multilingual-learner performance as priorities; board members discussed attendance committees, home visits and multi-agency responses for long-term truancy.
Dr. McLean presented the district's state accountability report, telling the board that Cromwell saw "increases, pretty much across the board" in reading, math and science indicators and notable growth for high-needs students. "Our high needs students grew more than our regular students," she said, underscoring progress aimed at closing achievement gaps.
Dr. McLean highlighted college and career readiness as a strong area: the district reached the maximum points available in that category and saw large percentage gains in passing rates for qualifying exams. At the same time she identified areas for continued focus: multilingual learners (ML) and chronic absenteeism. On ML students she said, "We know that we have some some work to do with our multilingual learners, and that's really where we'll put a lot of our energy this year." She warned that the multilingual cohort is small and subject to year-to-year fluctuation.
Board members asked specifically what steps are being taken on chronic absenteeism. Administrators described attendance committees and new "culture and climate" teams at each building that will analyze attendance data and produce interventions; they also described home visits and multi-agency coordination (including DCF and youth services) for long-running truancy. The superintendent and administrators cautioned some cases are complex and can take years of intervention to resolve.
Dr. McLean noted other positive indicators: on-track-to-graduation rates near 98.7% and post-secondary entrance rates at or near 100% for the cohorts reported, while also recommending additional attention to physical fitness participation and arts access where appropriate.
Board members praised the progress and urged the administration to continue targeted strategies for multilingual learners and students with attendance challenges.
