Hudson Joins New Engage Attendance Recovery Program

Photo+from+Barley+Fields+Primary+School

Photo from Barley Fields Primary School

The Hudson Public School opted into the Engage Massachusetts Attendance Recovery Program this school year. Engage is a program that partners with school districts that have been identified as having a higher than average student absenteeism rate that other districts.

The program itself is designed to give support to students that have been identified as having five or more unexcused absences.

“Massachusetts data show that 96% of students with high attendance in 10th grade graduate from high school in 4 years, while only 69% of students with low attendance in 10th grade graduate from high school in 4 years.”

The statistics above, according to the Massachusetts DESE document Guidance for Attendance Policies February 2022, show the impact of missing school is significant.

Hudson wants the best for its students and proactively opted into Engage.

“The Engage program also provides us with valuable data on what students and families are identifying as barriers when it comes to actively participating in school, so we can continue to improve the schools in our district,” said Director of Counseling, Lauren Pupecki.

The Engage program reaches out by phone to the families of any students that meet the five days of unexcused absences criteria in the families’ home language.

“If the family is not interested they can let Engage know and that is the end of the outreach,” describes Pupecki.

After a family decides they want to be a part of the program, they are assigned a coach. The coach will reach out to the family and then provide the student with guidance on technical and teacher access, encouragement and motivation to help students stay on track with their studies, organization and study tips, educational resources and exercises to help strengthen reading and math skills, and referrals to local nonprofit organizations that can provide social-emotional support. Not all students will receive the same support.

“The amount and type of support depends on the number of barriers that are identified in the original survey/interview process between Engage and the student and family,” said Pupecki.

Overall, Hudson is looking to improve the quality of education and engagement with students.

“The goal is to re-engage students in school and identify any barriers that students or families may be facing with coming to school,” said Pupecki.