Governor Ned Lamont said Connecticut will spend $10.7 million from its share of COVID-19 relief money on a program to tackle school absenteeism.
It's called the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program — LEAP. Lamont said too many K-12 students in Connecticut’s cities have struggled with absenteeism as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the LEAP program will engage community organizations to reach out to students and their families.
“With this $10.7 million we are going to be unleashing the Y, the Boy’s and Girl’s and teachers and doing everything we can to knock on the door and tell these kids we miss them, we want them back in the school,” Lamont said.
Lamont said the goal is to get the students to attend classes in the last two months of this school year and then enroll them for summer camps and summer learning programs so they can have a seamless transition back to school in the fall.
The money for the program comes from COVID relief funding passed by Congress in December.
