PROVIDENCE, RI — According to recently released statewide attendance data for school year 2023-2024, the Providence Public School District (PPSD) achieved a 12.1 percentage point decline in chronic absenteeism, reducing the rate from 48.4% in 2022-2023 to 36.2%. This marks a 20.9 percentage point decrease from PPSD’s highest rate of 57.1% in 2021-2022. The current rate also represents a milestone as it falls below the pre-pandemic level of 37.3% in 2018-2019. Superintendent Dr. Javier Montañez joined Governor Dan McKee and Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green at the State House to recognize this progress in curving chronic absenteeism and to kick off the 2024-2025 Attendance Matters RI campaign. PPSD launched its own Attendance Hero campaign last school year in alignment with Attendance Matters RI to promote consistent school attendance and raise awareness of the impact of chronic absenteeism.

“While our work is far from over, we recognize that Providence Public Schools have taken a stride in the right direction when it comes to attendance," said Governor McKee. “Our data shows that attendance has a direct impact on student performance, and it makes clear that students need to be in school consistently to succeed. I commend Providence for their work to engage students and families and promote good attendance.”

“If we want Providence students to get ahead academically post-pandemic, we have to continue to work to curve chronic absenteeism in the capital city,” said Commissioner Infante-Green. “Our latest data shows that PPSD is making steady progress, and we must ensure we continue the momentum. As we head into the new school year, we want to provide advance notice to families that when classes resume, students should be in school every day engaged in learning.”

"Reducing chronic absenteeism is not just about getting students into classrooms; it's about creating an environment where they are eager to learn, grow, and thrive. The significant decrease we saw in PPSD’s chronic absenteeism reflects our ongoing commitment to promoting excellent education, every day, in every classroom,” said PPSD Superintendent Dr. Montañez. “In Providence, we've seen firsthand the power of collaboration between educators, families, and community partners in fostering a culture of good attendance. Our efforts on improving attendance are yielding results, but we are not done and remain committed to continuing to improve.”

As part of its Attendance Heroes campaign, at the beginning of last school year, PPSD distributed attendance calendars for families to track attendance as well as an attendance compact for families to commit to consistent attendance. With a focus on better engaging students and families and underscoring the importance of attendance and data monitoring to make gains, the District onboarded a director of attendance to lead strategy and operations focused on improving attendance districtwide.

Providence school leaders and students were highlighted as part of the Attendance Matters RI campaign. Video features include:

• Dr. Montañez, a former Providence student and current Superintendent.
• Halo Pham, a student at Nathanael Greene Middle School with perfect attendance who aspires to be an astronaut.
• And, Anthony Mosca, Class of 2024 Salutatorian for Mount Pleasant High School who will be attending Boston University on a full scholarship to study teaching.

Additional Attendance Matters RI videos can be found on RIDE’s YouTube page. For more information on the Attendance Matters RI campaign, please visit www.AttendanceMattersRI.org.

For more information about Providence Public Schools, visit www.providenceschools.org. Follow Providence Public Schools on Facebook, Twitter (@pvdschool), or Instagram (@pvdschools) for timely updates.

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