Learning Cohorts: Chronic Absenteeism

Empty Desks: From Chronic Absenteeism to Engagement

Is your chronic absenteeism rate sky high? Are the same systems you had in place before the pandemic just not having the same effect? Are you thinking about new systems to increase student engagement at a school or district level? Join us and a cohort of your colleagues to discuss innovative ways to explore attendance, how to fill those empty desks, and deeply engage students in learning.

This cohort is designed for teams of two or more that can include district and school leaders. If you oversee teams leading attendance interventions, truancy, or engagement and want to connect to a network of others across the state doing the same work, this cohort is for you.

We are providing six sessions to explore what the latest research is saying, space to share your specific context and goals, receive feedback, and provide time to plan for implementation of your next steps. The cohort will have sessions for new participants that will include similar topics to 23-24 and sessions for returning participants to continue learning and collaborating.

Learning Cohort Facilitators:

Victory Molina, District Improvement Strategy Office
Amy Werpy, Office of Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement
Johann Liljengren, Office of Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement

Application Information

The initial application deadline for this cohort has passed.

Fill out the guest application below to attend a cohort session as a guest.

View Learning Cohorts Guest Application

Participants

District teams: Teams may be made up of district and school staff who focus on implementing initiatives to support attendance.

Session Information

Please note applications closed on August 30, 2024. Interested in this cohort? Sign up as a guest to attend a session!

Session 1 - 9/20/24 | 8:30-3:00 | Location: In-person, Denver Public Schools
Session 2 - 10/18/24 | 9:00-12:00 | Virtual
Session 3 - 11/15/24 | 9:00-12:00 | Virtual

Session 4 - 1/24/24 | 8:30-3:00 | Location: In-person, TBD*
Session 5 - 2/21/25 | 9:00-12:00 | Virtual
Session 6 - 4/4/25 | 8:30-3:00 | Location: In-person, TBD*

*All in-person sessions are TBD as locations will be determined based on the locations of participants accepted into the cohort.

Cohort Updates

We have over 60 leaders and 23 districts participating in this Learning Cohort.

Additional CDE Resources, Training, and Support

CDE Attendance Webpage
- This page includes summary information about attendance trends in Colorado, information about state policy concerning attendance, and best practices to guide implementation.
CDE Attendance Guidebook
- This guidebook provides information to support school and district leaders in implementing attendance structures and strategies.