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From Chronic Absenteeism to Engagement and Belonging: Measurement Matters
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
From Chronic Absenteeism to Engagement and Belonging: Measurement Matters
Presented by Brian Smith, Experienced Educator, Zone Superintendent, Falcon Zone, School District 49, Colorado Springs (CO); Dr. Adrienne Usher, Experienced Educator, Deputy Superintendent, Bullitt County Public Schools (KY); Sue Holmes, Former Educator, Current Senior Executive Director, LEAP Innovations; and Jessica Paulsen, President, LEAP Innovations
Sponsored by LEAP Innovations
Learn more about earning a CE certificate and our accessibility features.
What if chronic absenteeism, disengagement, and disconnection are signals that something about the student experiences needs to change? K-12 district and network leaders, school leaders, and teachers who attend this edWebinar will explore what authentic student engagement and belonging look and feel like from the student perspective.
Attendance data tells you who is present and who is not. Behavior data tells you who is following the rules and who is not. Achievement data tells you who is meeting standards and who is not. But what data provides insight into a student’s learning experience and whether a student feels they belong? Engagement and belonging are hard to measure, but they are linked to student success and essential to understand if we want to help students thrive in school.
In this edWebinar, explore practical approaches for understanding, measuring, and taking steps to improve student engagement and belonging. The presenters—Dr. Adrienne Usher of Bullitt County Public Schools in Kentucky and Brian Smith of School District 49 in Colorado—share their goals for student learning and success, approaches they are taking to measure hard-to-measure indicators like student engagement and belonging, the role of student voice in their efforts, and how their teachers and schools are using what they learn to improve the student experience. The moderator, Sue Holmes from LEAP Innovations, introduces the LEAP Learning FrameworkTM, a free tool that makes learning science and research actionable in real-world classrooms.
Together, we move beyond simply asking, “Are students engaged?” to a more powerful question, “How do we know, and what do we do with what we learn?” During this session, the presenters provide an education leader’s perspective to help viewers:
- Differentiate engagement from attendance and compliance
- Understand how students' sense of connection, agency, and belonging influences their participation in learning
- Explore ways to see what belonging looks like in schools, and where adult perceptions and student experience diverge
- Identify strategies to measure engagement and belonging that center student voices
- Recognize the limitations of traditional measures and understand why attendance, achievement, behavior, or participation data alone may not tell the full story of the student experience
- Learn how to turn engagement and belonging data into action
This recorded edWebinar will be of interest to K-12 teachers, school leaders, and district leaders.
About the Presenters
Brian Smith is the Falcon Zone Superintendent in School District 49 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He leads seven schools, including four elementary schools, a middle school, a comprehensive high school, and an applied learning campus serving grades 8–12. He has dedicated his entire career to District 49, serving as a high school chemistry and AP Chemistry teacher, Science Department Chair, Assistant Principal, and, for 13 years, a middle school Principal and Executive Principal. In that role, he helped open a new elementary school connected to the middle school campus. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with Teaching Certification from Fort Lewis College and a Master of Arts in Educational Administration with Principal Certification from the University of Denver. He is driven by a commitment to empower every learner through engaging environments, enhanced opportunities, and elevated instruction so they can earn their WINGS—Wisdom, Integrity, Networking, Grit, and Self-Confidence.
Dr. Adrienne Usher is a seasoned educational leader serving as Deputy Superintendent of Bullitt County Public Schools in Kentucky. With more than 20 years of experience from the classroom to central office, she serves as the frontline strategy partner for the Superintendent, driving districtwide vision while ensuring full compliance with state and federal legislation. She champions student success through human-centered innovation and continuous improvement. Dr. Usher oversees curriculum and instruction, leadership development, human resources, technology, district communications, federal programs and grants, school counseling, and family support systems. Selected for prestigious state and national leadership programs, she holds national advisory roles and is actively involved in statewide assessment reform. Her holistic background empowers her to break down educational silos, foster educator growth, and build learning environments that truly prepare students for lifelong success.
Inspired by the vision of transforming teaching and learning in classrooms nationwide to become places of modern, personalized, competency-based learning, Sue Holmes left her K-12 leadership post as a superintendent in Colorado, where she led the scaling of modern, personalized learning in her local schools. With a heart for leaders and teachers undertaking this paramount goal, Sue knows the power of engaging students at a personal level and works to ensure that student ownership of learning is a reality for districts throughout the country. As a Senior Executive Director at LEAP Innovations, Sue works with schools, districts, and organizations to innovate and transform classrooms and systems so that each learner can achieve their potential and prepare for what’s next by supporting them through professional learning and strategy.
A leader in education innovation and nonprofit strategy, Jessica Paulsen has over two decades of experience driving systemic change toward equitable, student-centered learning. As President of LEAP Innovations, she translates LEAP’s vision for education into measurable impact by advancing personalized learning and human-centered innovation across schools and districts nationwide.
Jessica believes real educational transformation starts with centering the people closest to learning. This belief has deepened her commitment to building relationships, learning continuously, and designing with those she serves. At Distinctive Schools, Jessica served as Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, driving strategic growth, innovation, and advocacy for a network of public charter schools. As Executive Director of Pass With Flying Colors, she stewarded an eight-year college access and persistence model to change outcomes for first-generation students through long-term relationships. She launched New Sector Alliance's Chicago site and led its national leadership development curriculum for emerging nonprofit and education leaders.
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LEAP Innovations believes that every student deserves a learning experience designed to ignite their potential and equip them for the future. We are a human-centered education design partner helping schools, districts, and communities nationwide transform learning for a rapidly changing world. Most organizations help schools adopt something new. LEAP helps them become capable of co-creating, deepening, and sustaining what is new. Through coaching, professional learning, implementation support, and communities of practice grounded in the research-based LEAP Learning FrameworkTM, LEAP helps schools design future-ready learning environments that strengthen engagement, student and schoolwide purpose, and human-powered innovation. LEAP's partner schools redesign in ways that parallel how they want students to learn, so that educators and students are prepared to navigate emerging realities such as artificial intelligence, rapid technological change, and evolving workforce demands. Learn more at www.leapinnovations.org
