Credit: Plutmaverick / Shutterstock According to a report released on May 7 by the Connecticut Department of Education, there are many accomplishments for the state to celebrate, including decreased rates of chronic absenteeism and the fact that more high school juniors and seniors than ever are taking college and career readiness courses. The report also […]
According to a report released on May 7 by the Connecticut Department of Education, there are many accomplishments for the state to celebrate, including decreased rates of chronic absenteeism and the fact that more high school juniors and seniors than ever are taking college and career readiness courses.
The report also points to some areas where the state needs to improve, including performance in English Language Arts (ELA) and the rate of college completion in six years or fewer, which has been in a steady decline over the past five years, according to the report.
Total enrollment had been hovering around 513,000 students since 2020-21, but in the 2024-25 school year it declined to 508,402, primarily due to a new requirement that children have to be 5 years old as of Sept. 1 to enter kindergarten in that year.
Enrollment in adult education increased 20.8 percent from 2022-23 to 2023-24, the third consecutive year of growth over 20 percent, “surpassing pre-pandemic enrollment numbers for the first time since 2020-21,” the report states.
Decrease in Chronic Absenteeism
According to the state’s website, chronic absence from learning is defined as missing at least 10 percent of the total number of dates enrolled during the school year. “Just two days per month can lead to chronic absence. It includes both excused, unexcused, and out-of-school suspensions,” the website states.
The recently issued report notes that the chronic absenteeism rate was 20 percent for 2022-23 and down to 17.7 percent in 2023-24, decreasing the most for Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and multiracial students.
The report did point out that “chronic absenteeism rates for all student groups remain significantly higher than their pre-pandemic levels.”
The Department of Education’s School Is Better with You campaign was created to help raise awareness of the importance of attending school. When the program was announced in late 2023, officials reported that more than 5,400 parents and caregivers outlined several factors that impact attendance, including mental health issues and chronic illness.
The report refers to the School is Better with You campaign and various other programs that help to provide mental health services and enrichment opportunities in the summer, making resources available for students who are experiencing homelessness and housing instability.
Juniors and Seniors Taking College and Career Readiness Courses
The report states that more than 90 percent of 11th- and 12th-grade students are taking courses to prepare them for college and careers, which is the highest number ever.
But while enrollment rates into colleges have gone up, the rate of students graduating from college in six years or fewer has decreased, the report states.
Regarding the college enrollment rate increase to 68.4 percent for the class of 2023, the report notes that “these rates remain lower than pre-COVID levels, which were steady around 71 percent, but represent a pattern of recovery toward pre-COVID levels.”
The rate of college graduation by six years after high school declined slightly, from 48.2 percent for the class of 2017 to 47.8 percent for the class of 2018, the fifth straight year of decline, according to the report.
Through the Dual Credit Expansion Grant, the state has awarded $3.8 million to 89 school districts to assist students in getting college credits for courses they take in high school.
Math and Science Scores Up; Mixed Results for ELA
Most student groups showed improvement in math and science, with overall achievement in these areas improving for the second consecutive year, according to the report, but there were mixed results in ELA.
A common theme for many grades is that they are trailing pre-pandemic levels of achievement across many categories. The report states that “across the grades, proficiency rates trail pre-pandemic levels by about five to seven percentage points in ELA, about two to five percentage points in mathematics, and about one to three percentage points in science.”
New software designed to help identify youth with behavioral problems is being piloted at schools in six Connecticut towns with a goal of more quickly and efficiently getting youth the help they need.
Library groups in the state are hailing passage of a bill they say would protect them and their patrons from “predatory” publishing industry practices on ebooks and audiobooks.
HARTFORD, CT (Updated May 14, 4:30 p.m.) – A proposal requiring stronger regulations and oversight of homeschooled students will not be acted upon this legislative session, lawmakers said Tuesday.
HARTFORD, CT — Before going into session Tuesday, House Democrats said they planned to pass a pair of priority education bills, including one to change how schools conduct crisis response drills and another to create a State Seal for Civics Education.
