Reducing Chronic Absence

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What is Chronic Absenteeism?

Chronic Absenteeism is a measure of how many students miss a defined number of school days for any reason. Rhode Island defines Chronic Absenteeism as the percentage of students who miss 10% or more school days during the year. This calculation only includes students who were enrolled at least 90 days in a given school or district.

Research shows that chronic absenteeism is associated with a number of negative consequences for students, including lower achievement, disengagement from school, course failure, and increased risk of dropping out.

NEW! Email Attendance Matters to sign up for the Attendance Nudge Tool!

(Please note that you will receive confirmation the week of August 19th)

Attendance Resources

Click here for materials that you can use to promote the importance of attending school every day. There are banners, posters, social media tools and more. And it's all free thanks to Attendance Works!!

If you're not sure where or how to explore attendance in your school or district, below are some tools to help.

Self Assessment Tools

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT has been a state leader in promoting the importance of attending school every day - no matter the age. Below are some excellent resources they have developed.

Together with the United Way, KIDS COUNT leads RI Reads, a statewide effort with the shared goal of doubling the number of third graders reading on grade-level by 2025. Improving school attendance is a key strategy to achieving that goal.

The Attendance Tool - Every student. Every day.

What is the Attendance Tool?

The Attendance Tool was piloted one year ago in East Providence. Developed by RIDE staff in partnership with the Governor's Innovation Office, it is a suite of tools to help school leaders address attendance issues on a daily basis. Unique to these tools is the Attendance Nudge, a mobile application that principals can use to communicate with parents when student absences become a concern.

This year East Providence, Johnston and Newport schools will be using the Nudge tool.

More About the Tool
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Statewide Attendance Leaderboard

The Leaderboard is a daily snapshot of attendance in your school.

This public-facing table is an easy way to see school absenteeism at a glance. You can sort by district or school level or you can just search for your own school.

School and District Data

These interactive dashboards will help you to look at your attendance over time. It will also help you examine SurveyWorks data that is related to attendance.