Dr. Gladys Labas, a long-time faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, is a part of the group of educators and policymakers who traveled to the White House in Washington, D.C., in May for a summit of education leaders hosted by the Biden-Harris administration on “Addressing Chronic Absenteeism and Increasing Student Engagement.”
According to the White House, the U.S. rate of chronic absenteeism reached about 31% in the 2021-2022 school year. There have been improvements in the 2022-2023 school year, with some American schools and school systems demonstrating significant progress based on proven strategies.
Chronic absenteeism – students missing 10% or more of school – emerged as a serious challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic due to school closures and remains a challenge for many schools, both in the United States and around the world. Students who are chronically absent are much less likely to read at grade level and to graduate high school.
Labas was invited to attend the “Every Day Counts Summit” in Washington as one of a group of bipartisan state and local education leaders who are tackling absenteeism head on using evidence-based approaches.
She recently celebrated a major milestone of 50 years in both higher and early education. Her research interests, publications, and teaching include teacher education, leadership, literacy, bilingual program development and implementation, and discourse analysis of bilinguals.
“She was a force to be reckoned with and she still is. She always had high standards, high expectations, she was very warm and caring to students,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona, who credits Labas as a major mentor in his development.
Labas has achieved remarkable milestones, such as being the first Latina administrator in a Connecticut urban school district, co-authoring bilingual legislation in Connecticut, assuming the role of the state’s director for equity and language in education, delivering lectures on bilingual and special education at UConn, and receiving a prestigious Milken Educator Award.
