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The paths Leslie Torres-Rodriguez and Madeline Negr贸n took to lead Connecticut鈥檚 Hartford public schools share important similarities鈥攁nd the end results seemed unlikely when they themselves were students in the state鈥檚 schools.

Both were born in Puerto Rico and came to the U.S. mainland as children. Torres-Rodriguez, Hartford鈥檚 superintendent, was 9 when she moved to the city, while Negr贸n, the district鈥檚 chief academic officer, was 10 when her family settled in Willimantic, roughly 20 miles away.

But their common history extends beyond geography. While their families provided them with love and support, they struggled financially, and their schools were often sources of significant tension.

A school counselor once told Negr贸n that, at best, she should aspire to be a secretary. An English-language learner who often felt looked down upon in class, Negr贸n in turn scorned the idea of ever becoming a teacher. Meanwhile, at one time the only reason Torres-Rodriguez鈥攁 self-described 鈥渄isengaged鈥� student鈥攕tayed in high school was so that she could keep her job at a local pharmacy, in a deal she made with her mother, who wanted her to keep going to class.

鈥淚n retrospect, boy, were there some glaring inequities in the district that I went to and that I now serve,鈥� Torres-Rodriguez said.

The two leaders鈥� shared background is the source of a strong professional bond. Those formative experiences are a major influence on their work in a district where about 55 percent of students are Hispanic, like the district leaders. It鈥檚 pushed Negr贸n, 49, and Torres-Rodriguez, 47, to prioritize flexibility and humility when trying to help students and families and establish firm strategies and plans that hold firm鈥攅ven in the face of a huge, unforeseen challenge as a global pandemic.

They have focused on strengthening the connections between students, families, and schools鈥攆rom improving basic attendance and keeping students on track to graduate to providing opportunities for them to learn and grow outside traditional school hours.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 great about it is that I know that she鈥檚 genuine about her passion for doing right by kids,鈥� Negr贸n said of Torres-Rodriguez. 鈥淚 know that鈥檚 where my heart is, too. I know that her values are pretty much the same.鈥�

Keeping students engaged and learning

The district鈥檚 focus on attendance and absenteeism predates the COVID-19 pandemic but ramped up during the health crisis when remote and hybrid learning and out-of-school commitments increased pressures on students of color and those experiencing poverty, leading many to disconnect or drop out of school.

Although located in the capital of one of the wealthiest states in the country, the district educates students amid significant financial and political challenges. Nearly half of families with children in schools receive federal nutrition benefits, and the median household income of the district鈥檚 families was $36,278 in 2019, less than half the state鈥檚.

The school system has also been at the center of a 33-year-long school desegregation battle to offer more academically rigorous schooling options for Black, Hispanic, and low-income students.

Torres-Rodriguez and Negr贸n started doubling down on absenteeism after an eye-opening 2020 study revealed that while the district鈥檚 four-year graduation rate for its 2016 class was 80 percent, just half those students enrolled in postsecondary education, and only 32 percent of the class persisted into their second year at two- and four-year institutions.

Those findings raised alarm bells among Hartford鈥檚 K-12 leaders, who eventually created a series of early-warning metrics to identify students at risk of falling off track.

The district found that 83 percent of students with at least one of those early-warning signs鈥攕uch as an attendance rate below 90 percent and suspension for at least one day鈥攙eered off course, compared with just 37 percent of students without any of those indicators.

Slashing absenteeism became a key priority for Torres-Rodriguez鈥檚 team, with the district pledging in its current strategic plan to cut the rate to a maximum of 12 percent.

Over the last two years, Hartford has marshaled its resources to find and reengage students who had disengaged from school during the pandemic.

At the start of this school year, about 2,600 students鈥攐r roughly 15 percent of the 17,700 enrolled鈥攚ere considered 鈥渘o shows.鈥� They weren鈥檛 showing up to school and weren鈥檛 accounted for. That number plummeted to 50 by the end of 2021 after an all-hands-on-deck undertaking that included more than 55,000 phone calls and 1,400 home visits, according to the district.

Statistics don鈥檛 tell the full story.

Run by the Family and Community Partnerships team, the effort included assistance from student-engagement specialists, behavioral experts, and other district staff.

Hartford鈥檚 leaders took nothing for granted. They scrutinized each step and were quick to make changes when necessary. They paid attention to who was making phone calls and visiting students鈥� homes; which, if any, of the district鈥檚 external partners were working with school staff on outreach efforts; and whether students鈥� families were experiencing food or housing insecurity, and, if so, how the district could deploy resources to help.

The district hosts 鈥渁ttendance incentive鈥� days to encourage students to keep coming to school, and held virtual 鈥淎ttendance, Culture, and Engagement鈥� learning sessions for families led by its outreach specialists.

One might assume that Torres-Rodriguez recalls her own desire as a teenager to focus on a job and not class as misguided, and that she wants students to shun paid work in the name of focusing on their classes. But her attitude is quite different.

鈥淪ome of our students were frankly saying, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know if I want to go back. I don鈥檛 know if I want to give up my job,鈥欌�� Torres-Rodriguez said. 鈥淲e should never put a student in a situation where they have to choose: Should I go to school or support my family? Because I was that student.鈥�

Negr贸n also understands that being disconnected from school doesn鈥檛 mean that students lack ambition.