Paying for college could get a bit easier after a proposal to expand the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship program cleared the Judiciary Committee Monday. The committee also advanced bills concerning environmental restrictions, tax exemptions, and disaster savings accounts.
Commencement season is here. This weekend, UConn will see more than 5,000 undergraduates and more than 2,000 graduate students receive their degrees. But, amid cuts to the federal government and fears of a recession, many have questions about the economy they are heading into.
Attorney Sarah Eagan, the Center for Children’s Advocacy’s new executive director, says Connecticut’s lack of oversight of homeschooling makes it easy for some families to hide abusive conditions for children.
HARTFORD, CT – Some Republican legislators joined representatives from the Family Institute of Connecticut and the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference at a “Save Girls Sport CT” rally at the Capitol on Thursday to criticize Democratic leaders for blocking an amendment that would ban transgender females – assigned male at birth – from high school…
Guest columnist Joe DeLong of CCM says he may have only moved to Connecticut a little over 10 years ago, but he has come to believe that the “Connecticut values” coming out of Hartford don’t always align with the priorities many residents hold.
High school players, college coaches flock to UWRF Mega Camp
Three years ago, UW-River Falls football coach Matt Walker and the Falcon football program hosted their first UWRF Minnesconsin Mega Camp for high school players in the Upper Midwest hoping to catch the eye of college coaches. After this year’s event, they may have to change the name. Last Thursday’s Minnesconsin Mega Camp attracted over […]
Three years ago, UW-River Falls football coach Matt Walker and the Falcon football program hosted their first UWRF Minnesconsin Mega Camp for high school players in the Upper Midwest hoping to catch the eye of college coaches. After this year’s event, they may have to change the name.
Last Thursday’s Minnesconsin Mega Camp attracted over 1,000 players, not only from Minnesota and Wisconsin, but from 27 different states and eight different countries. On hand to scout the campers were coaches and staff from 63 different college programs representing every level from the Power 4 Division 1 to FCS, Division II, Division III and NAIA schools.
Ripon College assistant football coach Lane Barnes prepares to time a camper in the pro agility sprint during the skill position portion of the UW-River Falls Minnesconsin Mega Camp Thursday, June 19, at Ramer Field. Bob Burrows / Star-Observer
“It’s a cool, catchy name and we’ll keep it,” Walker said about the Minnesconsin name, “But when you start getting kids globally and recruits from Arizona and places like that flying in, that’s awesome.”
The first camp in 2023 resulted in over 800 offers from college programs to campers, including over 100 from Division I programs and over 250 from Division II. Walker said it’s too soon to tell how many offers will come out of this year’s camp, but noted there was plenty of talent to choose from.
“This was by far the most talent we’ve had at the camp,” he said. “It was incredible, and I know kids are gonna walk out of there with Power 4 offers.
Walker said the camp is also a prime opportunity to show off the UWRF program and facilities to hopeful recruits.
“We don’t lie about it,” he said. “Part of it for us is a recruiting process. We’re the host, so let’s showcase our piece a little bit.”
Walker and his staff use the check-in process as a tour of the Falcon Center facilities. After registering inside Page Arena, the campers’ go to the Knowles Center to get measured for height. They work their way to Hunt Arena to receive their numbered T-shirts, then down the hall to the UWRF locker room to be weighed, before exiting through the expansive Falcon Center weight room out and onto the David Smith Stadium turf.
“By the time they come out of there they’ve seen our entire building,” Walker noted.
Once campers get out on the field they are put through standard combine testing, which includes collecting verified numbers in the vertical jump, broad jump, 40 yard dash, and pro agility run.
Campers line up to be timed in the 40-yard dash during the skill position portion of the UW-River Falls Minnesconsin Mega Camp Thursday, June 19, at Ramer Field. Bob Burrows / Star-Observer
“We’re actually live updating the college staff so they have a QR code that takes them to a file where they’re getting live results as kids are finishing their testing,” Walker explained.
After combine testing inside David Smith Stadium, campers head over to the UWRF intramural fields for more traditional football work, including agility and one-on-one drills.
“For safety’s sake, we’re not doing anything beyond a one-on-one,” Walker said. “The last thing we want to do is get kids hurt.”
This year’s camp was broken down into three waves for the first time, with Big Guys (offensive and defensive lineman), starting at 11:30 a.m., Specialists (kickers, punters, long snappers) at 1 p.m., and Skill (quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, running back, linebacker, defensive back) beginning check-in at 2:45 p.m.
“So by the time the skill kids are done with their combine and ready to head out to the field, the big guys have finished their camp completely,” Walker said. “It probably couldn’t have gone smoother.”
All of that work requires a mountain of volunteers, and Walker said he has no problem getting people to help out.
“My kid and his friends are running combine cards to plug in the data,” he noted. “My daughter’s friends are handing out T-shirts. You’ve got current players helping, and I brought our committed players in to let them be around each other and get to know each other and they volunteered to come in and work some of the check in. You got your current staff and high school coaches that’ll help you out. Then the visiting college staff will do some of the timing because it takes so many stop watches.”
While football is the main focus of the camp, Walker said there are also spillover benefits for both the university and community.
“It’s the single biggest visit day of not just the summer, but of the year,” he pointed out. “You’re bringing in 1,000 families and they’ve got four hours to kill. They’re not always sitting there watching. They’re walking around campus. They’re walking downtown. Some of them are staying overnight. So there’s got to be benefits to the community and the campus.”
UWRF’s Minnesconsin Mega Camp has grown into one of the largest in the country, and according to Walker, “the one” in the Upper Midwest. But as successful as this year’s camp was, Walker said he’s already thinking about how he can make things even better for next year.
“I can’t imagine it being better than what we did. It was awesome,” he said. “But less than 24 hours from the camp being over I already made notes for next year, how we can make some tweaks and make this thing even better. It’s a really cool thing.”
Watch Cooper Flagg's Maine high school highlights ahead of NBA draft
The 25. And number 3 Alright Oh. I was Hey Yeah And Yeah the Advertisement Looking back at Cooper Flagg’s Maine high school highlights ahead of NBA draft Updated: 4:58 PM EDT Jun 23, 2025 Editorial Standards ⓘ Less than three and a half years ago, Cooper Flagg led Nokomis Regional High School to its […]
Less than three and a half years ago, Cooper Flagg led Nokomis Regional High School to its first state basketball championship as a freshman and was named Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year.On Wednesday, the 18-year-old from Newport is expected to be chosen with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft after leading Duke to the Final Four and winning most major national player of the year awards.Maine’s Total Coverage has picked out a number of the top plays from Flagg’s freshman season, in which he averaged 20.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.7 steals and 3.7 blocks per game for a Nokomis team that finished 21-1.Flagg finished with a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds in the Class A championship game against Falmouth High School. He won the state title alongside his twin brother, Ace, and their older brother, Hunter.Watch Cooper’s Maine high school highlights in the video player above.Less than a month after winning the state championship, Cooper and Ace announced that they were transferring to Montverde Academy, a national powerhouse in the Greater Orlando area.The Flagg twins played with the Maine United AAU team after their first season with Montverde. Before their second season, Cooper announced he was reclassifying from the class of 2025 to the class of 2024 — making him eligible for this year’s NBA draft. Ace decided to remain in the class of 2025, and he is set to begin his freshman year at the University of Maine this fall.Cooper and Ace did, however, return to their home state in January 2024 as part of a two-game showcase called “The Maine Event,” which is also one of Cooper’s nicknames.Maine’s Total Coverage also featured highlights of Cooper Flagg from The Maine Event in the video player at the top of this article.Cooper Flagg led Duke with averages of 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game in his lone season with the Blue Devils.Duke listed Flagg at 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds but at last month’s NBA draft combine, he was measured at 6 feet, 7.75 inches tall without shoes and weighed in at 221 pounds.The NBA draft begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday, and the Dallas Mavericks hold the top pick.