鈥淚 do see students that are in these very challenging economic situations,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey have dreams and they have goals. When I look at kids that are still struggling and still haven鈥檛 found themselves, I say, 鈥楾hat could easily have been me.鈥欌�娾��

Listening to families to meet their needs

Some of Torres-Rodriguez鈥檚 earliest work after becoming Hartford鈥檚 superintendent in 2017 was to draft plans and oversee the closure of several schools, a painful process that taught her the value of listening to parents and others and showing them how what they said influenced her actions.

That commitment to listen to families and deliver for them has led to, among other things, the Saturday Academy, an initiative to help children whose lives and ability to learn were disrupted by the pandemic and who need support outside normal school hours.

The program is slated to run for 16 Saturdays this school year and provides a mix of academic and enrichment classes led by Hartford educators and local community-based organizations.

More than 400 students signed up shortly after the initiative was announced. The academy, funded by federal COVID-19 relief aid, supports extended learning time, one of the four priorities the district developed to guide how it will spend the windfall. Other priorities build on years of work Torres-Rodriguez has already done, including providing professional development to train all K-2 teachers in the science of reading.

Those 鈥減illars,鈥� as Torres-Rodriguez calls them, grew from some 50 hours of meetings with parents and other key community members about how the school system should use federal aid to address the pandemic and accelerate work the district already considered essential.

Karen Hawley Miles, the president and CEO of Massachusetts-based Education Resource Strategies who has worked with Hartford schools for several years, said the superintendent鈥檚 approach is an example of what happens when a district leader doesn鈥檛 just toss out a few goals and call it a plan. Instead, her approach builds common ground with communities to meet their needs.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not like she鈥檚 building this stuff from scratch,鈥� Hawley Miles said. 鈥淚t reinforced and helped people better understand her strategy.鈥�

Every time a family takes part in programs like the academy, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 now a family that鈥檚 a little bit closer to us,鈥� Torres-Rodriguez said. 鈥淥ftentimes, our families have had very negative experiences with schools.鈥�

Aldwin Allen, the senior director of community programs at the Village for Families and Children, a Hartford group that participates in the district鈥檚 community schools program, said Torres-Rodriguez has also strengthened bonds with the community through the Office of Family Engagement and by partnerships with local groups through the 13 full-service community schools.

鈥淪he understands that the central office itself has to facilitate engagement with families鈥� and not just rely on teachers, principals, and individual school leaders to do that job, Allen said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 done a more strategic job of making it the district鈥檚 responsibility.鈥�

Redesigning schools to reengage students

One of Negr贸n鈥檚 primary responsibilities in Hartford has been to establish Student Success Centers, which help students get back on a path to graduation. The centers emerged from Negr贸n鈥檚, Torres-Rodriguez鈥檚, and others鈥� desire to redesign the high school experience for students who were behind in credits to get back on a graduation path.

The first center opened in the 2019-20 school year, and two centers, based at high schools, are serving approximately 280 students this year.

Staff members invite students who may be struggling with chronic absenteeism, course failures, or other hurdles to attend. Those who enroll have access to a variety of supports, including a coordinator, two graduation specialists, a social worker, and either one or two academic interventionists, who develop individualized academic plans for them.

They attend for one period every day or every other day, with instruction in small groups of three to four students, to help them earn the credits they need to get their high school diploma.

Students often use online courses but have staff alongside them to provide what鈥檚 ultimately a blended approach. They also work closely with the graduation specialists to check their progress toward individual targets and goals, as well as school counselors to ensure that the students remain engaged with their work.

If a student encounters difficulties or shows signs of falling further behind, counselors and others step in to help and contact families if needed. Students are also publicly celebrated for meeting their targets.

Negr贸n鈥檚 awareness that the school system had simply 鈥渓ost鈥� students and her search for answers to urgent questions on how to expand access to opportunities to each student were pivotal in the centers鈥� development and expansion.

鈥溾�娾�楢ll鈥� for me means 鈥榓ll,鈥欌�夆�� she said. 鈥淎re we creating access for English-language learners? Are we creating access for students with disabilities?鈥�

鈥淲e did not have what I call a continuum of supports throughout high school,鈥� Torres-Rodriguez continued. 鈥淭here was no systemic approach to that.鈥�

In addition to providing academic support, Negr贸n said it鈥檚 important that the employees at the center reflect Hartford鈥檚 diversity.

鈥淚鈥檓 the chief of academics. But at the end of the day, I need people who can connect with kids, who can pause and get to know a student, somebody who鈥檚 going to be genuine,鈥� she said.

Negr贸n hopes that all high school students鈥攁nd even those in middle school鈥攚ill have access to a success center at some point.

It was Negr贸n鈥檚 and Torres-Rodriguez鈥檚 commitment to equity and inclusion that inspired Liliana Ballestas-Cuevas, the director of the centers, to work with them.

鈥淭hey really are practitioners,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 came here because the superintendent said, 鈥業 want to create safe havens in our schools.鈥� Her follow-through has been impeccable.鈥�

For her part, Negr贸n said the centers would have had less impact without Torres-Rodriguez鈥� support, especially through a 鈥渞ocky period鈥� when the first one opened.

鈥淭here is no secret sauce here,鈥� Negr贸n said. 鈥淚t鈥檚: Let鈥檚 build a sustaining relationship with students. It鈥檚 probably the first time in years that people have looked at them, and seen them, and shown them with actions that they matter. We have a plan, and yes, it鈥檚 difficult, and yes, we鈥檙e going to continue to figure it out right alongside them.鈥