PORTLAND, Maine —
Less than three and a half years ago, Cooper Flagg led Nokomis Regional High School to its first state basketball championship as a freshman and was named Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year.
Maine’s Total Coverage has picked out a number of the top plays from Flagg’s freshman season, in which he averaged 20.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.7 steals and 3.7 blocks per game for a Nokomis team that finished 21-1.
Flagg finished with a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds in the Class A championship game against Falmouth High School. He won the state title alongside his twin brother, Ace, and their older brother, Hunter.
Watch Cooper’s Maine high school highlights in the video player above.
Less than a month after winning the state championship, Cooper and Ace announced that they were transferring to Montverde Academy, a national powerhouse in the Greater Orlando area.
The Flagg twins played with the Maine United AAU team after their first season with Montverde. Before their second season, Cooper announced he was reclassifying from the class of 2025 to the class of 2024 — making him eligible for this year’s NBA draft. Ace decided to remain in the class of 2025, and he is set to begin his freshman year at the University of Maine this fall.
Cooper and Ace did, however, return to their home state in January 2024 as part of a two-game showcase called “The Maine Event,” which is also one of Cooper’s nicknames.
Maine’s Total Coverage also featured highlights of Cooper Flagg from The Maine Event in the video player at the top of this article.
Cooper Flagg led Duke with averages of 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game in his lone season with the Blue Devils.
Duke listed Flagg at 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds but at last month’s NBA draft combine, he was measured at 6 feet, 7.75 inches tall without shoes and weighed in at 221 pounds.
The NBA draft begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday, and the Dallas Mavericks hold the top pick.
North Carolina high school standout Elijah Littlejohn is the latest commitment for a 2026 Penn State recruiting class ranked top 10 overall nationally. The West Mecklenburg (Charlotte) senior announced his decision last week, giving the Nittany Lions 20 total pledges within the cycle. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Littlejohn is considered a Top247 talent, listed at No. 236 overall […]
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Littlejohn is considered a Top247 talent, listed at No. 236 overall and 24th among edge rushers. Although he does supply plenty of potential as a blitzer, he is primed to play linebacker for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions extended a scholarship offer in April, then hosted him on campus for an official visit. That experience allowed for extended conversation with linebackers coach Dan Connor and helped get him on board with Penn State, topping a list of suitors that included 30 schools.
As a junior, Littlejohn terrorized opposing offensive backfields. He collected 26 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and 24 QB hurries in 2024, according to MaxPreps.
View Littlejohn’s junior season highlights above!
So what stands out about Littlejohn in our 247Sports scouting report?
In the latest installment of 1JD Films, get a behind the scenes look at the formation of Jets Flag Elite team, the first ever girls flag football travel team sponsored by the New York Jets. The 1JD films crew follows the team from the tryouts to the practice fields to their first tournament and captures […]
In the latest installment of 1JD Films, get a behind the scenes look at the formation of Jets Flag Elite team, the first ever girls flag football travel team sponsored by the New York Jets. The 1JD films crew follows the team from the tryouts to the practice fields to their first tournament and captures all the sights and sounds.
TCF highlights 2024 grant recipients with site visits
On May 6, the Tahlequah Community Fund board, along with representatives from Communities Foundation of Oklahoma, visited several local organizations and schools as part of a community tour highlighting the impact of its 2024 grant-making cycle. This year, the fund awarded more than $44,000 to 16 organizations dedicated to strengthening the Tahlequah community. × This […]
On May 6, the Tahlequah Community Fund board, along with representatives from Communities Foundation of Oklahoma, visited several local organizations and schools as part of a community tour highlighting the impact of its 2024 grant-making cycle.
This year, the fund awarded more than $44,000 to 16 organizations dedicated to strengthening the Tahlequah community.
This page requires Javascript.
Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
